Robert Murphy has called the kennel home for a long time, sixteen years to be exact, but speaking after Sunday’s win over the Dockers, he said the weekend’s effort was as impressive a performance as he’s seen in his time in the red, white and blue.

“The boys jumped out of the blocks, and it was as slick-a-footy as we’ve played, probably in my time," he told ABC Radio post match.

“It was pretty impressive.  

"I’d be pretty happy if we could keep that going all year.”

The Dogs kicked the first goal of the match within the first 30 seconds courtesy of Marcus Bontemepelli and never looked back, a 42-point first quarter lead finishing up a 65-point round one victory over one of the competition’s toughest outfits.

“I don’t think the most optimistic of Bulldogs supporters, myself included expected today to pan out the way it did,” he said.

The Bulldogs runners, led by Murphy, were nothing if not prolific on the weekend, with Jason Johannisen and Shane Biggs combining for 70 touches and the skipper himself collecting 31 disposals of his own at a typically impressive 87.1% efficiency. 

But Murphy was quick to defer credit to his younger teammates.

“We’ve got a few guys in that back half who can run and carry and can use the footy, and can take a bit of the pressure off of Boydy and I," he said.

“And to have Tommy Liberatore back into work doing his thing, it makes guys like JJ, Biggsy and myself just look that little bit slicker.”

Asked how he manages this group of young charges, Murphy said that they are a very different collection compared to the teams he’s played with in the path. 

So he keeps it simple.

“These guys perform much better when there a bit looser, and my job is to keep them smiling and light on their feet.”