FREMANTLE'S David Mundy credits former coach Mark Harvey as the man who turned him into the damaging midfielder he has become. 

Many in the game view Mundy as the archetypal big-bodied athlete the Fremantle midfield is built on. 

Few remember that Mundy was recruited as a full-back in 2003 and played most of his 124 consecutive games from debut as a half-back flanker. 

On the eve of his 200th AFL game, Mundy tells the AFL Record it was a hunch from his former coach that has made him a midfield machine. 


"That was the brainchild of Mark Harvey," Mundy says.

"He saw something that not too many other people did and persevered for a little while. 

"Half-back wasn't really working for me at that stage, so I think I needed a change.

"I feel like I am repaying that choice now. I'm playing some pretty good football now and (I’m) pretty consistent."

He has been consistently good since 2010 and consistently good in big games. Mundy won Fremantle's best and fairest that year and was the Dockers' best in the finals series. 

In 2013 he finished second in the Doig Medal, behind Nat Fyfe, and starred in the Grand Final. 

Mundy's 28 touches and seven clearances put him in the frame for the Norm Smith Medal. He sparked the Dockers' third-term comeback, when they rallied from 23 points down at half-time to reduce the deficit to just three points. 

Yet Mundy probably doesn't get the recognition he deserves from outside the Fremantle walls. He has twice been in the All Australian 40-man squad but is yet to be named in the final 22. 

The 28-year-old says even his sister, a die-hard Richmond supporter, doesn't rate him. 

"My sister bags me out more than anyone," Mundy says jokingly. 

"I don't think she rates me as a player."

The Dockers rate him highly, however, and although he remains tight-lipped about his contract situation and potential free agency, they will be desperate to ensure 200 games is not the last milestone he celebrates in purple. 

Read the full story in this week's AFL Record, which is available at all grounds.