Brownlow 2015: Nat Fyfe wins Brownlow Medal

NAT Fyfe was feeling no pain as he made his way on stage to accept the Brownlow Medal.

2015 Brownlow medal. Nat Fyfe heads to the stage after winning the Brownlow medal . Pic: Michael Klein.

NAT Fyfe was feeling no pain as he made his way on stage to accept the Brownlow Medal.

Favouring a broken left leg, Fyfe basked in the acclaim as Fremantle’s first Brownlow winner.

He polled 31 votes — including nine best-on-ground performances — to edge 2014 winner Matt Priddis by three votes.

Fyfe dedicated the win to the Dockers and his family at Lake Grace, the town of 500 four hours south-east of Perth by car.

“It’s greater than me — it’s the Fremantle footy club and all our members and fans and supporters,” Fyfe said.

“We had a strong year this year, finishing on top of the ladder but obviously a disappointing end. I think we can take this home and celebrate this as a club and a community.”

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He admitted the count, which he led from the outset, was tough on his nerves.

“The last few days have been a bit of a whirlwind,” he said.

“We played Friday night and lost and from there it’s been a bit chaotic. Until I really sat down and the vote got underway I didn’t really put much thought into it to be honest, but the nerves started to come late.”

Fyfe played down his broken-leg heroics against Hawthorn.

“Once you declare yourself fit to play you have an obligation to fulfil your role, so in hindsight maybe I should have let someone who was healthy and fit play, but I’d live and die for the Dockers and I wanted to do anything I could to help them,” he said.

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Fyfe did not try to distance himself from his home town, where he used a trampoline to hone his athletic marking and scrapped in the dust with the Morton brothers who would also make their way to the AFL.

As a kid he would study the centre-square strategies game plan of the local side in bed.

“As a nine-year-old it was pretty hard to get the other blokes to get on board,” he joked.

“I’m sort of painted as a bit of country hillbilly to be honest, but I’m moving away from that if I can,” he added.

Fyfe, 24, said he would return to the family trucking business in the future, when his career was over.

“My family have been nothing but supportive all the way through — of everything except for my hair, to be honest.”

Nat Fyfe arrives at the Brownlow count. Picture: Michael Klein

He singled out “coach and life mentor” Ross Lyon and departing Dockers assistant coach Brett Kirk, who had taught him much about himself as how to find the footy.

And conditioning chief Jason Weber, who famously helped make his physique even more impressive, and powerful, last pre-season.

From almost the opening round, the count was a battle between runaway leader Fyfe, Priddis, Hawthorn’s Sam Mitchell and Sydney’s Dan Hannebery. Mitchell continued his consistent Brownlow polling with 26 votes to finish third.

Fyfe created an early record with 17 votes after eight rounds, one more than Chris Judd at the same stage in 2007 when Geelong’s Jimmy Bartel won the medal.

Fyfe’s three votes for Fremantle’s Round 13 win against Collingwood propelled him to 26 — the winning tally for Priddis last season.

On 29 votes in round 14, Fyfe led by a whopping 10 with nine rounds to play, Priddis was second with 19 while Hannebery and Mitchell were a further two votes back. But the young Docker had entered that stage of the season where he struggled with injury.

Fyfe surprised by collecting two votes in the Round 17 duel with Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin when Fremantle came from behind at the MCG to win by four points. It would prove telling as it to stretched his buffer.

Brownlow Medal 2015 | Create infographics