The Gold Coast SUNS selected Patrick Murtagh as a Queensland Zone Selection to round out the 2019 NAB AFL Draft period. A Queensland State Champion decathlete, Murtagh has been part of the GC SUNS Academy as an over-age player for the past year in order to hone his AFL skills.
The 19-year-old showed promise throughout the 2019 Academy Series, playing both in the ruck and as a key forward for the SUNS. At 196cm, he turned heads in early 2019 when he recorded an 81cm standing vertical jump at a state combine testing day. Murtagh will spend 2020 continuing to develop his craft to get up to AFL-standard.