Fremantle is placing an emphasis on returning strongly after the bye in preparation for Sunday’s clash with Brisbane at Optus Stadium, according to David Mundy.
While playing after the bye is often considered an advantage, this season six of 10 AFL teams coming out of a bye have lost against teams that played the week prior.
In round 13, Fremantle defeated Carlton following a six-day break with the Blues having 15-days off between games.
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“Not many teams have won off the bye so we’re really conscious of that,” Mundy said.
“We like to get back into it really early in the week and it’s one of those things, where we try and stimulate the body to get back into the rigor of training as quickly as we can.
“It will be an interesting week on the track and, hopefully, we can continue our pre-bye form.”
As one of six Fremantle players to play every game this season, the 32-year-old still feels at peak fitness and said it was more important to check out mentally.
“The body’s still willing and feeling quite good at the moment,” Mundy said.
“I think the byes and the breaks really help maintain that level of freshness and explosiveness within games and within the season so physically, it was really nice.
“But I think it was more beneficial mentally. It was good to get out of the footy club and mentally freshen up.”
Mundy said the break was just as much for his wife as it was for him, taking his two sons away to visit former teammate Paul Duffield while his wife Sally looked after six-month old daughter Edie at home.
“I made my way down to Darkan to see ‘Duff’ on his farm so it was good to catch up,” Mundy said.
“I took my two boys down and gave my wife a bit of a break from them. It was a good trip, we did a lot of things that started with the explanation ‘don’t tell your mother’ so we had a good time.”
With an increased role in the forward line, Mundy has kicked 11 goals from 13 games and is on track to beat his previous personal best of 15 goals in a season set in 2009.
The midfielder said he’s enjoying his new job up front.
“Absolutely, especially when the team’s playing nicely and the ball’s coming in a lot, it’s really handy,” Mundy said.
“The growth we’ve seen in guys in all divisions throughout this year and last year has been really good to see and it’s great to be a part of that.”
Sunday's game will be celebrated as Foundation Round, acknowledging the work of the Fremantle Dockers Foundation and their affiliated charity partners.
One of these partners is Coastcare, a cause close to the heart of Mundy.
"It’s great to get that message out there, especially at the moment with the plastic bag ban, it’s quite topical so any avenue where we can help raise awareness and get the message out to the greater population is very beneficial," Mundy said.
"I’m currently studying marine science at Murdoch University so I have a bit of a passion and interest in this area.
"Clearly there’s a lot of humans on the planet and a lot of plastic. What was once considered a wonder material that never decays, is now turning into a big problem. If all individuals can do a little bit to limit their impact through their plastic use and recycling – the world will be a better place."
