‘Skinny kid’ Mundy to retire a hero

FROM a “skinny full-back k who didn’t want to talk to anyone” to the club games record holder, Fremantle champion David Mundy has announced this season will be his last after a career spanning 19 years in the AFL.

The veteran Docker, 37, told his teammates on Monday that he would be retiring at the end of the season.

Mundy made his debut in round 6, 2005 and has played 371 AFL matches in his career to date to hold the Fremantle club games record ahead of champion forward Matthew Pavlich (353).

The midfielder is ranked 10th for all-time games played in AFL/VFL history and is set to climb to ninth ahead of Sydney great Adam Goodes (372 matches) by the end of the home-and-away season.

He has played more games than any other current player in the league.

Mundy said he was proud of what he had achieved in his career and was eager to finish on a high with the sixth-placed Dockers this year.

“I’m incredibly proud, I’ve been living my dream for 19 years now and I’ve loved every minute of it,” Mundy said.

“Not all of it has been easy, there’s been quite a few really hard and emotional bits to it, but I’ve been able to grow as a person and as a player throughout my time at Fremantle and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m really proud of the person I’ve been able to develop into, the family I’ve been able to create, and my role within the football club.

“I feel I’ve grown from a skinny full-back who didn’t want to talk to anyone, to being part of a leadership group for a number of years now. I’m proud of that growth and that journey.”

Mundy was drafted as a second-round selection at No.19 overall in the 2003 national draft. He was an All-australian in 2015, a club best-and-fairest in 2010 and is a former captain of the club.

Fremantle will honour Mundy’s career at the Round 22 derby against the West Coast Eagles, the club’s final home game of the regular season.