Fremantle defender Alex Pearce is looking to help lead Peel Thunder into the WAFL finals, working with the key defenders at Freo’s partner club for the remainder of the season.
The injured backman is using his time off to help develop and mentor Peel’s backline, which includes a number of Fremantle-listed players such as tall defenders Tobe Watson and Dillon O’Reilly.
Pearce hopes Peel will come in fresh from a bye to reclaim their spot in the top five, taking on the second-placed Claremont this Saturday at David Grays Arena.
“(Peel) have been a little bit up and down…before (Peel’s win against East Fremantle) we had a couple of losses which probably hurt us a bit. I feel when you look at where we’re sitting at the moment we’re in a pretty good spot where we can make a charge for finals,” Pearce said.
“Hopefully, we can build on what was a good win last game… obviously injuries to the Freo camp have hurt Peel as well but hopefully, for the remainder of the season we can get a few wins and make it into a finals spot.”
Pearce said he has been embracing his off-field leadership duties, and sees his current time off due to injury as an opportunity to experience football from a coaching perspective.
“With my injury, I’m obviously out for the rest of the season and I’m immobilised. I can’t train as much as I’d like and I’ve got a lot of time on my hands,” Pearce said.
“Initially, (general manager of football) Peter Bell came to me with the idea that it could be beneficial for some of the guys at Peel, and myself as well, to help out with some coaching,” Pearce said.
“I hadn’t done a lot of coaching before, so it’s nice for myself to try something a bit different, see what the environment’s like on game day looking through that coaching lens rather than being out there playing.
“Hopefully, I’ll continue to work through the remainder of the season and help the Peel boys, in particular the key defenders.
“Obviously being a leader within the club, any way that I can continue to stay involved and help would be a good thing for myself and some of the young boys as well.”
