AFL great Mick Malthouse has unloaded on Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe, labelling the two-time Brownlow Medalist as not a "champion" and "unreliable".
Malthouse has previously had issues with Fyfe's defensive work rate again took aim at the Fremantle captain's attitude to the contest.
“The word champion is not him. No. He’s certainly not in my top quality players that are playing league football,” Malthouse said on ABC radio.
“I still say the greatest players of all time have never won a Brownlow. So that puts it in perspective. If we’re really dealing with it – (Wayne) Carey, (Leigh) Matthews, (Kevin) Bartlett, (Ted) Whitten etc. They didn’t win Brownlows.
“But to be a champion, you must finish off your work for a start off. He is not a good finisher in front of goal. When the chips are down, I wouldn’t rely on him.
“And he was found out again last week. He’s got an attitude that ‘I don’t have to defend’. If it falls in his lap, if it’s near him within five metres, he can tackle like the best of them. He is a very good tackler and he is strong and he is bold in that area.
“But if he has to run with his opponent when the ball goes into the opposition forward line, he is 15, 20m away hoping that the backs get it and get it back to him.”
“He does not defend. And there’s a lot of great players that don’t defend. So I’m not saying for one moment that he is Robinson Crusoe.
“But in my mind to be the best player you’ve got to be, you’ve got to be able to do all the things that your coach wants you to do for your team so your teammates look at you and go ‘gee, he defends so well'."
Fyfe has averaged 24.3 disposals and 3.7 tackles this season and had kicked four goals for the winless Dockers.
