As a 12-year-old, Gold Coast Academy AFL Draft prospect Jai Murray won a paddleboarding state championship.
Murray represented North Burleigh Surf Life Saving Club regularly at paddleboarding races until the age of 12, with that victory the culmination of years of hard work.
The Queenslander spent most days at the club as a kid, juggling rugby and footy commitments around his paddleboarding, which was introduced by his Dad, who has a background in surf lifesaving.
Jai's brother Taj, one of the Suns Academy's most promising 2027 AFL Draft prospects, remains heavily involved in Surf Life Saving, with the water a great location for the pair to bond and compete.
When Murray transitioned into high school at Palm Beach Currumbin State School, he had to make a choice, and footy won out – but he's carried plenty of benefits from his grounding in the water.
“It's just, it's completely different aerobic fitness,” Murray told Craft of the Draft of paddleboarding.
“People that have done it would know exactly what I'm talking about - It's kind of hard to explain, but the cardiovascular fitness is so good for you and the trainings we would sometimes do in the creek were so hard.
“It was really enjoyable to look back on, I spent my school holidays there growing up and have got some great friendships so still go down every now and then.”
"The training was pretty brutal which has set me up well for (footy)."
Younger brother Taj is also heavily involved with watersports, juggling a fledgling footy career, where he represented Gold Coast's Academy in 2025, with his love for surf lifesaving.
Juggling two sports is relatively common for prospects, but the competing sport being paddleboarding is unheard of, yet perfectly on-brand with his archetypal Gold Coast personality.
“I got to travel to Perth when I was 12 (for footy) and that made my decision very clear and easy,” Murray said, with rugby league also on his radar.
“There was no opportunity for rugby league to do that at the time, and travelling for football was amazing and it's a 360-degree game which I really enjoyed.”
The benefits of Murray's exposure to high-level conditioning at a young age came to the fore during his pre-season with the Suns' AFL squad ahead of 2025 where he learned about the lifestyle of professional athletes.
Currently, the Suns likely won't have the points to match a potential bid that looks set to come for Murray in the second round, given the expectation of two top five bids for Zeke Uwland and Dylan Patterson.
The Suns have, however, taken a liking to his skillset throughout 2025 and played a key role in his development on and off the field after he played a VFL game in 2024 alongside his Academy outings.
For all the hype around the club's two top-five talents, it was Murray who captured more attention than any in pre-season for Gold Coast.
Five games into 2025, Murray was flying, named in the best in three matches, and particularly dominant in the Suns' trio of matches early in 2025 against fellow Academy sides.
He then averaged 23 disposals and eight tackles at Coates League level before a foot injury put a frustrating early end to his season.
Murray has worked closely with Queensland-based Olympic coach and former Australian track and field athlete Brett Robinson for the past four years.
It has developed Murray's speed and ability to drive from the contest, which shone through in the middle this year and complemented his repeat running efforts and poise with the footy.
“He was really solid as a running defender, but his midfield work was excellent this year – he found a heap of the footy, was so damaging with his kicking inside 50 and hit the scoreboard himself as well,” Suns Academy coach Jarrod Cotton said.
“He's probably been the biggest jumper in terms of where he started the year to where he finished and was arguably our best player.”
Quirkily, Murray doesn't list himself as a supporter of any AFL side, but knows plenty of Suns through his involvement in the talent pathway, most notably Sam Clohesy, whom he draws inspiration from on-field.
He's viewed as a player who will likely start his career as a disciplined, hard-running winger or could reprise, before potentially moving into a midfield role.
“He was really solid as a running defender, but his midfield work was excellent this year – he found a heap of the footy, was so damaging with his kicking inside 50, hit the scoreboard himself as well," Cotton said.
"He's probably been the biggest jumper in terms of where he started the year to where he finished and was arguably our best player (throughout the Coates League this year).”
Regardless of whether the Suns match a bid and where he ends up, Murray is ready to embrace life at the next level.
“I think from a character standpoint, I think I'd offer my competitiveness and just desire to get better each day,” Murray said.
“I don't like losing and I'm a very competitive person, so I don't want to get to the end of my career thinking ‘I wish I did this or that'.
