Fremantle skipper Alex Pearce speaks with clarity and purpose about a range of topics, everything from his love of music, to the pre-grand final hype that has enveloped Perth.
asserted
that → speak → Perth
But he stops in his tracks when asked to imagine what his dad, Scott, the president of Ulverstone Football Club on Tassie’s northwest coast, might feel when he gets to see his son run onto the MCG to play in an AFL grand final on Saturday.
uncertain
son → stop → Saturday
“Ah … yeah, uh… I might get emotional if I start thinking about that too much,” the Dockers’ leader said.
uncertain
leader → get → that
“My parents have been with me every step of the way and my life has revolved around the Ulverstone football and cricket clubs, and it means a lot to be able to share it with my mum [Karen], and dad and my sister [Georgia].”
asserted
it → revolve → mum
Pearce left Ulverstone at 18 when Fremantle drafted him in November 2013 with pick No.37 in “the Tom Boyd draft”, alongside lifelong friend Brady Grey (No.58) – who grew up 25 minutes away from Pearce in Burnie.
asserted
who → leave → Burnie
The pair would manage just seven games together for the Dockers, with Grey’s breakout year, 2017, when Pearce missed the whole season.
asserted
Pearce → manage → season
This week, the Ulverstone Football Club has run a competition pitting local shops against each other to see which one could create the best Fremantle-themed shopfront.
uncertain
one → run → shopfront
The local brewery, Buttons Brewing, has a purple beer flowing and the lights on Leven Bridge will be purple on Friday, too.
asserted
lights → have → Friday
Pearce’s old school, Ulverstone Secondary College, is holding a “Purple for Pearce” day on what they have dubbed Fremantle Friday.
asserted
they → hold → what
Pearce’s lifelong mate, Jordan Quaile, who captained Ulverstone into the NWFL grand final a fortnight ago, said the town is buzzing.
asserted
town → captain → final
Pearce was never going to miss tuning in, and watched the match against arch-rivals Devonport on a live stream.
asserted
Pearce → go → stream
He will be hoping for a different result on Saturday – Devonport claimed their sixth-straight premiership, winning by 14 points.
asserted
Devonport → hop → points
A bag of bones as a teenager, the life of the man nicknamed “Moose” revolved around sport, his mates and family.
“If ‘Moose’ wasn’t at the footy club, he was at the cricket club,” Grey said.
asserted
Grey → nickname → club
Pearce made his footy debut for Ulverstone seniors in May 2012, aged 16, and played in a B-grade cricket premiership alongside his dad, and Quaile.
uncertain
Pearce → make → dad
Scott Pearce, a respected sporting figure in the northwest, was the son of Wayne – one of 10 brothers – who kicked bags of goals for Ulverstone when footy was thriving in the ’60s.
asserted
footy → kick → 60s
It’s no surprise that the Pearce name appears on a few honour boards in clubrooms around town.
asserted
name → ’ → town
Quaile said Alex and his mates spent their time “hanging around and learning and watching” from the older people at the club, the local crew’s bonds growing like compound interest.
asserted
bonds → say → interest
Meanwhile, Pearce’s mum, Karen, and sister, Georgia, became doyennes of Tasmania’s equestrian world, with Karen coaching Pony Club Australia to victory in the 2026 Pony Club International Alliance (PCIA) International Mounted Games Exchange in Kentucky in the United States.
asserted
Karen → become → States
Karen is a Pony Club Tasmania board member, while Georgia represented Pony Club Australia at the Generali World Club Showjumping Tournament in France’s Loire Valley in 2018.
asserted
Georgia → represent → 2018
Pearce shot up suddenly in his late teenage years like a mountain ash, towering over his peers on the footy field, yet retaining enough endurance to play in the midfield.
asserted
Pearce → shoot → midfield
Local scouts began to notice him and the Tassie Mariners came knocking.
asserted
Mariners → begin → him
So, too, did Devonport – the only state league team in the northwest.
asserted
Devonport → do → northwest
Such was his connection to his hometown, Pearce was not breaking his neck to play for Ulverstone’s local league rivals, which still makes Grey laugh.
asserted
Grey → break → rivals
“It was hard for him to actually play for Devonport,” Grey recalled.
asserted
Grey → play → Devonport
“People told him, ‘Mate, if you don’t do it, you probably aren’t going to get drafted’.”
asserted
you → tell → it
His talent shone in the state league and recruiters leaned forward even more when the then-199-centimetre Pearce recorded a 15.5 beep test and then ran three kilometres in 10.06 minutes the next day at the 2013 AFL draft combine.
asserted
Pearce → shine → combine
He played well with Devonport as he split his time between pulling on the boots for them and the Mariners.
asserted
he → play → them
The idyllic upbringing was broadening into the world beyond sport, too – Quaile recalling trips with Pearce and others near the end of their schooldays to the Falls Festival in Marion Bay, on Tasmania’s southeast coast, as signalling the start of Pearce’s lifelong love of music and gigs.
asserted
Quaile → broaden → music
By then he had a manager, Tim Hazell, from Vivid Sport, a former Hawk who was just starting out, himself, and is still managing Pearce.
asserted
who → have → Pearce
He has never forgotten where he has come from, and who helped him get to where he has – even though he is the one who has made it happen,” Hazell said.
asserted
Hazell → forget → where
Grey recalls the excitement that filled Ulverstone on the night the Dockers drafted the local duo.
asserted
Dockers → recall → duo
People descended on Pearce’s house, with cars pulling up left, right and centre to celebrate the unexpected turn of events.
asserted
cars → descend → events
“We were both crapping ourselves about ‘the 3ker’ [time trial] on Tuesday after the draft, and our dads were having 10 beers,” Grey said.
asserted
Grey → crap → beers
It took Pearce two years to break into the Dockers’ line-up – in round six, 2015, the year of the club’s most recent preliminary final appearance before this year – and, despite his talent and growth as a player, it wasn’t until 2022 that his career gathered momentum as he battled injuries that caused him to miss the 2017 and 2020 seasons, a devastating broken leg taking a year to heal.
asserted
leg → take → year
He did not waste the time sidelined.
asserted
He → waste → time
By 2022, despite having played only 63 matches in his first eight years in Fremantle, he entered the club’s leadership group.
asserted
he → play → group
By this time, he was a key defender but he was also a significant influence on his peers, his desire to win motivating him to develop ways in which to win – soaking up the model set by club greats Matthew Pavlich, Nat Fyfe, David Mundy, Michael Barlow and former coach Ross Lyon.
asserted
desire → win → Pavlich
He also looked internally to discover how best to get the most out of himself in a sporting sense, while also satiating his curiosity for life outside footy.
asserted
He → look → footy
Family, friends, working in programs to help others, study, an exploration of his Indigenous heritage (he is a proud Palawa man who has spoken about the confidence he felt at the Dockers to explore his heritage), music and travel became his simple antidotes to football’s ups and downs.
asserted
he → work → ups
“The lesson through the really hard times was about finding a balance for myself, which is not to have a life just centred around football and performance,” he said.
asserted
he → find → football
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
