Nat Fyfe

Nathan Fyfe (born 18 September 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

In 2009, he played in the West Australian Football League colts for Claremont, his highlights of the season being his eight-goal, 34 possession effort against East Fremantle and six goals in the Colts Grand Final.

He was also selected for Western Australia in the 2009 AFL National Under 18 Championships and played four of the five games, kicking nine goals.

His best return came in the game against Vic Metro in which he scored four goals.

Fyfe was selected by the Fremantle Dockers with the 20th pick in the 2009 national draft.

He received a nomination for the 2010 AFL Rising Star award in round 9 of the 2010 season.

In 2010, he made his league debut, kicking 4 goals against Peel Thunder.

Fyfe made his debut in Fremantle's 39-point win over the Richmond Tigers in the annual Len Hall ANZAC Day game at Subiaco Oval in 2010.

He announced his arrival in the AFL with a soaring pack mark.

A week later he was nominated for Goal of the Week after a brilliant snap against West Coast.

He was awarded the AFL Rising Star nomination for Round 9 in the 2010 AFL season after performing well in Fremantle's first victory over the Sydney Swans in Sydney since 1996.

He collected 23 possessions, four clearances, five tackles and seven marks and played on senior Sydney player Ryan O'Keefe for most of the game.

Fyfe continued to improve and had a sensational second season in the AFL, finishing a close second to Matthew Pavlich in the Doig Medal.

Fyfe played in his 100th senior appearance for Fremantle in Round 8 against North Melbourne, Fyfe recorded 37 disposals and 11 clearances in the 73-point win.

Fyfe continued his strong form for the remainder of the season, increasing his average disposal count from 25.9 to 27.0 a game, recording a career-high goals (24), and was now being considered one of the elite midfielders in the league.

He was suspended again late in the season for a behind the play strike on Jordan Lewis, missing the final two matches before returning for the finals.

He featured in the top five in almost every key performance indicator category at Fremantle in 2011.

Fyfe topped the club in disposals per game (25.1), total disposals (527), contested possessions (262), hard ball gets (107), total effective handballs (186), contested marks (43), smothers (19) and Dream Team points (98.4 per game).

His form led him to be considered as a potential All-Australian team selection and gained comparisons to past champion James Hird.

Fyfe polled an equal team high 13 Brownlow Medal votes and was selected in the initial All-Australian squad of 40 but did not make the final team.

At the end of the 2011 season, Fyfe resigned with Fremantle on a three-year deal, set to expire in 2014.

Fyfe made a strong start to the 2012 AFL Season with a best-on-ground performance against Geelong in their Round 1 match at Patersons Stadium, recording 30 disposals and 2 goals in the 4-point win over the Cats.

Fyfe began dealing with a shoulder injury during April, and attempted to play through it, but was forced out and underwent surgery in May after dislocating it at training.

Fyfe missed the majority of the season, being sidelined from Round 6 until 18.

He returned to Fremantle in Round 18 against Port Adelaide, returning to his previous form by recording, 26 disposals.

Fyfe only missed one game for the remainder of the season, missing a game against Adelaide in Round 20 due to an ankle injury incurred on the morning of the match in his hotel room.

Despite playing only nine games in the home and away season – two of which were compromised because of his shoulder, Fyfe still polled the second-most Brownlow Medal votes (14) at Fremantle.

On a per game basis, Fyfe was clearly Fremantle's best contested possession winner (12.5), which was also 14th overall in the AFL.

Fyfe continued to improve throughout the 2013 AFL Season, increasing his average disposals from the previous two years (25.9) and winning his first Doig Medal, beating out David Mundy.

Fyfe announced early in 2014 that he would not consider extending his contract with Fremantle until later in the year, leading to speculation that he might change clubs when his contract expired at the end of the season.

However, he agreed to extend his contract with Fremantle for a further three years in late June.

Fyfe started the 2014 AFL Season strongly, but was controversially suspended for two weeks in Round 2 for a bump on Gold Coast player Michael Rischitelli.

He was one of the first players to be suspended under a new rule that penalised the player for any head contact as a result of choosing to bump instead of tackle.

Throughout the season, Fyfe was considered to be one of the favourites to win the Brownlow Medal, but was ineligible due to the suspension.

Fyfe became the 150th player to represent the Fremantle Dockers at AFL level.

Fyfe had a hand in leading Fremantle to a 16-1-5 win–loss record, helping them finish third on the ladder, and reaching their first ever AFL Grand Final in club history, but despite having an equal game-high 28 disposals in the match, the Dockers were defeated by Hawthorn by 15 points, ending the club's best season in their 19-year history just short of their first premiership success.

Fyfe had a strong final's series, averaging 26.0 disposals.

He served as Fremantle captain from 2017 to 2022, becoming the second-longest serving captain in the club's history.

Fyfe grew up in Lake Grace, Western Australia, and went to school as a boarder at Aquinas College in Perth.

Fyfe is a dual Brownlow Medallist, dual Leigh Matthews Trophy recipient, three-time All-Australian (including as captain in the 2019 team) and three-time Doig Medallist.