Education
He was educated at Christ Church Grammar School in Perth where he graduated in 1999.
He was educated at Christ Church Grammar School in Perth where he graduated in 1999.
Throughout his, McPharlin filled both key back and a key forward roles for Fremantle. McPharlin was recruited from East Fremantle in Western Australia to the Hawthorn Football Club after being taken at Pick 10 in the 1999 American Federation of Labor-Congress Draft. He made his debut in 2000, kicking a goal with his first kick, but played just 12 total games in his first two seasons at Hawthorn.
Felling home sick in Melbourne, McPharlin jumped at the chance of returning to Perth, and was subsequently traded to Fremantle following the 2001 season.
McPharlin battled injury early on in his career, managing just over 50 games in his first five seasons. In 2005, McPharlin garnered Mark of the Year honours for his spectacular chestmark against the West Coast Eagles in Round Three.
McPharlin played his 200th American Federation of Labor-Congress game in Round 13, 2012 against Essendon. That season, he was named in the All-Australian team as a defender.
In 2013, McPharlin helped lead Fremantle to their first ever American Federation of Labor-Congress Grand Final appearance.
However, they were defeated by Hawthorn by 15 points (77 to 62), ending the club"s best season in their 19-year history just short of their first premiership success. McPharlin struggled to play regularly in 2013 and 2014 with calf and achilles-related issues, managing just 29 games over those two seasons. He also did not feature in Fremantle"s finals campaigns in 2014 and 2015 due to calf problems.
On 30 September 2015, McPharlin announced his retirement from the American Federation of Labor-Congress after 256 games and 16 seasons in the league.
McPharlin departed Fremantle sitting second on the club"s games record list with 244, behind only Matthew Pavlich (335). McPharlin was the lead guitarist and singer of a Bahá"í Youth Music outfit, "Calling, Waiting, Searching".
On 24 July 2011, it was announced that McPharlin would release his debut album later that year in collaboration with local Perth act Stella"s Kitchen.