In front of a sell-out crowd of 1300 people at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre’s BellVue Ballroom, Fyfe finished strongly to win the Medal on 263 votes, ahead of midfield teammate David Mundy on 246 and defender Michael Johnson on 239.
Last year’s Doig Medallist Ryan Crowley finished fourth on 238 votes.
Fyfe was the runner-up in 2011 behind captain Matthew Pavlich, in just his second season of AFL Football.
But the 2013 Doig Medal belonged to the midfield sensation, who put his troublesome shoulder issues of 2012 behind him to win an award many had earmarked for him since his breakout season two years ago.
At the conclusion of every game this season five members of the Fremantle coaching staff, including senior coachRoss Lyon, gave every player votes on a 1-5 basis. Top votes are awarded for what is regarded as an elite performance.
Fyfe polled votes in all 22 games he played in this season, including 15 or more on 10 occasions.
He entered the finals series in second place on 213 votes, 10 behind 2013 All Australian Michael Johnson, who polled in 21 of his 23 games this season.
But Johnson missed the club’s Qualifying Final, while Fyfe polled 50 of a possible 75 votes over the club’s three September games to finish over the top of the field.
Runner-up Mundy, who won the 2010 Doig Medal, also enjoyed a strong finals’ campaign, including the most votes in the Grand Final. He polled in all but one of the 22 games he played in 2013.
Lee Spurr’s superb season in defence was reflected by a fifth-placed finish. The 26-year-old also took out the Best Clubman award to add to his 2012 Beacon Award as the club’s best first or second-year player.
The Beacon Award, which is proudly sponsored by Programmed, contains similar criteria to the AFL’s Rising Star award in that players are eligible to win it in their first or second year of AFL football provided they have played 10 games or less in their debut season.
Unlike the Rising Star, however, there is no age limit on Fremantle’s Beacon Award.
Second-year player Cameron Sutcliffe was awarded the 2013 Beacon Award after he played 19 games, including all three finals. The 21-year-old played four games in his debut season, including three as a substitute.
The club also added two playing and two non-playing Life Members.
Crowley and Johnson were inducted after they played their 150th games during the 2013 season.
Crowley also took home the prestigious Players’ Award, which is given to the player who was deemed to have best reflected the values set by the playing group at the start of the season
Club doctor, Dr Ken Withers, and senior physiotherapist, Dr Jeffrey Boyle, were acknowledged with Life Membership for their service to the club.
They have been at Fremantle since its inception in 1994 and join former presidents Ross Kelly and Rick Hart as the only non-playing Life Members at the Fremantle Dockers.
Doig Medal Top 10
1st Nathan Fyfe 263
2nd David Mundy 246
3rd Michael Johnson 239
4th Ryan Crowley 238
5th Lee Spurr 226
6th Chris Mayne 219
7th Michael Barlow 216
8th Hayden Ballantyne 192
9th Michael Walters 186
10th Tendai Mzungu 180
