Fremantle Dockers champion Nat Fyfe throws support behind out-of-contract senior coach Justin Longmuir

Fremantle champion Nat Fyfe has thrown his support behind out-of-contract coach Justin Longmuir in a ringing endorsement where he said making a change could put the brakes on their climb. Longmuir enters this season as one of only two AFL senior coaches without a deal for next year and pressure on the Dockers boss will grow if the club can’t make an instant return to finals. But in an interview with 7NEWS, Fyfe warned a change at the top would likely slow their progress and called on the club to “stick it out” with Longmuir. “The other teams would be wanting us to change coach I reckon, because you have to almost reset again and start again,” the two-time Brownlow medallist said. “If you can just stick it out. Good coach, good organisation over a long term - I subscribe to that.” Longmuir could soon be the league’s only off-contract coach, with reports Adelaide are in talks to extend Matthew Nicks into next season. The West Australian reported earlier this year Fremantle have Western Bulldogs premiership mentor Luke Beveridge in their sights if Longmuir’s Dockers were to stall early this season. In an exclusive interview, Longmuir declared he was still the best man for the job. “I think I have got better along the journey as a senior coach and I am still very confident that as a footy club we are on the right track,” Longmuir said. Asked if he felt the squeeze being in the final year of a contract, he said “not really”. “I understand the interest in it, but I still have a whole year to play out on my contract,” Longmuir said. “I understand scrutiny is part of the job, but a part of my job is to control what I need to control and focus on what I need to focus on. I have become very process orientated and I will make sure my energy is where it needs to be.” Fyfe’s pre-season has been the talk of the club this summer, with teammates lining up to heap praise on the veteran. Defender Luke Ryan said he was still “star struck” by Fyfe and that this pre-season — where he has returned to the midfield full-time — has been his best in years. Fyfe says confidence in his body has allowed him to get to work in the midfield. “I haven’t really missed a session and I am backing up from sessions really well, then I can stop worrying about my body and start worrying about my craft and how I interact with the other players and how we mesh,” Fyfe said. “At this stage, everything is going well. “I’ve got a bit more confidence about my body, I have got a bit more confidence about where I fit into this side and working closely with the other midfielders again.” Fyfe played nine games last season, mostly as part of a forward experiment, and has not managed more than 20 games since 2017 and admits his body let him down. Now in a teasing glimpse of what his season might look like, Fyfe flagged he could be used in a number of roles as he settles back into regular football. “It was my body. I never had a chance to play, or give the coaches my best as a forward, because I had no confidence in what my body could do. I could never really train multiple weeks in a row, play a string of games,” he said. “I was coming back from a back injury where I just didn’t really have proper function of my lower body and I didn’t really know where my legs were in space and then everything kind of compounded when you are playing in a new role. “I learnt a lot in that space, but really I was playing severely handicapped. “I’m working with Joel Corey, working with JL as to how I can get back up close to my potential and then from there hopefully we can get greedy and play me in different positions and evolve my game.” Fyfe played as a true inside midfielder against West Coast in a comfortable practice match win on the weekend and could appear again against Port Adelaide on Friday night. It is a bulked up Fremantle midfield now including Fyfe and Hayden Young, with even Andrew Brayshaw pushed to a wing role at times on Saturday.