Nat Fyfe feels pride in seeing how well Fremantle’s tall forwards are developing after the veteran spent significant time with the group at training over the summer.

The 19-year-old Jye Amiss, 20-year-old Josh Treacy and 21-year-old Luke Jackson combined for 23 goals in the Club’s wins against Hawthorn, Sydney, Geelong and Narrm.

Fyfe was slated to play significant forward time in 2023, but in his recent appearances the veteran has been utilised back in the roles where he has played his best football.

Despite playing limited minutes in three of his last four games since returning from a plantar fascia injury, Fyfe has attended the fourth-most centre bounces out of Freo’s midfielders in that time.

While this has been in part due to Fyfe being able to slot seamlessly into the role that saw him win Brownlow Medals in 2015 and 2019, Senior Coach Justin Longmuir said it was also due to the forwardline’s development.

“(Fyfe’s role) will fluctuate and change a little bit, so we want to give him a look at both areas,” Longmuir said following Walyalup’s win against Geelong in round 10.

“With our tall forwards, Jye (Amiss), ‘JT’ (Josh Treacy) and ‘Jacko’ (Luke Jackson) playing really well, we probably feel like it’s not a necessity to have him (Fyfe) down forward to give us a contest.

“We’re getting a contest on the ball and helping us get it in there is probably more important, so I thought he did that.”

Fyfe, who announced a two-year contract extension on Thursday, said he was particularly pleased with Amiss’ development.

Amiss was nominated for the Rising Star award after his three goals against Narrm, and he currently leads Walyalup’s goalkicking with 19 from 10 games.

“I am (proud), Jye lived with me last year and we built a really good relationship,” Fyfe said.

“He taught me about country music and I taught him about getting out of bed before 8am.

“He had a tough year last year with his injury and missed a lot of footy but just seeing him now, going on with his career, it fills me with pride.

“He’s got a long way to go and I’ll continue to help mentor and guide him through that.”

Fyfe said consistency would be key for the young trio.

“We’re getting a little more consistency out of our talls, we’ve strung some good games together,” Fyfe said

“It was never as bad as it seemed at the start of the year and it’s probably not as good as it seems right now we’ve won (our past) four games.

“We need to be balanced in our approach and continue to work on improving, getting that chemistry and at the moment we’ve got good availability which is helping. I’ll play a role wherever I’m most needed.”

Fremantle will be without the suspended Jaeger O’Meara when they return from the bye against Richmond on Saturday 10 June at Optus Stadium.

Fyfe said the depth of the midfield would be crucial in the second half of the season.

“We’ve got good depth now particularly with Jaeger and Will Brodie adding to that hard edge. Maybe that’s what we lacked earlier in the season,” Fyfe said.

“We’re developing the depth, so when we do lose one or two players, that’s what makes you a quality midfield.

“I wouldn’t say we’re in the best couple of teams in the comp in terms of our consistency at the moment, but I think with (assistant coach) Joel Corey leading us, we can definitely aim to be that in the very near future.”

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