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Dog Days: Bob Murphy and Martin Flanagan

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Sports writers and sports stars rarely meet on the same playing field. But veteran sports journalist Martin Flanagan and former Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy are doing just that. Both, now, as authors. And both drawing on a true triumph-of-the-underdog tale: the Bulldogs’ miraculous 2016 Grand Final victory.

Murphy’s second book, Leather Soul, describes ‘Footscray winters and the glorious liniment-scented afternoons’: all the laughs, scraps and yarns of his 17-year footy career. And Flanagan’s latest, A Wink from the Universe, draws on player interviews, diaries, videos and fans’ recollections, to build a layered narrative of the Dogs’ 2016 victory – a triumphant 25-year conclusion to his acclaimed Southern Oval, Western Sky, which covered the Dogs’ failed 1993 season and battle to survive.

If you missed the pair’s last Wheeler Centre event, now is your chance to catch the long-awaited rematch. Join them as they share tall footy tales and discuss the scrappy, winsome club they both love.

Sun Bookshop will be our bookseller at this event.

Featuring

Bob Murphy

Bob Murphy played for the Western Bulldogs from 2000 to 2017, and was their captain from 2015 to 2017. In 2015, Murphy was named Captain of the Year at the AFLPA Awards, and was also captain of the All-Australian team – the first player ever to collect both honours in the same season. The follow... Read more

Martin Flanagan

Martin Flanagan is one of Australia’s most respected sports journalists. He was a regular AFL columnist for the Age for many years, and is the author of over a dozen books – most recently The Short Long Book and On Listening – and A Wink From the Universe, about the Western Bulldogs’ rem... Read more

Location

The Wheeler Centre

176 Little Lonsdale Street Melbourne Victoria 3000

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The Wheeler Centre acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Centre stands. We acknowledge and pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their Elders, past and present, as the custodians of the world’s oldest continuous living culture.