McPharlin was recruited from East Fremantle in Western Australia to the Hawthorn Football Club after being taken at Pick 10 in the 1999 AFL Draft.

Feeling home sick in Melbourne, McPharlin jumped at the chance of returning to Perth, and was subsequently traded to Fremantle following the 2001 season.

In 2013, McPharlin helped lead Fremantle to their first ever AFL Grand Final appearance, where they were defeated by Hawthorn by 15 points, ending the club's best season in their 19-year history just short of their first premiership success.

[9] 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.

He was recently interviewed in the Mind and Soul Matters Podcast[13] where he talks candidly about the struggles he faced early in his football career, and also about his beliefs and faith.