There is one primary goal for Nat Fyfe in his third year as Fremantle captain, with the star midfielder hungry to see the club return to its winning ways.
Fyfe heads the 2019 leadership group that brought in two new faces on Thursday, with Joel Hamling and Reece Conca joining existing leaders David Mundy, Michael Walters and Alex Pearce.
Fyfe said he hopes to continually refine how he approaches the captaincy.
“I’m really grateful to the playing group, for them to give me their full support,” Fyfe said.
“I’m looking forward to getting better as a captain, working with the leadership group and hopefully, delivering our club back to a winning season.”
Fyfe said he’s pleased to see two of the club’s newer players take on roles as leaders.
Conca is yet to play for Fremantle since his arrival as a free agent from Richmond in November, while Hamling has impressed during two seasons in the backline since his arrival from the Western Bulldogs.
“I think it shows the impact that Reece has made, considering he’s only been here for three months and the players have already voted him in as a leader,” Fyfe said.
“He’s made a really good connection to the younger demographic on our list and Joel, in particular, has access to the full playing list – he gets on really well with the young guys and the older guys.
“Joel’s a well respected full back in our team and we’re happy to have both of them in our leadership group.”
While Conca missed the second half of Richmond’s 2017 premiership tilt due to injury, the midfielder said he’s looking to bring parts of his experience as a Tiger with him.
“I learnt a lot in my eight years at Richmond and I’m incredibly grateful for that,” Conca said.
“I’m definitely going to convert a lot over here and bring some new things and drive the group going forward.”
Conca admitted that he wasn’t expecting to make an impact at Fremantle this early.
“I’m excited. I’m just incredibly grateful for the opportunity and I’m privileged to have the backing of the boys,” Conca said.
“It really came as a bit of a shock as I’ve only been here for a short period, but like I said, I’m really excited to lead from the front and help make some positive changes.
“I’ve just made a conscious effort to get around as many people as I can and build some strong relationships off the field. Hopefully, that resonates on the field in the season coming up.”
Hamling, who was a part of the Western Bulldogs 2016 premiership team, said he was looking to help bring that success to Fremantle.
“I’m obviously very humbled to be voted in by my peers and I’m extremely excited to get into the role,” Hamling said.
“I’m really looking forward to getting involved. At the end of the day it’s about winning so I really want to start getting some more wins at the club and start moving forward from there.”
With Walters and Pearce, Hamling is one of three Indigenous players that make up 50 per cent of the leadership group.
“It’s exciting, I think we’ve got a good group of Indigenous players, close to the most in the AFL,” Hamling said
“So it’s great to have three guys on the list to help influence the boys as well as in the community as well.”
