It says all you might want to know in regards to the profession of David Mundy that he’s 37, and nonetheless the e-mail asserting his impending retirement got here as a shock.
Final season, Mundy polled 20 Brownlow votes, his private finest, and was runner-up in Fremantle’s best-and-fairest. This season, his 18th, he’s averaging 22 disposals a sport and is finals-bound. In a group badly-beaten by Melbourne final weekend, he was nonetheless good for a coaches’ vote. Within the calculus some outdated footballers use, he assuredly goes half a season too quickly, moderately than half a season too late.
David Mundy in motion towards Essendon this season.Credit score:AFL Images
Mundy is within the prime 10 for VFL/AFL video games performed, and the one one on that checklist whose entire profession has been primarily based outdoors of Victoria. Others have performed for longer, however no-one has travelled additional to get there, greater than 900,000 kilometres all informed. The tyranny of distance limits West Australian careers. To today, just one West Coast Eagle and one different Docker have reached 300 video games.
Remoteness makes for further grind, however Mundy has by no means bored with it. He mentioned in order not too long ago as June. Headwinds or following, calm seas or tough, he has glided over all of them. It’s a misleading feat of longevity. On Twitter on Monday, ex-Bulldog Bob Murphy, now the Dockers’ head of soccer operations, dubbed him “the human hovercraft”.
Let’s return and take a look round. Mundy was drafted in 2003. John Howard was prime minister, Mark Latham opposition chief, and Andrew Demetriou had simply grow to be chief govt of the AFL.
Social media didn’t exist, nor Gold Coast, nor GWS. Fremantle, itself, was simply 10 years outdated. Brisbane had simply received their third premiership in a row, Nathan Buckley, Adam Goodes and Mark Ricciuto had shared the Brownlow Medal, and Sam Mitchell was the rising star. It was a land of giants, and it will be his world now.
Faint reward: David Mundy’s banner ‘celebrating’ his 250th sport.Credit score:Fremantle Dockers/Twitter
From Seymour, Mundy was picked at No.19. Solely six of these taken forward of him received to 100 video games, and two didn’t play even one. No-one is assured to get one. Mundy performed a full season with Subiaco and received a premiership there earlier than getting a guernsey at Fremantle in 2005. Chris Connolly was coach, Peter Bell captain.
Mundy’s first match was a 143-129 win over Neale Daniher’s Melbourne on the MCG. Learn that scoreline and weep. Alongside Mundy had been Bell, Matthew Pavlich, Jeff Farmer, Paul Hasleby, Des Headland and a sure Justin Longmuir. Going through him had been David Neitz, Russell Robertson, Brad Inexperienced, Aaron Davey, Brock McLean, Adam Yze, and Travis Johnstone. It is a wonky outdated time machine.
