Mundy bows out
It is safe to say there are no more famous Seymour sporting exports than champion Fremantle midfielder David Mundy.
A constant in the AFL for the past 18 years, Mundy saw it all over his illustrious 377-game career, establishing himself as one of the game’s greatest players.
And on Saturday night at the MCG, the journey finally came to an end, after his Dockers fell to Collingwood by 20 points in a blockbuster semi-final.
With more than 90,000 spectators watching on, the boy from Seymour was given a standing ovation as he left the field for the final time, showing his popularity throughout the entire football fraternity.
After an emotional farewell which left wife Sally and son Hudson in tears on the sidelines as the final siren sounded, Mundy said in a post-game interview it was sad to say goodbye to AFL football.
"Hudson asked me just then what I'm going to be doing for a job now," Mundy said post-match.
"I haven't figured that out yet, but we'll get there.
"I'm probably more sad that we have two little ones at home as well who aren't able to experience this.
"It's been great having Sal and Hudson with me, but it would have been lovely to have Finn and Evie with us as well."
In terms of how the game went, Fremantle was simply overawed by the occasion, as Collingwood dominated proceedings from start to finish to punch its ticket into the preliminary final.
But as has been the case throughout his career, Mundy was a standout performer for the Dockers on the night, collecting 18 disposals, taking four marks and using the ball at an exceptional 89 per cent efficiency.
He also capped the night with a brilliant longrange goal, getting on the end of a centre clearance late in the final term and converting from the 50-metre arc in typical David Mundy fashion.
"We played pretty ordinary for three quarters, really," Mundy said after the loss.
"We just made some really fundamental, basic errors around the contest really and Collingwood were able to capitalise off the back of that. "It's pretty tough to swallow." Looking back over his dazzling career, Mundy’s list of accolades is a mile long.
The games record holder at the Dockers and eighth in the history of VFL/AFL football, he captained Fremantle for one season in 2016, was an All-Australian in 2015 and won the club’s best-and-fairest in 2016.
Mundy also holds the record for most kilometres travelled over the course of an AFL career, and remarkably over his 377 games was never suspended or dropped.
Bowing out a legend of the game, he said he was proud to see how far the Fremantle Football Club had come over his career.
"That growth we've seen in our group in particular over the last three years has been really rewarding," he said.
"There are bright times ahead."