With fond memories of celebrating his 300th milestone game with a win against the Western Bulldogs in 2019, David Mundy said it was incredibly important to the group to do the same for Nat Fyfe’s 200th AFL game.
Freo were resounding 62-point winners against Hawthorn at UTAS Stadium on Saturday, to claim their second win on a three-game road trip as well as their second victory in Launceston in 12 attempts.
Fyfe became the 11th player to play 200 games for Fremantle, and incredibly Mundy has been on the field for every one of those milestone games.
As well as Fyfe and Mundy, the other players to reach 200 games for the club are Stephen Hill, Matthew Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands, Luke McPharlin, Peter Bell, Shaun McManus, Michael Johnson, Shane Parker and Antoni Grover.
Nat Fyfe the 11th person to play 200 games for FREM
— Swamp (@sirswampthing) July 10, 2021
David Mundy on the ground as a player in the 200th game for all 11
@freodockers #AFLHawksFreo @AFL
“Since the beginning of my time in football, we’ve always spoken about the big milestone games, really playing for the milestone player,” Mundy said.
“I thought tonight everyone brought their A-game. It was a really even performance from all the boys. It’s fantastic to get a win like that in Nat’s 200th.”
Fyfe put up a performance that was fitting with his legacy as a two-time Brownlow Medallist, racking up 31 disposals, two highlight-worthy marks and a goal to lead Freo’s midfield in the comfortable victory.
Mundy said that the words of Alex Pearce pre-game highlighted what Fyfe meant to the group.
“Alex said in his pre-game jumper presentation. I feel like we’re quite desensitised to how great Nat is and the things that he can do on the football field that not many others can. We saw a real glimpse of that today,” Mundy said.
With the win, Freo have moved up into seventh, however eighth-placed West Coast and ninth-placed GWS have a game in hand.
They have only five days to prepare for their next clash, a Thursday night blockbuster with Geelong.
The Geelong game will be Freo’s first at Optus Stadium after three games interstate.
“I can’t wait! We’ve missed the Purple Army on our roadtrip but we have a few at home in a row coming up, it will be great to play in front of a packed Optus Stadium, particularly on Thursday night,” Mundy said.
“Phil Merriman, our S&C (manager) just mentioned it but every minute counts in a five-day turnaround.
“We know that it’s possible and we can do it, but we’ve just got to take every step from now until game day.”
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