Fyfe’s sentimental journey

By Ken Casellas

Celebrating a sentimental journey, an emotional Nat Fyfe splashed his way on to Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday and his thoughts drifted back 5616 days when he previously took the field at Claremont Oval to play in a WAFL match.

That was Claremont’s round five league match against East Fremantle on April 17, 2010, when Fyfe, a slender 18-year-old weighing 74kg, standing 186cm tall and proudly wearing the No. 13 jumper, shone on a half-forward flank and booted three goals as the Tigers triumphed by 72 points.

Last Saturday the 33-year-old Fyfe, a muscular 96kg and 192cm mountain — one of Australia’s greatest footballers this century — was still revered and much loved as a legendary Claremont superstar.

He was wearing the No. 16 jumper for Peel and was representing the Thunder as a Fremantle star, with the Dockers aligned to the Mandurah-based WAFL club.

But he was welcomed home warmly by the Claremont faithful who had marvelled at his athleticism and sheer football brilliance as a teenager with the Tigers more than 15 years ago.

Born and bred in Lake Grace and educated at Aquinas College, Fyfe delighted the fans as a 17-year-old when he shone brightly in the Tigers colts side and when he scored nine goals in four matches for WA in the interstate under-18 championships in 2009.

It was at East Fremantle Oval in August 2009 that the mercurial Fyfe thrilled the few hundred spectators with a spectacular display of high marking when playing on a half-forward flank. He was virtually unstoppable and led the Claremont colts to a 116-point win. He took 15 marks (nine contested), had 23 kicks, made 11 effective handpasses and finished with 8.3.

A month later Fyfe was a shining light with six goals when Claremont beat Peel by 67 points in the grand final at Subiaco Oval. After trailing throughout the first half Claremont outscored Peel 14.7 to 2.4 in the second half.

Then, in round one in the 2010 season Fyfe made an auspicious debut in league ranks when he travelled to Rushton Park and donned the No. 13 jumper against Peel. He retains fond memories of that game, saying after starring in last Saturday’s match: “I think I scored a couple of goals and Jonesy (Chad Jones) scored about eight.”

He was selling himself short because he scored four goals, while Jones booted three — before he (Jones) kicked eight goals the following week to help the Tigers win the round 2 match against South Fremantle at Claremont Oval by a whopping margin of 102 points.

Fyfe started on the interchange bench before playing on a half-forward flank in the opening fixture against Peel and he had the distinction of scoring a goal with his first kick in league ranks, after marking a pass from Ian Richardson in the left pocket after 28 minutes of play. It was Claremont’s only goal for the quarter before the side went on a scoring spree, finishing with 27.13 to Peel’s 9.11 and winning, by 110 points.

Fyfe played in Claremont’s next three league matches (with the Tigers having a bye in round three), scoring four goals against in the 81-point win over Subiaco at Leederville Oval and three goals in the 72-point win over the Sharks in his fourth and final league appearance for Claremont.

This was a remarkable start by Fyfe, who scored 13.3 in those four contests in which Claremont scored 90.43 — a tally of 583 points compared to the 226 points scored by the opposing sides.

As an 18-year-old Fyfe was then catapulted into AFL action, making his debut in the 2010 Anzac Day match against Richmond at Subiaco Oval, and now after 244 AFL games he is poised to return to the Dockers side as it bids to play in the finals, following his superb performance on Saturday when he was resuming after recovering from a calf injury.

“I’ve now played in seven WAFL league matches, and this is my first one since I did a hamstring early in the round two match against South Fremantle after playing in three pre-season WAFL scratch matches,” he said.

Fyfe, the Brownlow medallist in 2015 and 2019, revealed wonderful poise and assurance in the quagmire on Saturday, and his strength, experience and skill should be valuable assets for the Dockers for whom he has given nothing short of a hundred percent effort in his 244 matches that have produced 983 marks, 2743 kicks, 3046 handpasses, 893 tackles and 178 goals.

Fyfe as a teenager.