Bob Murphy - footballer, music fan, dog walker, coffee drinker, hand shaker, train traveller and tree lover - has been a favourite of footy followers for many a year. Now captain of his beloved Western Bulldogs, he's showing the young pups at the Kennel how to play the great game the right way. Collected here for the first time are the best of Bob's much-loved weekly newspaper columns - including his 'Fantasy Football League' teams of film stars, musos and pollies. From the strange joy of a wet Melbourne winter to the challenge of playing on the sublime Stevie J, Murphy's Lore shines with the warmth, wisdom and charm of the Dogs' evergreen champion. 'I like Bob's writing. It's thoughtful, funny, perceptive. It could be the Irish in him, the way he comes at things slightly askew. And wherever he goes, music's always close by.' --Paul Kelly 'Bob writes like an elegant gonzo journalist. He's in the thick of it, writing from the tense silence inside the maelstrom, without the belligerence and bellicosity, but as a team man, a family man, and one who cares about the game, whether it's a kick in the park or at the most scrutinised level. A wink and a nod of a gift every week of the season.' --Tim Rogers 'Only Bob Murphy's musings could bring together art, sport, culture, family, community, passion, pride, pain, life, death, love, zoneball and the whole damn thing.' --Tex Perkins 'These pieces take the reader across the boundary line to view the game from a player's point of view.' --Spectrum Bob Murphy joined the Western Bulldogs via the 1999 draft, and is now club captain. He has played over 270 matches and is known for his silky skills in both attack and defence. Off the field, Bob writes regularly for the Age newspaper. Murphy's Lore is his first book.