When Nat Fyfe arrived at Fremantle at the end of 2009 as a scrawny, gangly teenager, not even the sharpest pundits could have predicted he would become one of Western Australia’s greatest footballers.
The 33-year-old announced on Monday that he is retiring at the end of the Dockers’ 2025 campaign after 16 seasons. He will hang up his boots as one of the most decorated players of the modern era, with two Brownlow medals, three All-Australian blazers, and twice voted the AFL Players’ Association’s most valuable player.
But Fyfe was nearly famously ignored by the Dockers because, at the time, the club wanted a genuine midfielder, not some skinny, rangy kid who barely tipped the scales at 74kg.
Raised in the small Western Australian wheatbelt town of Lake Grace, about 320 kilometres south-east of Perth, the Dockers also had concerns about some of his disciplinary issues while boarding at the prestigious Aquinas College. Phil Smart, who was the recruiting manager at the Dockers at the time, told Fairfax Media that Fremantle wasn’t very keen on taking Fyfe.
“We had an issue in regards to some of the other members of the list management group, the club at the time were keen to take a bona fide midfielder and there was some pretty strong debate in regards to taking Nat at that pick,” he said. “Without knowing all the ins and outs, one of my mates I grew up with was a boarding house master at Aquinas, and I think there were issues from time to time.”
However, after a few former Dockers’ coaching staff convinced Smart to check out the young whippet, Fremantle ended up selecting Fyfe with pick No 20 in the 2009 AFL draft.
“He was very competitive, he had clean hands, in other words, he didn’t fumble, he was very clean off the ground and in the air, and he made very good decisions and had good vision and good awareness,” he said.
Fyfe debuted in round one the following season, and it didn’t take long before he stamped himself as one of the elite midfielders in the game. He was soon destined to become one of the most marketable players in the AFL, long before Eagles’ young gun Harley Reid graced the front and back pages of the state’s only daily newspaper.
During his prime, Fyfe was simply unstoppable. He was a bullocking beast around the stoppages and paved the way for other power-laden midfielders, like Patrick Cripps and Marcus Bontempelli.
Fyfe was so dominant during the 2015 season that betting agencies paid out on him winning the Brownlow medal after just nine games. He would snaffle another Charlie four years later, becoming just the 15th player in AFL history to win multiple Brownlow medals.
The three-time club best-and-fairest winner said on Monday that it simply felt like the right time to retire. The last remaining member of Fremantle’s 2013 grand final team still playing has been hampered by soft tissue injuries this year, managing only five matches to bring his career total to 245 games.
“I’m just immensely grateful for what my AFL experience and playing with Fremantle has given to me,” he said. “It’s been an enormous opportunity and has taken me to places I could never have dreamed of.
“I leave with a sense of understanding that I don’t need anything further, which is a really peaceful place to be, and yet myself – and the team – still find ourselves in a position where that elusive premiership dream is well and truly alive.”
Where Fyfe ranks among the pantheon of WA’s footballing greats will be debated for years to come. But there is no doubt he belongs in the same West Australian royalty as Stephen Michael, Lance Franklin and Polly Farmer.
Regardless of Fyfe’s standings, no one would deny that he is among the modern greats of the sport. He is so highly regarded out west that even the premier, Roger Cook, took to social media, calling him a Western Australian sporting legend.
“One of the greatest Fremantle Dockers players of all time, Fyfe was lauded by his teammates, other players and fans and has brought much success to the state,” he said. “He leaves behind an incredible legacy, on and off the footy field.”
If there were any flaws in Fyfe’s game, it was his set shot at goal. Most notably in the 2013 grand final, when he kicked two gettable goals out on the full in the first quarter.
Fyfe might no longer be the physical beast he once was, but with Fremantle sitting fourth on the ladder, he could play a vital role in the Dockers’ quest for their first AFL premiership. It’s the only trophy missing from his glittering, stellar career.
