New Fremantle leadership group member Nat Fyfe says he won’t change his actions around the club because of his new role.
The superstar midfielder will join captain Matthew Pavlich, Luke McPharlin, Aaron Sandilands, David Mundy and Lee Spurr as the club’s 2015 leaders.
After two stunning seasons that saw him claim back-to-back Doig Medals, many pundits had predicted Fyfe’s ascension to leadership status at Freo.
Now that he’s there, Fyfe said he’d continue doing what got him selected.
“I think I’ve grown into this role over the past couple of seasons,” he said.
“I won’t change much about my day-to-day at the club, I’ll just have greater awareness knowing that players look to me as a leader.”
The 23-year-old, who debuted in 2010 and has played 92 games, credited exposure in an elite environment for helping him grow.
“Time around a footy club, learning off some pretty good leaders that we already have, and playing a lot of games of footy in different scenarios, that experience is something you can’t buy,” Fyfe said.
He added it gave him pride to know his peers had selected him for the role.
“It’s certainly a great vote of confidence from the other players that voted me in,” Fyfe said.
“There’s new responsibilities and challenges, but I’m really looking forward to taking them on.”
Pavlich, who will lead the team for a ninth consecutive season, said Fyfe had blossomed into a young leader on the field.
“I think his on-field actions really stand for themselves, he’s a real driver of the team on the field on game day,” he said.
“I think we’ve seen growth off the field as well with his engagement, his knowledge of the game plan and his execution of that on the field.
“His ability to drag people and influence people off the field has been strong.
“It’s great for Nathan, and that change in demographic in the leadership group is important.”