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Fyfe rapt to play alongside AFL stars

11th November, 2014
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Fremantle’s interests always held sway over Australian aspirations for AFL star Nat Fyfe.

But the lure of playing in a star-studded team has had the desired effect.

Fyfe will make his international rules debut on November 22 in Perth when Australia host a one-off Test against Ireland.

The international rules concept has struggled to generate enough interest among fans and the AFL’s top players, so this year the league overhauled its approach.

It moved the series date and closely consulted the game’s top stars to ensure the Australian lineup would be as strong as possible.

Importantly for Fyfe, all 24 players are current or past All-Australians.

“That was really enticing for me,” said Fyfe, who earned his first All-Australian selection this season.

“I have been asked to play before, but the club has been … has pushed back a little bit due to the pre-season and the season coming up.

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“So when this model was presented, I think all players who were eligible were really excited about the opportunity to represent the country and play with such a talented group.”

The stellar lineup features seven club captains, including Hawthorn’s premiership hero Luke Hodge, and Adelaide star Patrick Dangerfield.

Fyfe said he had always been jealous of his friend Aaron Zalewski, who plays hockey for Australia.

“I have always been really interested and excited in possibly representing Australia in a game that I love playing,” Fyfe said.

“This international rules series opens up a whole new challenge – a round ball, slightly different rules.

“It really throws up a whole new set of challenges at me and I have been really excited to play.”

At a media conference on Tuesday in Perth, Fyfe and West Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui said they had been training with the round ball to improve their skills.

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“I have just been having a kick at home and down at the local park,” Naitanui said.

“Everyone is looking at me thinking I was probably going to convert and go to soccer or some other stupid game.”

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