Alex Pearce is entering the 2022 season off the back of a full pre-season, something the key defender admits he hasn’t been used to.
As round one draws near, the 26-year-old said he is ‘itching to go’ after banking a full summer of training under his belt.
Pearce had 11 disposals (eight kicks) and six marks against West Coast in the AAMI Community Series on Sunday, with a disposal efficiency of 90.9 per cent.
“Because I’ve been able to train the full pre-season it has felt longer than ever,” Pearce said.
“I’m actually really itching to get into that season mode and be done with pre-season training and get into the games.
“There is a really good vibe amongst the group, and now we’re quite confident we can play some good footy, but there is always an unknown about how you might go.
“We are confident, but we really want to know where we stand against the good teams in the competition and this first month will show us where we are at.”
SEASON LAUNCH: Ruck-forward balance
SEASON LAUNCH: JL's forward thinking
SEASON LAUNCH: Walker 'banging the door down'
Pearce said a ‘fit and healthy’ backline had made a noticeable difference over the pre-season, and said the competition for spots in Freo’s defensive stocks was at an all-time high.
“The backline has been fantastic all pre-season, we have been really fit and healthy which is something we haven’t achieved, particularly the big blokes, over the last couple of years,” Pearce said.
“I think the backline has caused the hardest selection decisions over the last couple of weeks…Ethan Hughes, Joel Hamling and Brandon Walker all missed last week, players that have been in our best side when they have been available.
“It proves the competition for spots has been really hot.”
Pearce named young half-back duo Heath Chapman and Hayden Young as his standouts over the pre-season.
“Heath Chapman has been fantastic, and I think he’s improved the most out of anyone,” Pearce said.
“Hayden Young is finding some really good form after a bit of a slow start to this pre-season too.”
After Fremantle kicked 11 goals and 13 behinds at the weekend, Pearce addressed the work that had been completed over the summer in front of goal.
“(The goal kicking) has been something that we have spoken about, and it’s something that’s obviously spoken about a lot in the media and amongst the fans, and rightly so,” Pearce said.
“It has been glaringly obvious that it has hurt us a little bit.
“This pre-season we have had more set shots than ever and there has been a huge focus on it. The forwards have had a focus on getting the reps in and, hopefully, it was a bit of an anomaly last week.”
