Dual Brownlow medalist rues missed success but ‘definitely the right time’ to retire

By Nathan Schmook at Optus Stadium

Nat Fyfe is chaired off after the Elimination Final between Fremantle and Gold Coast at Optus Stadium, September 6, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

FREMANTLE champion Nat Fyfe says he finishes his career content that he gave everything he had to his club after fighting through one last ankle injury to play in Saturday night’s elimination final. 

Fyfe suffered a rolled ankle at the end of training on Tuesday and almost didn’t play in what was ultimately his 248th and final game, with the dual Brownlow medallist substituted into the clash against Gold Coast for the final quarter. 

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The retiring midfielder said he was left “numb” in the aftermath of the heartbreaking defeat, which saw Gold Coast snatch back a late one-point lead after a brilliant Freo fightback.  

Fyfe said it was another example of “what footy can do to you”, with the club great retiring content that he had given absolutely everything he could to the game.  

“I just think that’s fitting – the game does not give up its rewards very easily and there’s a lot more times you finish a season heartbroken than the opposite,” Fyfe said on Saturday night. 

“To be able to get back and actually be involved in this game, this year. I’m really grateful I got to play in another final again.

“I think I came to a point last year where I felt like I’d turned every stone, given absolutely everything I could.

“Where the story went from there was out of my hands. Hopefully I get some closure and peace of mind. I finish disappointed in some ways.

“The game tried many different times to tell me the end of the road was near and so I walk away knowing this was definitely the right time. 

“I rolled my ankle on Tuesday and hardly got up for this game.”

Fyfe left the Dockers on Saturday night with a message of hope, declaring the club had the “right profile to have five or six bites at winning a premiership”.

The 33-year-old, who was not sure what the immediate future held for him, said he finishes his career content that a flag had eluded him.  

“I don’t think I needed anything else from the game,” Fyfe said. 

“We all want to win premierships, but I do have some contentness that I tried everything and gave absolutely everything to the club. 

“In some ways, in my journey maybe it was more important not to win than to win.”

Coach Justin Longmuir paid tribute to Fyfe for the legacy he left with teammates and the broader club, having fought to get the most out of himself. 

The former skipper ends his career as a three-time club champion and triple All Australian after a period as the AFL’s best player, but he has also inspired those around him by pushing his body to the limit and fighting back from multiple career-threatening injuries.    

“I think his legacy will be the fact that he has got the most out of himself,” Longmuir said. 
 
“He’s looked everywhere he can to improve his game, his body, to the very end, and that legacy will stay with us. 

“So they’re the sorts of things that you need to thank players for, because he’s shown a path for our younger players to be able to develop the way he’s developed. 
 
“The next group of players will take that to another level, and then the next group that come in will take it to another level.
 
“But in some sense, it started with him. So he will leave a void, but he’s also left us a path forward in aspects, so we thank him for that.”

Longmuir said there was a lot of extra emotion associated with Saturday night’s defeat as Fyfe and club great Michael Walters retired, with the team devastated after fighting back from 26 points down to lead late before two Gold Coast scores in the dying minutes. 

He said it was a hollow feeling knowing that the team had more to give this season. 

“There’s some things we need to improve in the way we play … but we’ve got a lot of natural development in our group still,” Longmuir said. 
 
“All our core players are still reasonably young and have improvement left in their careers.
 
“We’re not that far off either, and it’s disappointing because it felt like we had a lot more to give in this season.
 
“I think our footy as it is over the last three, four months stacks up against any team. That’s what’s disappointing about exiting the way we’ve exited.”