David Mundy achieved a first in his 353-game career, lifting the RAC Derby trophy as acting captain following Fremantle’s 15-point win on Sunday.
Speaking to The Final Siren podcast with Freo superfans ‘Duck and Oz’, Mundy spoke about some of the different messaging he delivered to the group throughout the game.
After a fiery opening term, Mundy got the group together just before the second quarter got underway, passing on a message from umpire Dean Margetts.
“There was obviously a little bit of argy-bargy in the first quarter, and Dean Margetts actually came over and grabbed me as the captain for the day and said the boys just needed to calm down,” Mundy said.
“He said the same thing to Luke Shuey, the West Coast captain. He said to just tell the boys to calm (saying it was) crossing the line a little bit. I've never had that from an umpire before, so I thought it was prudent to pass that on.”
At three quarter time, he said the midfield group had to regroup as West Coast looked to take control of the contest on the back of a strong Nic Naitanui performance.
“They were coming and really threw caution to the wind, particularly around the stoppages they got moving a fair bit and Nic Nat started getting on top and hitting it around a little bit,” Mundy said.
“At three quarter time, the mids in particular had a chat to each other saying we need to stick our body work and be much better on the ground and we need a bit more from our ruckmen as well.
“We (went on to) create a bit more of a contest and I think that the whole team really stood up in that last quarter and felt like we were on top of the game.”
Mundy paid tribute to the biggest Fremantle home crowd since 2019, with 51,692 in attendance at Optus Stadium making his Club record-equalling 353rdAFL game an ‘incredible’ experience.
It was the only RAC Derby played with a crowd in 2021 after West Coast’s home derby was shut out to fans in round seven.
“Tonight was an incredible feeling. It's been a long time since we've had a crowd that big,” Mundy said.
“Our first RAC Derby this year was an empty stadium. That was bizarre, it was so strange, even a hostile West Coast crowd is preferable to an empty stadium.
“Our supporters and fanbase have been through so much in the last 18 months with COVID interruptions and lockouts and things like that.
“I think it means a lot for everyone.”
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