"Revolutionised the way I looked at my body" - Fremantle Dockers Star Nat Fyfe details how a holiday to India saved his AFL career
Fremantle Dockers superstar Nat Fyfe has expressed his gratitude for a trip he took to India and the surprising way it transformed his career.
On Saturday, Fyfe put on one of most impressive performances in Fremantle's game against the Western Bulldogs. He secured 37 disposals, seven clearances and one goal, helping the Dockers earn a 24-point victory over the Bulldogs. The performance marked his highest possession count since round 13 in 2019 against Port Adelaide Power.
The two-time Brownlow medallist has had issues with his form before the Saturday night clash with the Bulldogs and hadn’t cracked 30- possessions in three years. This season, though, we’ve seen another side of Fyfe, one that represents significant improvement and a bright future in the AFL.
Nat Fyfe had been plagued with injuries through four seasons. He appears to have regained his health and the results are clear as day. Fyfe credits his trip to India in October as being the catalyst for his sudden improvement. In a post-match interview with Channel 7, he said:
“I lost a lot of confidence. Felt like I was trying absolutely everything that we could… Western medicine got to the end of that. So I started to look at things differently with my body.
“Went to India, did a bunch of things over there, and I found a few people here in Perth, helping me with my healing journey and helping me to get more confidence with my body, which helps my craft.”
Nat Fyfe was hesitant about details, though:
“I can’t give too much away, but I walked into a physio practice to have a look at my foot. I said ‘I have a sore foot’. The lady said ‘lift your right arm’, I said ‘that’s a bit weird’.
“I started to understand how the body’s completely connected. How trauma and pain can get trapped and stored in your body. The difference between injury and pain and how they are different things. On the back of that, it just revolutionized the way I looked at my body.”
Nat Fyfe’s future in the AFL
With Nat Fyfe back in prime form, the 32-year-old wants to pace the rest of his career to sustain his health and confidence.
“I have the rest of the year to get through, and I’m enjoying being back in the team and in some sort of form with confidence in my body. I will literally just take it a couple months at a time and see where we wind up,” Fyfe said.
Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir gave his thoughts on Nat Fyfe:
“We probably haven’t seen a sustained game like what he produced against the Bulldogs from him, since he got back. But his body of work since day one of pre-season has been phenomenal, and I’ve spoken a lot about that work and how it set him up for the season."
He added:
“His ability to bring his teammates into the game and make his possessions contribute to us hitting the scoreboard was really, really good.
"It’s good to see him get rewarded for all the persistence and all the effort. He just wants to be part of a successful team. And he’s doing everything he can to be able to help build a successful team.”