Fremantle re-sign Nat Fyfe until 2014
Fremantle's quest to build into a premiership force received a major boost on Wednesday when Nat Fyfe re-signed with the club until the end of the 2014 AFL season.
Fyfe, who in less than two years has already established himself as one of the most exciting players in the competition, was initially contracted to the Dockers until the end of 2012.
The two-year extension ensures the 19-year-old is out of the reach of Greater Western Sydney, who are able to poach a maximum of one out-of-contract player from each club over the next two years.
Fyfe, snared with pick No.20 in the 2009 national draft, is considered a good chance to claim All-Australian honours this year after averaging 25 possessions a game to go with his 14 goals.
But more importantly, Fyfe's signature secures another crucial piece to the puzzle as Fremantle attempt to build a squad capable of achieving premiership success in the coming years.
Key players Matthew Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands, David Mundy, Stephen Hill, Anthony Morabito, Hayden Ballantyne, Michael Barlow, Greg Broughton, Paul Duffield, Tendai Mzungu and Kepler Bradley have all signed deals keeping them tied to the club until at least the end of 2013.
And with Fyfe now added to that core group, coach Mark Harvey was thrilled with the way his squad was shaping up.
"He's going to be a great player and it's good to see that our young players understand where we're heading," Harvey said on Wednesday.
"With the invasion of two new teams in the competition, it hasn't been easy (locking our core players away) and it's a credit to the club and Brad Lloyd (manager of player management), Steve Rosich (chief executive) and Chris Bond (football operations manager) to make sure that ... most of our players are in our control."
Harvey compared Fyfe's talents to those of former Essendon great and current Bombers coach James Hird, who won a Brownlow medal, two premierships and four best and fairest awards during a glittering 253-game career at Windy Hill.
"The way he moves and the way he thinks through the game, there's a lot in common," Harvey said.
"What I will say is that his best is yet to come.
"He still needs to put on probably another six kilos and get fully mature.
"I think he's got that unique ability to be able to read the game beyond some of the other players.
"He has a great initiative about what might happen or where it may finish and where he should be."
Saturday night's crunch clash with Hawthorn at Patersons Stadium looms as a crucial clash for the Dockers' finals hopes, with Harvey hopeful ruckman Jonathon Griffin will be able to take his place despite a slight hip injury.
But Sandilands (toe) and Mundy (leg) have been ruled out of contention, with the pair set to return next week at the earliest.
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