The 199cm Tasmanian recruit played as a key defender on the purple team in the first half of Tuesday’s intra-club match, matched up on Craig Moller.
But the 19-year-old switched teams at half-time and found himself standing the greatest player in Fremantle history and one of the best ever AFL forwards, Matthew Pavlich.
The club captain worked his younger opponent over to take a couple of marks and kick a goal in the first few minutes of their contest.
Pearce quickly learnt what he needed to do to compete with a player of Pavlich’s quality.
“He’s very physical and if you’re not physical back, then he’ll get a couple of metres on you and just rack up kicks,” he said.
“The main thing is to be really physical with him and don’t let him get on top of you.”
Pearce said Pavlich did not offer any advice on the field on Tuesday, but at the club, the skipper was a wealth of information.
“Off the field he talks to me a lot and that’s helped my game immensely, learning from one of the best ever,” he said.
As for a comparison between the warm Perth weather and what he’s used to back home in Tasmania?
“It doesn’t compare at all,” Pearce said.
“If we were playing a twilight game in Tassie, we’d have the long skins on underneath and it’d be freezing.
“To be out there in 28 degrees is something a bit different for me.”
