Latest news with #AlexPearce
West Australian
a day ago
- Politics
- West Australian
The Snitch: What losing Tasmania as 19th AFL club could mean for Fremantle Dockers
The Snitch is a proud 'yes' man. I only ever vote yes in referendums despite our country's historical lean to a no. It's just my positive nature. Ask Mrs Snitch. I always find it hard to say 'no' to anything my dear lady requests, whether it was the peculiar mix of Penfolds Grange and Devils on Horseback at our wedding reception at El Caballo Blanco, or her insistence we ride to the chapel in a racing green Dymaxion replica. So I have been flummoxed with with all of this pushback from Tasmanians on having an AFL team. It's all so negative and small-town minded. The thought of missing out on a stadium, and therefore a team, because of political squabbling and local myopia, has brought Tasmanian's finest footy players to tears this week. Why wouldn't you want an AFL team in your State? Yes, Tassie's greatest tourism asset lies in its diverse landscape and rich history, from Cradle Mountain to Port Arthur, but this would surely ramp it up a notch. If I am honest, only one good thing will come from a team not landing in Van Diemen's Land and that would be the likelihood Alex Pearce would remain at Fremantle for the duration of his career. Alex has Palawa heritage and grew up in Ulverstone on Tassie's north coast. He'll be 31 by Tasmania's intended AFL debut in 2028, but would be just the type of experienced and balanced footballer and all-round good chap the Devils would be looking for to lead their inaugural team. The transformation of the ugly Macquarie Point Sewage Treatment Plant into a boutique stadium worth a few Tassie truffles short of $1 billion has poured new salt on to old north v south wounds in the State. On Thursday, Tasmania's Liberal Party Premier Jeremy Rockliff lost a vote of no confidence over a looming $1 billion budget deficit and will now call a snap election. The deficit and now the election mean the AFL team is in doubt given the league has made the new roofed stadium a condition of a 19th licence. Media giant Eddie McGuire summed it up best when he said: 'What Tasmania doesn't need is every week to have an advertisement that they are a second-rate state. I think Tasmania deserves to be finally seen for the great state that it is.' He's right. If they want to remain blissfully second rate, then we have to let them. It's their call. They are busy subversives Tasmanians, just like West Aussies, after all. Remember, Tassie is an actual island. We are like one given our distance from the east. Which brings me to my favourite Tassie story and a perfect segue out of this misery. Back in 1982, the Commonwealth Games opened in Brisbane to great fanfare. Matilda the giant kangaroo was the centrepiece as she circled the QEII Stadium, winked and opened her pouch to enable hundreds of kids to pour out and form a human map of Australia. The Snitch was one of those kids – with my aptly named best mate Cliff – positioned to form the Nullarbor Plain. It was all going splendidly until we realised there was a gaping error. We'd left Tasmania off the human map. I recall talking to the one kid who was solely responsible for that role. He mumbled something about eating too many apples and sprinted to the nearest toilet and, you guessed it, missed the cut when we boarded Matilda. The outrage was loud from Tasmanians. It was another slap in the face from the mainland. Realising the gravity of his absence when he emerged from the lav to find we had all left without him, 'Tassie' leapt the fence in a futile effort to address the geographical gaffe, but sadly, we'd already broken away. A bit like Tassie right now. Say no to the AFL and you deserve to be permanently cut adrift, leaving you to float south where you will somewhat ironically bump into Macquarie Island before clattering into the frozen pole of Antarctica.
Perth Now
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Fyfe's IN! Star veteran locked in for first game of 2025
Nat Fyfe has been inserted directly into Fremantle's AFL side for his first taste of footy in seven weeks, with the two-time Brownlow medallist among three inclusions for the Dockers against Gold Coast. It comes as coach Justin Longmuir put his faith in Sean Darcy to resume his ruck partnership with Luke Jackson, while dealing with the unexpected loss of Alex Pearce through injury. SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FULL FREO LINE-UP Pearce has suffered a stress injury in his shin, with the club set to take a cautious approach with the 29-year-old who only days earlier overcoming his three-match suspension at the AFL Tribunal. 'On Tuesday, Pearce advised the club that he had some lingering pain in his lower leg following Saturday night's win over Port Adelaide,' the Dockers said in a statement. 'Pearce had sustained an impact injury earlier in the season, though investigations did not find any abnormalities. Further investigation after a scan on Wednesday revealed a stress response in his left shin. 'Pearce will now undergo a deloading period and complete an off legs program. He will be reassessed after the club's bye when Fremantle will be able to provide a further update.' Alex Pearce is out. Credit: Janelle St Pierre / AFL Photos Fyfe hasn't played at AFL level since Fremantle's final home-and-away game of last season, with the 240-game veteran's 2025 campaign disrupted by a string of injuries. The 33-year-old suffered a hamstring setback playing for the Dockers' affiliate side Peel at WAFL level in April, having had minor knee surgery earlier in the year. Fyfe looms as a potential substitute option and will become the first 200-gamer to feature in a game for Fremantle this year, with the former skipper's inclusion a boost to the side's leadership in the absence of Pearce. Josh Draper returns as a like-for-like replacement for Pearce in defence, while Darcy will be desperate for a clean run of health after being inserted to help nullify the influence of Jarrod Witts. Isaiah Dudley was ruled out earlier on Thursday with a personal issue, with Cooper Simpson (shoulder) the other absentee from last week's win over Port Adelaide. James Aish travelled as an emergency, while Andrew Brayshaw will captain the side in Pearce's absence. The Suns recalled Ned Moyle to partner Witts in the ruck against Freo's twin towers, with Leo Lombard to make his long-awaited debut. Malcolm Rosas and Ethan Read have both been dropped. Gold Coast are yet to lose a home fixture this season, which includes two matches at their People First Stadium base at Carrara and two at their home-away-from-home at Darwin's TIO Stadium. B: L Ryan, J Draper, B Cox HB: H Chapman, K Worner, J Clark C: J Sharp, S Bolton, M Johnson HF: M Frederick, S Switkowski, M Reid F: P Voss, J Treacy, J Amiss R: L Jackson, C Serong, A Brayshaw IC: N Fyfe, N Erasmus, C Wagner, S Darcy, B Banfield EMG: H Davies, J Aish, N O'Driscoll
News.com.au
27-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
‘Game isn't dead': Freo skipper's ban overturned in AFL Tribunal stunner
Fremantle captain Alex Pearce has had his three-match ban overturned at the AFL Tribunal. The Dockers defender had been charged by the Match Review Officer for an ugly collision with Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones late in Fremantle's win over the Power on the weekend. Pearce had eyes for the ball but braced for impact at the last minute as he made contact with Byrne-Jones in a heavy hit. Byrne-Jones lay on the turf and had to be helped from the field, taking no further part in the game. The incident was graded as careless and severe impact with high contact by the AFL's Match Review Officer, resulting in that three-week suspension. But Fremantle successfully challenged the suspension at the Tribunal on Tuesday and had the ban overturned, allowing Pearce to play in Saturday's game against the Gold Coast Suns. The AFL argued Pearce's conduct was unreasonable in the circumstances under the general rough conduct prohibition. Port Adelaide's medical report found Byrne-Jones was concussed and is expected to miss three days of training and one match, evening counting for the club's bye this weekend. Pearce said he had no choice but to impact the contest and to do otherwise would have been shirking contact. 'Yeah, it would not sit well with me if I was to pull out of that contest and not impact it,' Pearce said. 'I wouldn't be overly comfortable in the way that would look and the way my teammates would see that. Watch the Alex Pearce incident in the video above 'And, to be honest, the way that the broader football public would view me as a footballer if I was to slow momentum and pull out of that contest just because there was going to be impact between two players. 'I'm aware that there is going to be a collision between the two of us,' he said. 'At that point, I drop my (left) arm and brace for the impact … to limit the impact as much as possible. 'I thought I had made a play at the ball … it felt like it was just a collision in the marking contest. 'Given my role as a defender and role as captain of our club, I don't believe that in that situation again I would be able to make a different decision than go at that ball and at that contest 100 per cent and make a play at the ball,' he said. Tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson said: 'Pearce's attempt to mark was entirely realistic. 'If not for Byrne-Jones entering the contest from the opposite direction, he would likely have taken the mark. 'We do not find that this was rough conduct.' Reacting to the news, West Coast premiership defender Will Schofield wrote on X: 'I actually can't believe it. Maybe the game isn't dead.' AFL Tribunal reasoning Byrne-Jones ran back with the flight of the ball. The kick was fairly high, and the players arrived at the ball in roughly opposite directions at almost precisely the same time. That last point is critical. Pearce's attempt to mark was entirely realistic. He had his arms out to attempt to take a chest mark, and if not for Byrne-Jones entering the contest from the opposite direction, would likely have taken the mark. Pearce said that he didn't deviate from his line to the ball and the vision supports that evidence. Pearce said that his eyes never left the ball until the last split second when he glanced down to Byrne-Jones and it was too late to pull out of the contest. The vision supports that evidence. Pearce said that he dropped his arms further at the last moment so as to attempt to minimise the harm to Byrne-Jones. The vision supports that evidence. It follows that we do not find that this was rough conduct. when all of the vision was closely examined and the evidence of Pearce was taken into account, it was clear that: A) he intended to mark the ball. B) He was a realistic chance to mark the ball C) His eyes never left the ball until it was too late D) He did what he could at the last minute to minimise impact to the oncoming player
ABC News
27-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
AFL tribunal overturns three-match ban on Fremantle captain Alex Pearce for rough conduct in game against Port Adelaide
Fremantle Dockers captain Alex Pearce has successfully challenged his three-game suspension for rough conduct at the AFL tribunal, leaving him free to play against Gold Coast on Saturday. Pearce successfully argued against the classification that his actions were careless when he collided with Port Adelaide player Darcy Byrne-Jones in Saturday night's 49-point victory at Perth stadium, while not challenging the classifications of severe impact and high contact. The key defender's evidence played a key role in the tribunal hearing, with Fremantle's argument focused on claiming his actions were reasonable in the circumstances, as he was making a realistic attempt to either mark or intercept the ball. Through defence lawyer Tim Hammond, the Dockers argued that Pearce took the only practical response in the circumstances by trying to impact the contest, suggesting to do otherwise would be against the spirit of the game. Pearce stressed he was making a genuine attempt to complete a chest mark, as he often does in matches played in wet conditions, with the Dockers pointing to a previous example within the same game of him taking a mark on his chest in defence. The captain argued he wouldn't and couldn't have done anything differently if he had his time again, because as an AFL player and the leader of the club, he had to give 100 per cent effort to make an attempt at the ball and impact the contest. He said he only realised in the final split-second moment that he wasn't going to mark the ball and braced and dropped his arms to limit the impact of the impending contact. Fremantle also argued Pearce's path directly for the ball never deviated, and his eyes remained focused on the ball, expecting he always had a reasonable prospect of intercepting or marking. AFL counsel Sally Flynn argued Pearce was always likely to be second to the contest and therefore should have slowed his momentum and pulled out of the marking contest, saying the Fremantle captain had a duty of care to know the location of other players on the field and the potential risks. She argued Pearce breached his duty of care by not slowing his momentum. Pearce refuted the suggestion he should have known he was going to be beaten to the ball, saying if he pulled out it would not sit well with him, the team or the wider football public. After about half-an-hour of deliberating, the tribunal cleared Pearce, saying the action did not constitute rough conduct.
West Australian
27-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
LIVE UPDATES: Fremantle Dockers challenge captain Alex Pearce's three-match rough conduct ban at AFL Tribunal
Fremantle will look to have captain Alex Pearce's three-match ban overturned at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday. Pearce was offered a suspension for rough conduct following a collision that left Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones concussed during Saturday night's clash at Optus Stadium. The incident was graded careless conduct, severe impact and high contact, resulting in a sanction of three matches. The Dockers will face Gold Coast before the bye, then North Melbourne and Essendon over the next month. Follow along in our live blog. The West Australian put tonight's question to the readers during the day and the response was overwhelming. Coach Justion Longmuir revealed on Monday Pearce was feeling hard done by after the suspension and he was firm he didn't think his skipper had done anything wrong. The Dockers are likely to argue the clash was caused by a 'footy incident' and that Pearce kept his eyes on the ball without bracing, thus protecting Byrne-Jones as much as he could have. They might also argue there was no high contact but only time will tell. It's the day of judgment for Fremantle skipper Alex Pearce as he contests a three-match ban handed to him for a hit on Darcy Byrne-Jones. The pair were both going for a mark in the heavy rain on Saturday night with Pearce clattering into the Power defender who got to the ball first. Byrne-Jones was concussed and took no further part. Can Pearce get off, or will the AFL's argument prove too strong?
