AFL
  1. Home
  2. Sport
  3. AFL

Did the Fremantle Dockers make the right choice appointing Nat Fyfe as captain?

After months of speculation, the Fremantle Dockers finally named Nat Fyfe as their new captain on Tuesday.

WAtoday understands the club was going to pick the man to lead their side last month, but held off doing so until it got a firm commitment from Fyfe on his future given the superstar midfielder will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Up Next

Kade Stewart wins it for the Hawks

null
Video duration
01:30

More AFL Real Footy Videos

null
Video duration
01:22

Nat Fyfe plans as Freo captain

null
Video duration
01:30

Kade Stewart wins it for the Hawks
null
Video duration
01:33

AFLW plays of the round
null
Video duration
01:40

Home invasion leaves Essendon players ...
Tiana Ernst
Video duration
02:33

Living two lives
More videos

Nat Fyfe plans as Freo captain

Fremantle Dockers new captain Nat Fyfe opens up on his plans as the club's new skipper for the 2017 AFL season.

Former Dockers great Paul Hasleby said it was "the right time" for the Dockers to hand the Brownlow Medallist the captaincy.

However, with ongoing speculation about Fyfe's future at the club – he is still yet to re-sign – is the decision to give the 25-year-old the captaincy the right move?

Related Content

Fairfax Media football writer Justin Rake - a mad Dockers tragic  - and WAtoday's grumpy old man Brendan Foster - a sycophantic follower of the Eagles - examine the Dockers decision to choose Fyfe as their captain.

Brendan gives 'Fyfe reasons' why Fremantle should have looked elsewhere for leadership while Justin gives 'Fyfe reasons' why Nat was the right man for the job.

Advertisement

'Fyfe reasons' why picking Nat as captain was the wrong move:

  1. There were reports out of Fremantle Oval last year that Fyfe spat the dummy when he was overlooked for the captaincy. Do the Dockers really want a bloke leading them on field who might chuck a wobbly when things don't go his way?

  2. Fyfe might not even be at the club after 2017. Imagine the embarrassment for Fremantle if Fyfe succumbs to the lure of a big-money offer from a Victorian side. Even if Fyfe does a Dangerfield and delivers a career-best season in 2017, if the captain leaves after just a year at the helm it's not a good look.

  3. It's no secret Fyfe doesn't get on with certain players at the club and by all reports is a perfectionist on and off the field. If his teammates don't show the same endeavour and attack on the ball, the 25-year-old doesn't strike me as someone who would get his message across without sounding arrogant. If he doesn't have the backing of his teammates there is a risk he could alienate the players and things could get ugly quickly, especially if the Dockers have another shocker of a year.

  4. Fyfe could turn out to be a natural-born leader in the same mould as former Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge. But great players don't always make great captains and if his form starts to drop, Fyfe will retreat into his shell and the team will be without a leader. The club should have just shown faith in David Mundy. The midfield plodder is a workhorse on the field and has a heart as big as Phar Lap.

  5. Fyfe is notoriously injury prone. In his Brownlow Medal-winning season Fyfe only managed to play 18 games, while he has topped the 20-game mark only once back in his second season. Matthew Pavlich consistently played every game - aside from when Ross Lyon rested players the round before finals - as captain, while David Mundy is also much more durable. Clubs want a captain who can lead the way on the field, not from the sidelines.

'Fyfe reasons' why Nat is the man to take Fremantle forward:

  1. Fremantle fans will feel a lot more secure about Fyfe's long-term future at Fremantle now that he has been given the captaincy. Surely it's just a matter of time before Fyfe puts pen to paper on a new deal now he's assumed the top job. Also, if the club hadn't given him the honour and he left, fans would have been left wondering what if.
  2. Fyfe's youth is a rallying point for the club. Mundy is a class act, and will always be respected at Fremantle, but he's 32 years old and Fyfe only turns 26 this season. After the disaster of 2016, the club needs to be thinking long term now. Pavlich was outstanding in the role after taking it on in his mid-20s, let's hope Fyfe can do the same.
  3. He already leads by example on the field. How many times have football fans watched the boy from Lake Grace drag his side over the line, or be the lone standout in a dismal loss? Fyfe's onfield performances seem to raise a level when his team needs him and the ability to stand up when he's needed is exactly what you want from your captain.
  4. David Mundy did an admirable job stepping into what was always going to be an interim captaincy, but the weight of the role appeared to impact his form. Giving Fyfe the role, who was hungry for the extra responsibility, will free up Mundy to get back to his best as a classy ball-winning midfielder and allow him to cement his status as a club legend.
  5. Fyfe said in his first press conference as captain that his appointment is "symbolic of a new era for the side". And, with the club moving into swanky new training facilities this season and playing at a new stadium from next season, he makes a good point. It's time for a fresh start for the club to forget the horrors of 2016 and Fyfe is the superstar player and leader the club needs to take it into the future.

0 comments