Perhaps what is more important than a favourable result is a third Hawke's Bay team trying to pave a path to cup glory - Bluewater Napier City Rovers are the flagship side and the Wanderers are the other.
It harks back to the halcyon days when Taradale FC also were in the mix and that signalled how strong the code was in the province.
Murphy, a Napier Boys High School final-year pupil, believes it's vital to stick to their attacking, possession-based game plan.
"Matt knows what he's doing so they'll be a good side," says the 17-year-old centre-mid, who came under the tutelage of Hastings when he was Dunning's assistant coach and played occasionally two years ago before employment opportunities took him to Gisborne.
Murphy, who followed in the footsteps of elder brother, Jake, 24, a striker in the side, believes they can foot it at the cup level. It was from the backyard to the 5th grade in 2005 for the son of Jo and Kevin Murphy, who is in his third season with NBHS First XI and was part of the Marist side who won the club's national bragging rights in Napier last winter.
The Hawke's Bay United youth player, who can read the game from the engine room and has a penchant for scoring, says although they won only one game in summer it was a good experience in his quest to see how far he can take the game.
Murphy has designs on attending Victoria University to pursue a degree in commerce but that is subject to changes.
Dunning says for the young to play in the cup "is massive for the club".
"We went into the Fed Cup [knockout] in the last two years but this is something different - a chance to win to go into the first round and, hopefully, play a Central League side. So this is what the cup's about, like the FA Cup at home really."
The Englishman says Thistle will be favourites but Marist will hopefully "make the pitch big and win".
The hosts' average age is 18 with 20-plus players through the spine as a defender, midfielder and a striker.
Dunning says it's a time not only to showcase the club but also to reflect where they wish to go.
Marist have lost attacker Jorge Akers to the Blues in Central League with the best wishes but they intend to keep developing and retaining players as much as possible, although tertiary education is inevitable.
Hastings says he and Dunning coached Marist together and sat their B licences at the same time and harbour similar philosophies on how the game should be played.
The loss to Wanderers was "hard to explain" and a "strange game" after they led 1-0 and controlled the tempo for 25 minutes.
"It was a great learning curve for our players," he says, emphasising it's a major three-year project for him and not just turning up at a park.
Hastings doesn't haveany favourites today, based on the young blood in both sides.
"There's a proud history of Chatham Cup in Gisborne when Gisborne City won it in the 80s. You've got to win or you're out of it because there's no second chance."
He says it's all about giving his youthful squad of 23 time on the park but a few older heads in captain Kieran Venema, Corey Adams and Josh Harris, who have soaked up the Bluewater Stadium atmosphere in their careers, will guide the newbies through it.
SQUADS
■ NAPIER MARIST: Ryan Todd (GK), Jonty Underhill, Jackson Durrington, Dylan Barron, Dylan du Rossi, Dylan Mackirdy, Ruben Thurston (c), Ethan Martin, Ben Lack, Josh Murphy, Dan Baxter, Harry Mason, Jake Murphy, Mason Jones, Mitchell Dick, Tai Barham, Wilson McCullough.
Coach: Jamie Dunning.
■ GISBORNE THISTLE: Ryan Majstrović (GK), Olly Tilley, Matt McVey, Kieran Venema (c), Kieran Ryan, Liam Ryan, Jake Robertson, Malachi Scammell, Corey Adams, Josh Adams, Malcolm Marfell, Josh Harris, Nick Land, David Salmon, Ander Batarrita, Mark Baple (RGK).
Coach: Matt Hastings.
