A champion AFL defender, the 30-year-old has managed to balance his football career with a pharmacy degree, leading a music band and having a young family.
The father of two, who has been in the leadership group for seven of the past eight years, admitted that his lifestyle could be viewed as a form of leadership by example for his younger teammates and fans.
“While I’m very aware of all my deficiencies and faults, at times, you don’t realise the influence you have around the place,” he said.
“Given the fact that I have been around for a while, I must appreciate that younger players will look up to me as an example and I need to take that responsibility very seriously.”
Coincidentally, the first single from McPharlin’s latest album was titled ‘Leaders’.
However, he said the song was more of a reflection on modern day leadership as a whole rather than his personal experiences in Freo’s leadership group.
“I’ve always been one to observe what’s going on in the community and the idea behind the song was to look at what it takes to be an effective leader in the community,” he said.
“I think for that to occur, there needs to be a strong connection between words and actions.
“Unfortunately, there’s many examples in society where there is a disconnect between these two.
“There must be a strong connection between what you say and what you do.”
