The criticism of Nat Fyfe's form this year has been unjust. Credit:Getty Images Two weeks ago former Western Bulldogs and Richmond coach Terry Wallace took aim at Fyfe, claiming the gap between the Dockers onballer and reigning Brownlow medallist – Geelong onballer Patrick Dangerfield was widening. "I don't think he's come back anywhere near the player he was," Wallace told SEN late last month. But what most commentators seem to have forgotten, including Wallace, is that Fyfe damaged the plate in his left fibula bone in April last year, which was still in his leg at the time following post-season surgery the year he won the Brownlow. Most of us would just be happy to sit on the toilet after the surgery, let alone make a return to playing elite sport.

Nat Fyfe and Michael Barlow have both suffered serious leg injuries. Credit:Michael Dodge/AFL Media There is a theory in football it takes a year of playing the game after knee surgery or a broken leg for a player to get back to his "best". Take Fyfe's former team-mate Michael Barlow for example, who reportedly experienced continual soreness in his leg during nine appearances in his comeback season. Fyfe has still received plenty of attention from the opposition in 2017. Credit:Getty Images So for the love of God, cut Fyfe some slack.

The disparaging commentary about Fyfe's form was becoming so nonsensical I was waiting for some buffoon to suggest his man bun was resulting in aerodynamic drag, resulting in him getting to the contest slower. Dennis Cometti claims Fyfe is not in the best 25 players in the AFL at the moment. Credit:Simon Schluter Then former North Melbourne great Wayne Carey joined the conga line of people criticising Fyfe, claiming he wasn't in the AFL's top 10 midfielders this year. Fair enough, as Giants young gun Josh Kelly, Tigers ball magnet Dusty Martin and Crows contested football king Rory Sloane are all having breakout years. Ross Lyon has leaped to the defence of his star player. Credit:Getty Images

But after legendary commentator Dennis Cometti foolishly declared the 25-year-old wouldn't be in the top 25 players currently running around in the AFL, I decided this prattling parody has gone on too long. "I think the Duck (Wayne Carey) is going soft... because (Fyfe's) not in the top 25," Cometti told Triple M on Tuesday. Nat Fyfe is the second-highest ranked midfielder in the league for one-percenters this season. Credit:Daniel Kalisz "Figures tell you that ... no doubt he's really struggling. His kicking is poor. I mean, he's trying hard. It may come back." Fyfe may be averaging less possessions, clearances, tackles, and contested possessions this year than when he won the Charlie in 2015, but if you compare the statistics from those two seasons the difference isn't that alarming.

Nat Fyfe won the Brownlow in 2015 despite breaking his leg towards the end of the season. Credit:Quinn Rooney In 2015, over 17 games (not including the game he busted his leg) in the regular season, Fyfe averaged 29.4 touches, 8.7 clearances per game, laid just over four tackles an outing and had 18.3 contested possessions a game. This year the Brownlow Medallist is averaging 26 touches, including 5.4 clearances a game, 14.5 contested possessions and is still laying four tackles every outing. Gee, those figure are woeful and the underperforming galoot should be jettisoned back to the Dockers' feeder club Peel (sarcasm alert for those thinking I'm actually advocating dropping him). One of the most intriguing statistics, and perhaps unknown to the 'sideline football experts', about Fyfe this season is that his one-percenters are significantly up from an average of 1.6 per cent in 2015, to 2.9 a game this season.

For those not in the know, a one-percenter according to official AFL statistics constitute knock-ons, spoils, smothers and shepherds, which means this statistic is understandably dominated by defenders, with Richmond's Alex Rance a clear leader in this category. However, out of all the midfielders in the competition only Adelaide's Rory Sloane has made more one-percenters than Fyfe in 2017 with 34 to Fyfe's 32. In fact, Collingwood midfielder Will Hoskin-Elliott (28) is the only other non defender or ruckman in the top 100 for this category. Dustin Martin (5) and Patrick Dangerfield (9) have both made less than 10, while Geelong's captain courageous, Joel Selwood, has tallied just 21. So clearly since Fyfe has been named captain he is doing more of the unselfish acts in football which largely go unnoticed. The only real plight on his game is the clanger count which has risen from 3.8 a game in 2015, to 5.1. However if you take out the match where he set a new league clanger record (largely thanks to six free kicks against), he's only averaging 4.3.

But again, did I mention he had two serious leg injuries? And Fyfe is only second to Lachie Neale at the Dockers when it comes to average touches a game this year, in a side that arguably has the best recruit of the season, Brad Hill, and young gun Connor Blakely who is one of the most improved midfielders in the AFL. Fyfe is also playing a different, more inside role to the one he played in his Brownlow year, with the onballer spending less time forward so he's not picking up cheap possessions while resting in attack. Naturally Dockers coach Ross Lyon leapt to Fyfe's defence labelling the criticism of his form like "someone trying to sell penny dreadful stocks". "After a year-and-a-half out, it takes a fair bit to get back to being your best," Lyon told reported last month. "Nathan's played some super halves and three quarters of football."