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Fremantle Dockers veteran David Mundy has put pen to paper on a one year deal to play on in to an 18th AFL season, the club confirmed on Wednesday.
Mundy was taken with pick 19 in the 2003 AFL Draft by Fremantle, and has played 332 games in purple since making his AFL debut in 2005, the second most in club history.
The new deal gives the 35 year old the chance to go past former Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich as the games record holder for the Dockers, needing to play every game in the home and away season in 2021 to achieve the landmark.
Mundy had another consistent season in 2020, finishing fifth in the Doig Medal, his tenth top five finish in the past twelve seasons.
The former Fremantle captain was delighted to sign on for a further season, his contract situation uncertain due to the lack of clarity around list sizes for next year.
“It’s a big relief. My wife and family and I are obviously thrilled to have some clarity around our future now. 2020 in general has been a time of more questions than answers, so it’s good to have it signed,” Mundy said.
Mundy said he was still hungry to improve and attack an 18th AFL pre-season.
“I’ve always had a really healthy dose of competitiveness that gets me through,” Mundy said.
“I think in the last phase of my career, I’m still trying to improve on little aspects and trying to get better each session and each pre-season. There’s certainly a driving force within me still.
“To be able to go out on the field and perform the way that I did throughout 2020 gives me a lot of confidence and I really enjoy doing it.”
Executive general manager of football Peter Bell said Mundy would continue to be a valuable resource for Fremantle’s younger players but added that performance alone was enough to justify a contract extension.
“We’re really pleased to announce that David Mundy will be playing on with us for season 2021,” Bell said.
“This process has been frustrating for the club and also for Dave as we were waiting for some clarity around list sizes. That’s been the major obstacle to announcing this earlier.
“His performance demanded (a new contract). In addition to that, Dave’s been a great mentor for all of our players and particularly the young midfielders.
“He’s very generous with his time from a craft perspective, he gives a lot of himself to teach some of the young players and older players that we have in the midfield. For those reasons, we’re absolutely thrilled that he’ll be a part of our plans for next year.”
IMAGE: Perth Now.