Giants' Ward feels for Murphy after injury Australian Football Jon Tuxworth Greater Western Sydney Giant Callan Ward's "heart sank" when he watched former Western Bulldogs teammate Robert Murphy suffer a serious knee injury against Hawthorn on Sunday. 
Ward watched the game on television and was shattered when Murphy, who he played alongside at the Bulldogs for three years before joining the Giants in 2012, was carried off the field late in agony.
Scans on Monday confirmed the initial fears Murphy's season is over after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the three- point loss to the defending premiers.
"It's very disappointing, I was watching the game live on TV and my heart sank a bit when I saw it," Giants co-captain Ward said.
"He's still a good friend of mine and everyone respects him as a footballer and a person.
"It's really sad to see a guy who's 33 years old and in the back end of his career [get injured].
"He's playing for a team who have shown plenty of promise.
"I texted him last night [Sunday] to tell him all the best and my thoughts are with him, it's very disheartening and sad to see.
"I reckon he'll go for the LARS[ligament augmentation and reconstruction system] surgery and hope to get back later in the season."
Ward's Giants will be looking for a second win in three weeks at Canberra's Manuka Oval this week against Port Adelaide, having upset Geelong in Canberra to secure a first win for the year.
However they were outgunned by a physical Sydney Swans 14.9 (93) to 10.8 (68) at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.
Midfielder Ward said holding their own against Cats stars Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood at the coalface was critical in the Geelong win.
But they were well beaten by a hardened Swans midfield and winning the hard ball will be a priority against Port Adelaide.
The Power are expected to welcome back small forward ChadWingard and midfielder Hamish Hartlett from minor hamstring injuries.
"It was a pretty high-pressure game against the Cats and the Swans was the same but we just couldn't go with them, especially late," Ward said.
"It was disappointing to end like that but at the same time I think we're playing pretty good footy, we just have to start getting four [strong] quarters instead of two or three.
"On the weekend against the Swans it's probably why we lost, their midfield got on top of us.
"You hear people talk about how important contested ball is and we're no different. The base of our game should be off winning the hard ball and we can work our game on that."
Ward added their efficiency kicking into their attacking 50-metre zone also needs improvement.
"We need to be smarter with our ball use going forward," he said.
"The last few weeks it's cost us a bit bombing it forward or hitting lead-ups which aren't really there and turning it over."