The Fremantle playing group have put their faith in their current leaders, voting all members of the 2019 leadership group into leadership roles for the 2020 season.
Nat Fyfe will captain Fremantle for a fourth season, with David Mundy, Michael Walters, Alex Pearce, Joel Hamling and Reece Conca continuing as leaders.
A leader since 2010, this will be Mundy’s 11th year as a member of the leadership group. It will also be Fyfe’s sixth, Walters’ fourth, Pearce’s third and the second year for Hamling and Conca.
Fyfe said it was a good sign to see all leaders continue in their roles.
“I think it’s a great decision by the playing group to stick with the exact same leadership group in 2020,” Fyfe said.
“It shows that what the guys delivered in terms of setting the standards and leading in the right direction was on the right track, and we get that continuity in keeping those same six leaders.
“I think the six guys that we’ve got in there with Michael Walters, David Mundy, Joel Hamling, Reece Conca, Alex Pearce and myself, there’s good touch points across the whole group.
“There’s reasonable representation across forward, mid and backlines and as a result we are spread out across the entire group.
“I think in round one and two, we’re probably going to be without a couple of our leaders so that means there’s enough diversity in our leadership group to be able to cover all lines.”
Fyfe said the voting process remained relatively unchanged under new senior coach Justin Longmuir, with players voting on a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis for their leaders.
“We’ve identified our values and our culture that we really want our leaders to be living by,” Fyfe said.
“Everyone had their say, it was very transparent. It’s a really good system which empowers the playing group to be able to choose who they want driving the bus.”
Fyfe said he was continually looking to grow in his captaincy role.
“I’m constantly reflecting on my leadership journey as captain, it’s something that’s taken a few years to get a handle of and really identify what sort of captain I want to be,” Fyfe said.
“I think now, more than ever, I’ve got a good understanding of where my shadow areas lie and knowing that I can use my fellow leaders to fill out some of the areas.
“I feel like I’ve got a good handle of what it means to be captain, I know where I want to take this group and what we can possibly achieve in the coming years.
“I’m enjoying the challenge that comes with captaining a young group.”
Fyfe added that he sees incredible leadership potential outside of the leadership group.
“I think names like Andy Brayshaw, Rory Lobb, James Aish and Blake Acres, who have come across from other clubs – they add some real depth as our emerging leaders,” Fyfe said.
“Our leadership group is not a cigar club, we’re not going to sit at the top and reign supreme in any way. We want to get as many guys in and leading as possible.
“The six leaders will lean into some of the more leadership obligation work through setting up meetings and things like that, but we want the leadership responsibility to be spread out across the whole group.”
General manager of football Peter Bell said he was pleased with how all players went about the process of electing their leaders.
“I would like to congratulate Nat, David, Michael, Alex, Joel and Reece for continuing on in their leadership roles at Fremantle,” Bell said.
“All six leaders have done a fantastic job of guiding our players and setting the standards at the club, and it’s no surprise to see them all continue this role in 2020.
“A lot is changing at our club under Justin Longmuir and I think it’s important that we have had this stability within our playing group, led by Nat Fyfe in his fourth year as captain.”
