Fremantle's second longest serving AFL captain Nat Fyfe has confirmed he will stand down from the role, in an effort to focus on his own form and fitness.
Fyfe became Dockers captain in 2017, and only Matthew Pavlich has held the job for a longer period.
Fyfe confirmed to the Dockers on Tuesday his decision to not seek captaincy for a seventh season, following a difficult year personally in 2022.
The 31-year-old managed just seven games as he battled regular shoulder, back, and hamstring issues.
"The decision was tough. It has been something I've known for the last three or four weeks," he said.
"Last year was a challenging year for me individually, but a great year for the club and it started to pave the way for a transition.
"Intuitively, I knew that it was an exciting opportunity for the club for me to step aside and let someone else come through."
Fyfe was appointed Fremantle captain in 2017, taking over from David Mundy.
In 2022, he became the club's second longest-serving skipper by duration, surpassing Peter Bell.
But a string of injuries means he remains 11 games behind Bell on the list of actual matches played while captain, finishing with 96.
Now the club's executive general manager of football, Bell said Fyfe's leadership was a crucial part of Fremantle's push back into finals contenders.
"Nathan led by example both on and off the field, and the strength we boast as a club right now from a talent, work ethic and leadership perspective can be attributed to his guidance," Bell said.
"I understand Nathan's desire to both stand aside as captain as well as any formal leadership duties so he can best focus on his football, but we know that his influence on the group will continue."
Fyfe's role as captain had been the subject of some debate leading into 2023, given his injury record.
The rise of young stars Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong has seen them tipped to be in contention for the captaincy.
The club said the make-up of the leadership group would be finalised in several weeks.
Fyfe said his focus would now turn to helping the club's other forwards and relearning his craft.
"It also allows someone else to step into the leadership group potentially and give us that fresh push of leadership which will propel us forward," he said.
