FREMANTLE skipper Alex Pearce has signed a two-year contact extension, keeping him at the Dockers until at least the end of 2027.
As reported by AFL.com.au on Tuesday, Pearce was one of seven Dockers eligible for free agency this year, but the new deal takes the 29-year-old off the table and to a 14th season with the club.
Pearce said he hoped to achieve “something special” with his teammates.
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“I’m very excited. This is the place I want to be,” Pearce said.
“To be able to extend for a couple of years, I think really helps me focus in on what these next three years can look like. I think we can achieve a lot.”
Alex Pearce gestures during the match between Fremantle and Melbourne at Optus Stadium in round 19, 2024. Picture: Getty Images
The Tasmanian product has played 122 games since debuting in 2015 after he was taken by the Dockers with pick No.37 in the 2013 draft.
After two seasons as captain, Pearce believes he’s adjusted to the role and says the connection has never been better on-and-off the field.
“I think I’m probably enjoying my footy as much as I ever have,” he said.
“As you get older your role changes and you mature as a person. Your relationship with the footy club and the support changes.
“At the moment – with my role and with the people we have got around the footy club and our playing group – it’s a really good group of guys that I love coming to work with and connect really well with.
“The staff we have – our coaches, football staff and the wider group that makes up this footy club – are a bunch of people that I love spending time with and really love working towards achieving something really special with.
“There’s an element of focusing on myself and being the best player I can be because that will inevitably make us a better team.”
Pearce was in career-best form last season but played just one game after round 15 after breaking his left forearm twice.
Now in full training, the 201cm key defender says the Dockers’ squad depth will drive the team to greater heights this season after their 10th-placed finish in 2024.
“We have 30 – pushing on 40 players – that are really hungry and desperate to play,” Pearce said.
“That makes an environment where everyone is trying to get the very most out of themselves and it’s elevating the level that we are competing at.”
Alex Pearce is seen at Fremantle training on January 13, 2025. Picture: Fremantle FC
Pearce is one of 11 players so far named to represent the Indigenous All-Stars against Fremantle at Optus Stadium on 15 February.
