FREMANTLE captain David Mundy will celebrate his 250th game against Greater Western Sydney this weekend, but his milestone was not the hot topic today.
With Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe flagging his intent to at least consider his free agency options in 2017, and news that forward Hayden Ballantyne was seeking a trade to cross-town rival West Coast, Mundy was forced to deny there was a rift among the group.
“The external noise coming in is at polar opposites to how I, the leadership group and a lot of people feel,” he said.
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READ NOW“We’re not splintering at all.
“Certainly some guys have been frustrated by form and selection and injury throughout the year and that’s part and parcel of the game.
“But as a group – to suggest we’re splintering or fracturing in anyway – I think would be a falsehood.
“Our Monday to Friday processes remain as strong as ever; guys are buying in and really trying to improve.
“The frustration has been out of no improvement or little improvement or little gain from those discussions, meetings and training.”
Mundy admitted Fyfe, who has missed most of the year with a broken leg, expected a lot of the playing group, but said he had not overstepped the mark.
“Nat’s clearly a very demanding leader at times and certainly knows what he wants,” Mundy said.
“We love that about him. We really respect that and we value it in this football club.
“Sometimes that may get people offside but Nat especially is really coming from a place to really help everyone and improve and our group certainly understands that.”
Despite news filtering through late last week that Ballantyne was seeking a trade to the Eagles, Mundy said his teammate had handled the situation well.
“We didn’t see any wavering of his commitment or effort on the weekend. He was certainly one of our better players again,” Mundy said.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone like Hayden.
“We really value him here. His attributes really benefit our team and our club. I certainly love playing with him.”