Nat Fyfe reveals he nearly quit footy after 2013 Grand Final loss

BROWNLOW medallist Nat Fyfe considered walking away from football after Fremantle’s 2013 Grand Final loss to Hawthorn, revealing he became “completely demotivated”.

Nat Fyfe says he nearly pulled the pin on his AFL career. Picture: Getty Images

BROWNLOW medallist Nat Fyfe considered walking away from football after Fremantle’s 2013 Grand Final loss to Hawthorn.

Fyfe — who plays his 150th match against Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday — revealed he ­became “completely demotivated” about the game while on a surfing trip in the United States.

Contractually, the Dockers were allowed to contact Fyfe and, after a month overseas, he returned to the club to start “picking up the pieces”.

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Fyfe, who won the Brownlow in 2015 and became Fremantle captain last year, detailed his journey on a new AFL Players’ Association podcast., Captain’s Call.

“If someone challenged me on the spot I would have been a bit coy about (retiring),” Fyfe said.

“But in my head I was (thinking), ‘This is enough for me. I don’t need to be driven and motivated and getting back to a Grand Final’.”

Fyfe’s mind started to wander as he watched the medal presentation to the Hawks’ players on the MCG.

Nat Fyfe almost gave up the game for good. Picture: Getty Images

“What am I going to have to do to get back here?” Fyfe said.

“Will it be a decade? How many players am I going to play with before I step back out on the MCG on Grand Final day? Will it be in a purple jumper?

“You go from gut-wrenchingly devastated and not wanting to be part of a football team ever again and throwing it all away, to, OK, systematically, ‘how can I learn from that, ­improve, increase my chances and go one step better’.

“As soon as the season finished I went away and travelled (and) once I got over there I was anonymous.

“I was in a van, surfing with a mate, and my mind was basically made up that I’d had enough.

“I’d played to a high level of footy, I’d been paid well, I’d enj­oyed it, but I was pretty keen to get back to the simple life.

“I learnt a lot out of that ­experience of how motivated I was to all of a sudden moving in a different environment and being completely demotivated.”

**You can listen to Fyfe’s episode of the Captain’s Call, hosted by AFLPA boss Paul Marsh, by subscribing via iTunes**

He still reflects on the lessons.

“After about 10 days … that desire, motivation and hun­ger was back and stronger than ever,” he said.

“I’ve used that as a lesson ever since — staying in and around the energy of the environment keeps you focused, and if you tread too far from that path you can get hazy on what your goals are and you’re not as capable of achieving what you want to achieve.”

Fyfe was expected to succeed Matthew Pavlich as captain in 2016, but voted for David Mundy instead of himself.

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