CommBank Pararoo Augustine Murphy spoke to Football Australia Media before flying over to Indonesia for the 2025 IFCPF Asian-Oceania Cup.
The Aussies begin their tournament against the host nation on Sunday at 12:00pm AEDT, before facing Japan in their other group match two days later.
Murphy, an integral member of the squad, discussed what his preparation has looked like, the team's expectations, while reminiscing about the two previous major tournaments he has been part of.
Key to staying on track away from the Pararoos
Football is always like one of my top priorities. So I'm always like taking care of my health. I'm always training every day. I'm always thinking about what to do to get better. So as long as I just sort of stay on track and do the things I always do, like stretching, eating well, and like training and managing my load, I feel like it works and it's helped me get better, because even since last year, even though I had a pretty good tournament, I feel like I'm better this year.
Reflecting on his success at last year's IFCPF Men’s World Cup 2024 in Salou
I think that one of the reasons I did well was that I worked a lot more with the team, rather than just myself. So I was sort of in the mindset of do everything to make sure the team wins, and then the goals just came naturally. I've tried to keep doing that, and in the camps leading up to this tournament, it seems like it's made me an even better player/ I'm not even like focusing on scoring goals, yet. The goals are just like, coming in naturally.
Vibes in camp
The vibes are really good, especially now that we're in sort of a period where everyone's around the same age. Vibes are really good. I guess that helps with our performance on the field.
Expecting against Indonesia
We've never seen Indonesia, personally. So not sure what to expect. Myself, I'm just looking forward to playing the games. I love the moment of just putting on the jersey and battling for your country and playing football, having fun out there, it's a really enjoyable experience.
Special feeling every time receiving the call up
I appreciate the call ups, and I appreciate the opportunity to participate in these games and have these moments. It's a big honour to represent your country, and it's very fun to play those international games, those big games where it's really important.
Recounting the 2023 Asian Cup on home soil
I remember we were sort of in like a transition period at that point, and the squad was getting better. Right now it almost feels like we've almost reached the end of that transition period. Of course we're going to still try and get better and better, but the squad was really young, even back then, and now we've got more experience under our belts, and I think we're more comfortable playing in these international games. We're not just kids anymore. We've grown up, we've experienced this. This won't be the first time, hopefully not the last and I think we're looking very strong.
Working with head coach Kai Lammert as he approaches 100th match
Kai has always been supportive of me. He's been supportive of everybody. I love how when he gives his team talks and speeches, it's hard to describe, but he always seems to say the right thing. Sometimes I can't even articulate the thoughts of what needs to be said. But Kai can articulate that perfectly, and it sends the perfect message to the team. So he really does a good job of telling us what to do, and if we can take that on board and implement it, I think it's only up from there.
What would it mean to win first Para Asian Cup
It would be really big. I think if we won the Asian Cup, that would send a big message, around the world to every other team, that we're a serious contender. Because I think it's going to be very hard to get past a team like Iran, for example, because they're the world champions. So if we could do that, I think that would probably be maybe our biggest achievement, if we can win the Asian Cup. So we're going to go into this fully believing in ourselves that we can win this tournament, because I think we've got the squad depth and power to win the tournament, so I'm liking our chances. I think no matter what, we're going to put up a big fight, and hopefully we can win the tournament.
IFCPF Asian-Oceania Cup in Indonesia
When: November 12-23, 2025
Where: Surakarta, Indonesia