Mundy relishing captaincy in AFL

New Fremantle captain David Mundy is forging his own path as he attacks the giant AFL prospect of replacing Matthew Pavlich.

Pavlich held the Dockers captaincy for nine years, a club record, and forged a well-earned reputation as one of the game’s top skippers.

Mundy took over in January and is relishing the challenge.

Attending his first AFL captains’ day on Thursday, Mundy laughed when asked if he occasionally caught himself thinking `what would Pav do?’

“I’m certainly my own person and make my own decisions,” he said.

“I like to get opinions on occasion off different guys and that’s what our leadership group is good at.

“But certainly when I decide something, it’s my decision.”

Pavlich remains in Fremantle’s leadership group and Mundy sees that as a massive positive while he settles into the captaincy.

“It’s been fantastic to still have Pav around … he’s been a good sounding board for me on occasion,” Mundy said.

“It’s certainly been added responsibility.

“I find myself thinking about the welfare of the whole group more than I did in the past.

“But being in the leadership group for a number of years under Matthew now, it’s really prepared me well for stepping up into this role.”

Not surprisingly for someone playing under coach Ross Lyon, Mundy said his philosophy was to be hard, but fair.

“I’m pretty demanding, but it’s a bit of how our club is – we like to set our expectations and (put) everything on the table, what we expect from each individual,” he said.

Mundy has taken over the captaincy as the Dockers remain determined to stay premiership contenders.

A glaring area for improvement is their attack – only one other team in the top 12 last season scored less points.

Mundy was asked whether it was a matter of personnel – Brownlow Medallist Nat Fyfe may spend more time up forward – or how they move the ball.

“They’re a bit hand-in-glove, chicken-and-egg,” he said.

“Certainly getting the ball inside 50 with some quality entries has been a really big focus for us.

“We’ve proved we have the talent on our day to match the best and it’s just about trying to get those processes to become habits and instincts.

“We’ve been working really hard, especially on our ball movement, throughout the summer – that under pressure, under real heat, we can just fall back onto it and it’s natural to us.”

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