After reading this Mundy is firming up as my F3 - 1% ownership, played at least 18 games in his last 8 seasons and more mid-time are all ticks in my book.
A combination of Gray, Dunkley, Mclean and Wingard have all rotated through F3 but they have all had question marks - whether they be role or injury related.
Freo veteran not planning on slowing down in 15th season
EVERGREEN veteran David Mundy has given no thought to scaling back his workload,
declaring he is ready to play every game and reinforce Fremantle's injury-hit midfield ahead of his 15th campaign.
Coming off another ultra-consistent season when he finished runner-up to departed gun Lachie Neale in the Doig Medal, Mundy has ticked off a near-faultless summer and is showing no signs of slowing down.
The 33-year-old was typically polished and omnipresent in last Friday's intraclub, helping Michael Walters steer the 'purple' team's engine room without seeming to move out of second gear.
With Freo coach Ross Lyon conceding some anxiety about his midfield stocks, much will depend on Mundy, Walters and superstar Nat Fyfe, especially during early fixtures against North Melbourne, Gold Coast and St Kilda which could lay the platform for a finals push.
That top-flight trio is set to also rotate through attack, similar to recent seasons, but
Mundy has been preparing as if he will play the entire year on the ball.
"That's what I'm working towards, absolutely," Mundy told
AFL.com.au.
"Even the last couple of years when I've played a lot more forward, especially through this pre-season phase, I've always trained with the mids.
"I've always mentally and physically tried to prepare myself to play mid, because each end has its challenges but midfield is physically more demanding than any other role that I've played or experienced."
Mundy's ability to back up from midfield batterings and arduous travel has been a hallmark of his distinguished career, and the former skipper has no intention of voluntarily missing matches in 2019.
"It's not something I really think about. Even mentally, I don't come into a season thinking ‘if I bang out 15 or 16 (games), that's a good result'," he said.
"My absolute focus at the moment is to be ready to go round one against the Kangaroos here and to really get our season off to a really good start – it's something we've lacked the last couple of years, especially.
"You speak about teams that have missed the finals last year and we're one of those teams and we're desperate to change our fortunes."
The Dockers' game style has been tough to identify since they plunged into a rebuild during a disastrous 2016, and they ranked bottom-three for scoring in the past three seasons.
But Mundy hoped the talent and character of players brought into the club in recent years would drive Fremantle back towards September again.
"It's why we play. Finals football is a different beast and a very exciting time," Mundy said.
"We've been trying to share stories of our successful period here and the feeling around the club – not only finals but throughout the year – and how you get caught up in, not the hype so much, but the process Monday to Friday and everything kind of gameday just takes care of itself.
"That's been my experience, even just in life, the really daunting tasks in front of you can be broken down into simple steps and it's just a matter of following the steps and doing the processes as well as you can.
"Ross says it all the time, that's not going to guarantee success on gameday for us, but it will give you your best chance."
Mundy, renowned as a fastidious preparer, has been held up by Lyon as an example for the young Dockers of what it takes to succeed in a ruthless competition.
Since making his debut in 2005, he has played at least 21 games in 11 of the next 13 seasons, and completing 'extras' – such as ice baths, yoga and stretching – have been keys to his longevity.
It has added up and Mundy is on the verge of joining fellow Freo great Matthew Pavlich as the only WA-based players to notch 300 AFL games – a feat he could achieve the Dockers' marquee Len Hall Tribute Game against the Western Bulldogs in round six.
"It will obviously be really special," Mundy said.
"I would have liked to have won a few more games early days and the last couple of years, but I'll go over to the season launch to get inducted into the AFL life members in a couple of weeks and hopefully get six more (games) out this year."
Whether Mundy pushes on beyond 2019 will be discussed throughout the season, and the 2010 Doig medallist has no desire to remain on the list purely to be an experienced head.
But after booting a career-high 19 goals and averaging 22.5 disposals last year, it's difficult to envisage Mundy's standards dropping to a point where a decision is not largely, if not entirely, in his hands.
"I was having these (contract) conversations a little bit last year – and I guess it's the virtue of being a bit older and going onto year-by-year contracts," he said.
"But personally I'll be evaluating myself on my performance, whether I still think I hold some value for the team and pulling my weight and playing my role.
"I certainly don't want to hang around here for the sake of hanging around or to be necessarily just an experienced head on a list. I want to be a really valuable contributing member of our playing group and our team.
"Running around at training at the moment I feel really great and really positive that I'm in the best mindset and physically good place to do that."
