Newly inducted Fremantle captain Alex Pearce has had to pinch himself to realise how far he’s come from his dark days on the sidelines due to injury.

Pearce has battled two significant leg fractures over his 10 year career, playing just 83 games in that time including sitting out the entirety of the 2017 and 2020 seasons.

For comparison, vice captain Andrew Brayshaw hit the 100 game milestone in the final game of his fifth AFL season.

Despite batting demons around whether he would play AFL again, Peace did everything to ensure his time on the sidelines was not wasted.

Added to Fremantle’s leadership group in 2018, Pearce travelled with the team to their hubs in 2020 to ensure he maintained his connection with the players.

"There were moments where I questioned whether I would be playing at all so to be sitting here as the captain ready to lead the Freo Dockers in season 2023 is incredibly special," Pearce said.

"I’m trying to learn to appreciate some of these moments a bit more that maybe I didn’t in the past, so I will definitely take some time to feel really good and really proud of what I have achieved."

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An emotional Pearce said that time on the sidelines has shaped his development as a person.

“It certainly gave me a lot of perspective,” Pearce said.

“I was spending time off the field and in rehab and watching and not always being involved.

“I was missing out on playing games and not having the experience on the field that I might have had if I didn’t have those setbacks.

“But it’s given me a greater experience of appreciating what I’ve got and probably having to work a bit harder at times.

“It’s helped me find real balance in my life and football and it’s something I’ll definitely try and take from this and pass onto my teammates as having a real balance in your life and football is really important in producing the best of yourself.”

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