Catherine Murphy has been a sports reporter for close to two decades but is still in the "pinch me" stage of her career.
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She and fellow ABC sports presenter Tony Armstrong, a Logie winner, are the co-hosts of new sports entertainment show Monday's Experts on ABC and ABC iview. Joined by a panel of sports journalists and comedians, they are covering the biggest stories and the funniest and most awe-inspiring sporting moments of the week.
"I am so lucky. Some days, still, I can't believe I get to get up and talk about sport for work," she says.
"Can you believe they gave us a show with 'experts' in the title? We can't!"
Comedians Broden Kelly and Lizzy Hoo are regular panellists on the show.
Murphy started her career in the sports department of Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ, before moving to Australia in 2006 to work with Fox Sports. In 2018 she joined the ABC and has been the sports presenter for ABC's News channel and News Radio, as well as presenting regular sports segments on ABC Radio Melbourne's Breakfast and Drive programs.
Armstrong grew up in rural NSW and is a proud Barranbinya man. He was drafted straight out of school to the Adelaide Crows AFL team and after two years with the Swans he transferred to Collingwood, where he played out his football career.
In 2019 he became the first Indigenous person to call live-action Aussie Rules football on commercial radio. He also appeared on The Marngrook Footy Show and became a regular panellist on the online panel show The Colour of Your Jumper, and hosted football chat show Yokayi Footy, co-produced by the AFL and NITV.
Armstrong joined the ABC in 2020, presenting sport on the ABC News channel and commentating for Grandstand AFL on ABC Sport.
Murphy believes sport is an important form of escapism in a world seemingly dominated by "bad news".
"I can't believe that I get to wake up on a Monday morning and go to work and talk about sport with my good friend Tony, and also the fact that we have other journalists - and comedians - coming on the show who bring a new or different insight.
"I just love it. The news cycle is such a tough place to be at the moment, there isn't a lot of good news globally and it's a hard watch, and I always felt that the sports bulletin should really provide that escapism for everyone watching.
"It's important to consume news and to know what's going on in the world but it's equally important to have that escapism, and I like to think that's what our show is, because Mondays aren't easy, right?
"We hope that we provide a lighthearted end to Mondays, that sign that you made it though the day and now you can have a bit of escapism and a bit of a laugh too."
Guests on Monday's Experts take part in a darts competition. Murphy has been tasked with scoring each game.
"There's a bit of an issue with that because I'm not good at maths. Anyone who knows me, knows that telling me to do maths under pressure on TV is just not a good idea. We usually have to adjust the scores during the week [laughs]."
