Nathan Murphy has needed a break more than most people.

Appearing to seriously injure his ankle in Collingwood’s Round 21 clash with Hawthorn, the defender remarkably suited up in the black and white again the next week.

He got through that game against the Cats unscathed, only to hurt his glute against Brisbane in the penultimate Round of the home and away season and be ruled out for the Essendon game.

So, after a torrid run with injury in the past month, Murphy has enjoyed the past week off, just as he did in the pre-finals bye in the lead-up to the Qualifying Final.

“I think towards this time of the year your body gets pretty banged up and probably the way I play it just takes a bit of a toll on me, both a mental toll and a physical toll,” he said.

“I’ve been really grateful we’ve had that week off before the finals because it’s allowed me to get back to feeling really refreshed so I’m all sweet now.

“A lot of the time I’m just a bit of a sook so I don’t really help myself but I’m just really excited.”

His return for the win over the Dees was crucial, given Murphy’s standing in the Pies’ defensive unit.

Having been a permanent fixture down there for three seasons now, Murphy said he hadn’t played in a side that had gelled so well together.

“We know we can trust each other to be in the exact position we need to be at the right time,” he said.

“If you think you’re one on one with someone we’ll always have someone coming across and helping, whether that’s on the ground or in the air.

“We just work so well in a back seven that we really trust what each other is able to do.”

Murphy said skipper Darcy Moore had been key to that, not changing his style as a leader in the backline since taking on the top job.

“The best thing about Darc is he’s just stayed himself and he hasn’t done anything more, it’s why we chose him as a captain in the first place,” he said.

“He didn’t need to do anymore than what he was already doing, and we have our vice-captain next to him and we have a lot of other boys who are really strong leaders who are up and coming leaders like Isaac Quaynor and John Noble.

“It’s been a really strong group that knows each other inside out and we’re not afraid to hold each other accountable which the best thing about our group.”

While enjoying the extra week off, Murphy said it had been tough not knowing who the Pies’ opponents would be all last week.

But now the clash with the Giants is locked in, the 23-year-old has set his sights on beating a GWS team full of confidence.

“That’s what has nearly killed us this week, it was just training and not knowing who or when we were playing so that’s probably been what’s been the hardest bit but it is nice now that we’ve got a target and we can start focussing on them as a team,” he said.

“They’ve played everywhere as well, I think that’s been the crazy thing is they’ve gone to Adelaide., they’ve come here and beat St. Kilda.

“They are very good at taming crowds and playing in different arenas.”

And though they have taken down the Saints and the Power, Murphy thinks the Magpie Army will be a different story for them on Friday night. 

“GWS have tamed some crowds but I reckon they’ll struggle to tame the Magpie Army, especially when there’s 90,000 of them there,” he said.

“We speak about it a lot, but what the crowd do for us is crazy and they give us so much.

“It is like the 19^th player out there and they honestly get us so excited for football no matter what game it is, they’re always turning up.

“It’s a great advantage that we need to utilise as much as we can.”