Can anyone come close to matching Nat Fyfe? There is no player in the AFL like the 190-centimetre Fremantle superstar.
Like much of Fremantle’s midfield, Fyfe is a prototype of the next generation player.
He is a contested ball machine and a beast at stoppages. Fyfe is virtually unbeatable in the air and can go forward and kick bags of goals. It is this incredible mix and versatility that makes him so great.
There are some contested players who are as good as Fyfe on the ground, while there are also some players as competent in the air. What separates Fyfe from the rest is his ability to put these two together like no-one else in the competition.
One of the primary reasons Fyfe slipped to number 20 in the 2010 draft was that clubs couldn’t see what position he was going to play. At the time he was viewed as too skinny and tall to be a traditional midfielder and too small to be a key forward. It didn’t look like there was a position for him.
Fremantle are now counting their lucky stars that they took a punt on the prodigiously talented youngster.
While Fyfe does so many things incredibly well, the one knock on his game is his kicking. Particularly set shots on goal. Think back to the first quarter of the 2013 grand final and this was evident for all of Australia to see on the biggest stage.
In reality his kicking is actually quite good, however in comparison to the rest of his game it is below par. It is his relative weakness. For Fyfe to take his game to an even higher level this is the area in which he must improve.
Currently, there are very few players in the competition, if any, that can be compared to Fyfe. Perhaps one of the few players is Jimmy Bartel.
A beast at ground level and in contested situations, Bartel is also incredibly tough and courageous. He is more than capable of playing up forward or in defence and has an incredible overhead mark for his size.
Fyfe, however, is something of a Bartel 2.0. He is bigger and taller than Jimmy, and put simply, is capable of things he isn’t. This isn’t to be confused with Fyfe being rated the better player over a career. He isn’t, but he is well on his way to catching and one day surpassing the Brownlow Medallist.
When comparing Fyfe to the other great players in the competition, it must be remembered that they too are capable of remarkable things.
Gary Ablett Jr, arguably the GOAT, is unbelievable at ground level and in contested situations. He is a nightmare in the forward 50 and could probably kick 70 goals a season from a pocket. He is also one of the most fierce competitors the game has ever seen.
Lance Franklin has a superstar quality like no other. He is the biggest x-factor in the AFL and puts fans in seats more than any other player. Other players such as Joel Selwood and Scott Pendlebury have amazing qualities such as ball control, poise and the ability to lift those around them.
Fyfe possesses many of these characteristics, however what really sets him apart is that dynamic mix to do so many different things on a football field. Fyfe has already won the MVP as voted by the players in 2014. This means that those who play against him week in, week out see him as the best there is.
It is important to note that the one player who was better than Fyfe before his injury was Gary Ablett. Unfortunately for Ablett, it has been well documented that his shoulder will never again be 100 per cent.
This isn’t to write Ablett off, there is a very good chance he will come back and be one of the best players in the competition. However, the mantle of the absolute best has been passed to Nat Fyfe.
Fyfe looks like a lock for the 2015 Brownlow Medal and should receive many other accolades if his current form continues. Perhaps the number one thing going for Fyfe is that he is just 23.
Fyfe is not yet in the prime of his career and still has many years to improve the relative weaknesses in his game. This means over the next few years Fyfe is only going to get better.
That is a scary thought for the rest of the competition.
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