Alex Pearce is hopeful an ‘honest’ and ‘powerful’ review of Fremantle’s loss to Carlton will see the playing group turn the corner ahead of a tough test against Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday.
The Fremantle captain said Tuesday’s team meeting led to some harsh truths being spoken about their efforts in a 53-point loss to the Blues - Freo’s fourth loss in five games following the bye.
Pearce said the group didn’t hold each other to account on the field against Carlton and this was an impetus for the discussions on Tuesday.
“We had a very honest review yesterday and I think everyone left the Club understanding what we did wrong and understand that we need to be a lot better,” Pearce told SEN WA.
“There were plenty of room for improvement clips, but what was really good was good player to player feedback - talking through some efforts that we didn't like and things that we didn't execute.
“It's something we didn't do a lot of on the ground. We thought we didn't play with a lot of passion and we’re disappointed, particularly with how the middle quarters went.
“We know that our fans watching that game wouldn't have been overly proud of the efforts that we dished up.”
Pearce said the feedback was well intentioned and aimed at making the group stronger.
“(We were) able to hold each other to account,” Pearce said.
“We know that we really care about the team, each other and our performance, so sometimes it can be uncomfortable giving each other some feedback and some honest opinions.
“I'm sure everyone left the meeting yesterday knowing that we're really united, we really care about each other and we care about where we're going as a group.
“We’re really committed to making those improvements.”
Pearce said there was no better opportunity for the group to test themselves than against the top of the table Magpies, who have lost just two games this season.
“We're all aware that Collingwood have a lot of strengths and they're playing with a lot of confidence at the moment,” Pearce said.
“Sides that sit back against the Pies are playing into their hands. We're going to have to hope it looks a bit different than on Saturday where it looked a bit tentative.
“We're going to hopefully bring a lot of energy, a lot of passion and play to win and really go out there with an intent to take the four points.”
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