Fremantle senior coach Ross Lyon expects the playing group to stand up and celebrate David Mundy’s career to date with a strong performance in Saturday night’s Len Hall Anzac Tribute Game against the Western Bulldogs.
Mundy will reach the 300-game milestone in the clash and Lyon said that the best way to acknowledge the midfielder is through a full team effort.
“What we need our players to do is to show their respect for David through their actions against the Bulldogs,” Lyon said.
“We can celebrate it with words but we need to celebrate it with deeds.
“It’s important but as always, the emotion is not going to get the four points. We need to commit to our process of preparation and compete against the Bulldogs.”
Lyon said he expects the Bulldogs to be hungry to bounce back from a 44-point loss to Carlton in round five.
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“They’ve got their backs to the wall, they’ll be stung by last week,” Lyon said.
“Particularly their midfield, Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae, Tom Liberatore – they’re great players who I’m expecting a fierce response from and our players should too.
“We know the Western Bulldogs are a really strong contested ball team, sitting in the top echelon in the AFL so we need to get our head around that if we’re going to go again.”
Lyon said he has admired Mundy as a person and a player in his time at Fremantle.
“David’s record speaks for itself,” Lyon said.
“For me, it’s been a privilege to work with David from 2012 through to now. He’s a special person and it’s very hard to do what he’s done, particular with the tyranny of distance being a WA-based player, it just compounds the achievement.
“It’s remarkable and he’s built his life off the field as well. We’ve got a great environment that allows players to build their study. He’s done a marine biology undergraduate degree and he’s on his way to completing his masters.
“I saw him on the Canberra flight (ahead of Fremantle’s round five clash with GWS), he’s studying, got the laptop open and the books out. He’s studying so he’s building his life and providing for his family.
“It’s a wonderful story and he’s a great model for players on our list.”
Lyon said he was pleased with Fremantle’s efforts in the club’s impressive 24-point win against GWS in round five.
But he stressed that Fremantle needs to keep building on a strong start to the season.
“We did a really sharp review. Our contested ball was strong again, particularly in the fourth quarter,” Lyon said.
“We’ve improved in that area so our buy in and our competitive spirit has been strong.
“We’ve certainly been consistent with our effort and our competitiveness. We’re focused on training hard and understanding the opposition and committing to our game style.
“We’ve been in every game and the outcome has been 3-2. Out of our defeats, we’ve learnt what we need to improve.
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t count for anything (on Saturday). The ball bounces and we have to bring it to life again.”
