The stars had to align for Fremantle to turn a 41-1 deficit into a 13-point victory in Saturday’s elimination final against the Western Bulldogs, and stand in captain Alex Pearce believes three key factors played a major part in the remarkable comeback.
It was a familiar position Fremantle found themselves in before grinding their opponents down, most recently in round 23 against GWS where they trailed the Giants by 31 points at a similar point in the game.
Despite having 18 players with no finals experience, Pearce said the players always had the belief they could overrun their opponents late in the game.
“I’m so proud. That was unbelievable,” Pearce said.
“I don’t know if too many people would have backed us in, we just had a feeling out there that once we gained some momentum, we’d be able to play our way and get it done. It’s a really special win.”
That mental strength was reinforced by Freo’s fitness, which Pearce believes rivals any team in the AFL.
“It’s been a bit of a mantra during the whole season, that we’ll go to the end and we’re really fit,” Pearce said.
“We believe that we’re one of the fittest teams in the comp and we’ll just keep going right to the end.
“It’s multiple games now where we’ve been able to come from behind in second halves.
“I knew that we had it in us and I’m not sure where it comes from, but we’ve built it over a little while now.”
When Freo’s belief and fitness combined with the loudest and most intimidating atmosphere ever seen at a game at Optus Stadium, it made Freo unstoppable as 58,982 fans screamed them home.
“I’m lost for words for the crowd to be honest, it was unbelievable,” Pearce said.
“Even when we kicked that first goal, the second goal, there’s no doubt that that noise would have made (the Bulldogs) think that the boys were coming.
“Once we got on a roll, it was just deafening out there.
“I’ve never experienced anything like it, even just after the game, going up to the crowd and giving them a fist pump, it was just incredibly special.”
Fremantle’s next stop is against Collingwood in a semi final at the MCG. Victoria has been a happy hunting ground for the team in 2022, with five wins and a draw from seven games.
“We’re going to have to be better, that’s for sure - we have to start better,” Pearce said.
“We didn’t have a lot of finals experience heading into this game. You can talk and expect the intensity but now we’ve experienced it, we’ll learn from that.
“Bring on the MCG.”
Fremantle will play Collingwood in a semi-final on Saturday 10 September, 7.25pm EST at the MCG. The Club will send members their unique codes via email on Sunday 4 September to purchase finals tickets within the member priority period, which will be Monday 5 September between 10am-2pm
