A call on whether or not Nat Fyfe will captain Fremantle this yr could possibly be delayed till the eve of spherical one, with the membership ready to trace him by pre-season earlier than making the decision.
It remains to be undecided whether or not or not Fyfe will lead the Dockers into his seventh yr as membership captain, with midfield star Andrew Brayshaw main a gaggle of contenders to take the job off his arms.
The two-time Brownlow Medallist performed simply seven occasions in 2022 amid a horror damage run and will look to shed the burden of the captaincy with a spotlight to taking part in extra common soccer this season.
Fyfe can have a big say in whether or not or not he leads the membership once more, however that call isn’t anticipated any time quickly.
“The scenario around the leadership and the captain this year is making sure what’s best for Nathan going forward and whether the burden of being the captain is good for his footy,” coach Justin Longmuir advised SEN.
“The amount of injuries he had last year, that was a really tough season on him as a player and as a skipper, so we need to make sure we get that right and we probably need a little bit more time to work through that in terms of seeing how he tracks through the pre-season.
“We will go through that process later in the pre-season and we will see what it flushes out, but we will need to make sure what’s best for the club and what’s best for Fyfey going forward, with his footy and the impact he can have on the team.”
According to Longmuir, the Dockers are centered on making a depth of management, quite than counting on only one determine head, with Caleb Serong and Alex Pearce additionally thought of real contenders for the captaincy as quickly as this yr.
He says he hopes the membership doesn’t want Fyfe to tackle the function once more this yr, if that’s what he chooses.
“Hopefully not. I’ve said it a few times, we want to build a depth of leadership and we don’t want to rely on too few,” Longmuir mentioned.
“With Dave Mundy, who offered so much to the leadership of our football club leaving we need people to step up.
“Really, the captain is just one person, we need a lot of players to support the captain and whoever the captain is needs that support from the playing group and we need that depth of leadership within our group.
“That’s been a real positive throughout the pre-season so far, the player-to-player conversations that are going on, the communication on-field and off-field has been really strong.”
Fremantle nice and The West Australian columnist Paul Hasleby mentioned final yr there was no apparent alternative for the function, however that Pearce ought to be critically thought of.
Pearce was the stand-in skipper whereas Fyfe battled an array of damage setbacks final season in an extended stint on the sidelines.
“You’ve got Andrew Brayshaw, the people will think it’s obvious, you’ve got Caleb Serong, who David Mundy has spoken about at length saying that he could be the next one, and then you’ve got the current captain in Alex Pearce, who will toss the coin and also give the team instructions before the game this week,” Hasleby mentioned.
“Personally, I think next year it may be Alex Pearce that holds onto that position and is the captain of Fremantle in his own right.”
Fourth-year defender Hayden Young advised The West Australian on Sunday he has ambitions of taking up Mundy’s function within the membership’s management group.
“It’s certainly something I’ve been thinking about a little bit more over the past six months,” he mentioned.
“Particularly after last season where I was able to stay fit and be on the park every week. I sort of started to focus on others rather than just myself.”
