Nat Fyfe has trained exclusively as a forward this pre-season, but that doesn’t mean the Freo star will spend 100 per cent of his time up front in 2023, according to Senior Coach Justin Longmuir.
Longmuir said the two-time Brownlow Medallist is using this pre-season to develop his forward craft, highlighting his impressive efforts in an intense training session on Wednesday.
“We got up to 80 minutes today, it was pretty solid,” Longmuir told SEN WA.
“It’s great to see him (Fyfe) out there this time of the year and it’s great to see him being able to get out there and work on his forward craft.
“That gives him the opportunity to sit down with (assistant coach) Jaymie Graham and review it and get better. He’s really invested in learning that part of the game.
Nat Fyfe x James Aish 🤝
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“Clearly there might be times where we need him in the midfield, he’s got 12 years of knowledge of midfield craft he can lean on when he goes in there, so (this pre-season) is a good opportunity to spend a lot of time forward.
“He did all of the 80 minutes today (as a forward) and he was one of the dominant forwards in the last 40 minutes of the game. Hopefully, he takes a lot of confidence out of that.”
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Longmuir also gave a positive update on a number of Fremantle talls who, like Fyfe, are looking to have more game time in 2023 after injury interrupted seasons.
Key forward Matt Taberner, who played 13 games last season, kicked two goals on Wednesday in a promising performance.
Key defender Joel Hamling has also impressed after playing just one game in 2021 and in 2022.
“Tabs is going well, he’s had a great pre-season,” Longmuir said.
“He’s eating up the work. He did all the match sim today and is tracking well. He got on the end of a couple today, which is nice for his confidence.
“The ankle (Hamling) hurt a couple of years is probably never going to be 100 per cent, but he’s been able to do a lot of work to get it the best he can.
“He’s gaining confidence in his body and also his defensive craft. I haven’t seen too many of our forwards kick goals on him this year. It will be nice to have him back.”
Ruck / forward recruit Luke Jackson has been one of the standouts in match sim, and Longmuir feels the 21-year-old will have more opportunities to play to his strengths once competitive games start.
“He has so much improvement left in his game, that’s exciting for us as a Club and coaching group, to bring someone in with so much talent,” Longmuir said.
“(In match sims) we don’t necessarily jump into each other at centre bounce or around the ground in ruck contests.
“That’s one of his strengths, so once we get into the interclub and play the two Adelaide teams, we’ll free him up and allow him to play to his strengths more.
“I couldn’t be more impressed with the way he’s going about it.”
