Captaincy
In a team with few obvious leaders, Peter Mann was the obvious choice for the captaincy when persistent unavailability for injury saw Ben Allan resign the captaincy in March 1997. In 40 games as captain, Mann never again achieved the high standards of his first two seasons. With the exception of successive dominant 1997 games against the Western Bulldogs at Subiaco in round 16 (13 marks, 4 goals) and Hawthorn at Waverley in round 17 (6 marks, 3 goals), both of which earned two Brownlow medal votes, he was rarely a commanding on field presence. Injury, suspension and poor form frustrated the fans. The coach, Gerard Neesham, was protective. After the 100-point loss in round 15 at Victoria Park against Collingwood, he told the media
He has been good for us spasmodically during the year, he has just had no luck in running. He has had the worst game he has ever had in his life last week and it can only go up from here. He is a pretty tough critter, even though he is pretty quiet and that shows great resolve. Some of the great leaders of the world have gone to some pretty tough positions – Captain Cook, discovering countries and floating around in the middle of the ocean, and the rest wanted to bail out and go back. It takes great resolve to be a good leader and he has definitely got that. At the moment he just hasn't got good touch.
Another frustrating year followed in 1998. In a team desperate for leadership and marking forwards, Mann was again sporadic. So poor was his form by round 9 that he was dropped from the team for three weeks. His comeback match, Fremantle's 8-point victory against Carlton in round 13, was his best for the season, with 12 marks and 2 goals. By round 16, with form again wavering, Mann was shifted to defence and remained there until his season, and spell as captain, ended when he broke down in the warm-up at the MCG in round 20 against North Melbourne. Relieved of the captaincy, Mann played 7 games in 1999. His final match was Fremantle's record-breaking loss against Brisbane at the Gabba in round 20. Delisted in the major list changes at the end of Damian Drum's disastrous first season, Mann nominated for the 2000 preseason draft but was not selected. He played 77 AFL games for Fremantle, kicking 88 goals. Overall he played 116 games.
Read more about this topic: Peter Mann