NATHAN Fyfe from the Lake Grace-Pingrup Junior Football Club is the round nine National Australia Bank (NAB) Australian Football League (AFL) Rising Star nominee.
As a result, the Lake Grace-Pingrup Football Club will receive a NAB Club Recognition Award – a package of practical and financial resources designed to assist them in developing future champions.
After an outstanding junior career with Lake Grace-Pingrup and then later with Aquinas College, Fyfe played for Claremont’s Colts side last year and represented WA at the NAB AFL Under 18 Championships, kicking four goals against Vic Metro in his best performance.
His spring and endurance was in the top 15 per cent at the NAB AFL Draft Camp and he was Fremantle’s second selection (selection 20 overall) in last year's NAB AFL Draft.
Fyfe earned his nomination after an outstanding performance on Saturday against the Sydney Swans at the SCG.
He gathered 23 possessions, four clearances and five tackles.
The 18-year-old who made his AFL debut in round five has played five matches this season and is averaging 14 possessions per week.
The tall mid-fielder reads the game well and has a good goal sense.
Fremantle senior coach Mark Harvey said Nathan played an important role in the side’s win over Sydney and deserved his nomination.
“He played consistently well during the course of the game and managed to be involved in the game a lot,” Harvey said.
“He won his position more often than not, which helped contribute towards the win.”
Harvey said he was pleased with how Fyfe had adapted to playing football at an AFL level in his first five games.
“Some young players can pick up playing at an AFL level quite quickly and Nathan is one of them,” he said.
The Fremantle coach said he hoped Nathan would continue to mature and grow with the team over the course of the season.
“Hopefully, he can work out where the game’s at and how he can keep contributing towards what we are doing,” Harvey said.
Following each round of the home and away season, a panel of judges will select a NAB AFL Rising Star nominee.
At the completion of the season, one of these nominees will be chosen as the 2010 NAB AFL Rising Star.
This year's NAB AFL Rising Star will receive a personal investment folio and a dedicated personal banker, courtesy of NAB.
NAB will recognise the junior clubs that helped foster the early careers of the nominated players. Each of the 22 clubs will receive a NAB Club Recognition Award, a package of practical and financial resources designed to assist them in developing future champions.
The NAB AFL Rising Star is the pinnacle of the NAB AFL Rising Stars program, which supports grassroots players and football communities and helps young Australians fulfil their dream of playing in the AFL.
The NAB AFL Rising Stars program provides recognition and a clearly identifiable direction for a player's career and comprises the NAB AFL Rising Star , NAB AFL Draft, NAB AFL Draft Camp, NAB AFL Under 18 Championships, AIS-AFL Academy and NAB AFL Under 16 Championships.
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