Nat Fyfe has announced he is stepping down as captain of the Fremantle Dockers.
The club announced on Tuesday the dual-Brownlow medallist had broken the news to his teammates that he intended to stand aside as captain and from all leadership duties.
Fyfe is the club’s second-longest captain behind Matthew Pavlich, having held the role for six years.
The club is yet to announce Fyfe’s replacement, however frontrunners include Andrew Brayshaw, Alex Pearce, and Caleb Sarong, who formed part of the club’s leadership group in 2022 alongside Fyfe and former captain David Mundy.
Fyfe was first voted captain in 2017 and his tenure in the role oversaw a period of rebuilding for the Dockers, resulting in a finals tilt in 2022.
He missed the first half of that year’s season following shoulder surgery but made a return to the field playing with the Peel Thunder in the WAFL.
However, further injuries left him sidelined, and the skipper missed Fremantle’s finals run which ultimately ended at the hands of Collingwood in the second round.
Fyfe said his decision to stand aside as captain was something he had known for the past three or four weeks.
“Last year was a challenging year for me individually, but a great year for the club and it started to pave the way for a transition,” he said.
“Intuitively, I knew that it was an exciting opportunity for the club for me to step aside and let someone else come through.
“It took a while for the emotions and my mind to line up with my intuition, it feels like I was letting go of a dream in some ways, but once I connected with that feeling, it opens up the possibility for so much more.
“I’m optimistic about what this transition can do for the club.”
More to come.
