Such is the improvement of Fremantle’s young midfielders, captain Nat Fyfe said he had a moment at training where he felt the game was passing him by.
While the two-time Brownlow medallist has been a clear star in Fremantle’s pre-season games, he spoke to the AAP about a time he was really tested playing on 20-year-old teammate Caleb Serong.
Cheer on our AFLW stars this Sunday at Fremantle Oval! Get your tickets for Freo v Melbourne
The 2020 NAB AFL Rising Star winner is one of a handful of young mids looking to improve again in 2021, alongside Andrew Brayshaw and Adam Cerra, who tied for third in the 2020 Doig Medal alongside David Mundy.
“I had more than one moment over the pre-season where I thought, ‘oh, maybe I’m on the decline here watching these guys fly around’,” Fyfe told the AAP.
“There was a pre-season training match where Serong had about six possessions on me in about five minutes, and I hadn’t touched it.
“My initial reaction was of self interest about ‘where does this put me?’
“But later that night I looked back and thought, ‘wow this is awesome, we are really in a position now to have some quality players come and do some damage in this competition’.”
Despite the ‘generation gap’, the 29-year-old said there were benefits to being one of Freo’s senior players.
“You blink and you’re the fourth-oldest at the club,” Fyfe said.
“Dave Mundy and myself seem to cop a fair bit of flak on the group chat about different things - a lot of the stuff that we completely miss on social media.
“So there is a generational gap there, which in some ways is good because it keeps us young.”
Fremantle open their season against Melbourne on Saturday at the MCG.
Opposition: Goodwin discusses selection
Carr: Freo's tall options
See the names: Who's in Freo's traveling party?
