Peter Bell loves seeing Fremantle Docker Nat Fyfe playing well as the sub but wants him playing full games too

Former Fremantle captain Peter Bell believes Nat Fyfe’s instant impact when coming on as the sub makes him a prime target to play that role more often but has warned it can’t happen every week and he must still play full matches. Fyfe had nine disposals after being subbed into Saturday night’s game during the final quarter and that followed his seven disposals as the sub against Gold Coast. Bell said Fyfe’s ability to win the ball in the wet when other players are tired made him the ideal sub in both games. He said the dual Brownlow medallist was suited to often playing as the sub, but only if he was also handed full matches at key points of the season. “Longer term for Fremantle, I think they can really help Nat and he can help them by playing that role reasonably regularly,” Bell told The West Australian. “It’s the big body, which is why in those greasy conditions he’s particularly good and very clean. He does the right thing at the right time and has good game sense. The other part with Nat is the team love having him out there. They walk a bit taller. “But I’m not sure it’ll be the permanent sub for Nat, He’s had a huge impact in both of the games but I also feel like those greasy, wet conditions are pretty good for him as well. “He’s definitely impacted in a big way in both games. But he’d want to play a full game at some stage and Fremantle would be pretty keen for that to happen as well to build his fitness. If he continues to play as the sub all the time and then they get an early injury, he’d have to come into the match being vulnerable to soft tissue injuries and ability to cover the ground.” Fyfe missed the first half of the season following pre-season knee surgery and then a hamstring injury. BUt he did an enormous amount of work to build his fitness to step straight into the AFL team when he was available. Bell said the Dockers faced a difficult decision about whether to play Fyfe at all against Essendon on Thursday given they have a five-day break and they would be determined to avoid him suffering an injury in a short week. He said all of the club’s decisions and Fyfe’s focus should be on having him fit and ready to perform during September if the Dockers make the finals. “He’s achieved everything else. It’s not about individual achievements. It’s a team achievement that he’s looking for. Hopefully the team continue to build and give themselves an opportunity to do that,” Bell said.