Who will succeed Nathan Fyfe as Fremantle captain?
Dockers champion Paul Hasleby doesn’t think there’s an obvious choice to replace Fyfe in the top job.
But if Hasleby was to name a successor, he would select vice-captain and key defender Alex Pearce to take the leadership reins.
Pearce will skipper Fremantle in Fyfe’s absence in Saturday night’s Elimination Final against the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium.
Fyfe, who has captained the Dockers for six seasons, will miss the club’s first final since 2015 with a hamstring injury.
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“Who is the next captain of the Fremantle Dockers? I don’t think it’s that obvious,” Hasleby told SEN WA’s The Run Home.
“You’ve got Andrew Brayshaw, the people will think it’s obvious, you’ve got Caleb Serong, who David Mundy has spoken about at length saying that he could be the next one, and then you’ve got the current captain in Alex Pearce, who will toss the coin and also give the team instructions before the game this week.
“Personally, I think next year it may be Alex Pearce that holds onto that position and is the captain of Fremantle in his own right.”
Former Docker Garrick Ibbotson also weighed in on Fremantle’s captaincy options.
Midfield guns Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong have both been touted as potential future club captains.
“Whether you go straight to them and have a long captaincy with a young guy while Alex Pearce and ‘Fyfy’ are still there,” Ibbotson said on SEN WA Breakfast.
“Or you could go to Alex Pearce, who would do a great job, would probably be there for two or three (years) and then you’d feel the pinch of having a Brayshaw or a Serong to take on that role long-term.
“I reckon while Fyfe and Alex Pearce are still there, you could probably go straight into a Brayshaw or a Serong.
“It’s a touch early maybe for Serong at 21 or 22 next year, but I think if you go to Alex Pearce, you keep him in for one or two (years) and then you’re in the same predicament of do you switch to a Brayshaw or a Serong.
“The issues that you have with Fyfe getting on the field, you might have those issues with Alex Pearce in a couple of years’ time.”
Brayshaw and Serong are part of Fremantle’s five-man leadership group in 2022.