Born and raised in Ulverstone, Alex Pearce is a Palawa man who has been captain of the Fremantle Football Club in the AFL since 2023. With the AFL season starting this month, we spoke to Alex about the Club’s hunger for victory, what he does when he returns home, and his thoughts on the Tassie Devils Football Club.

How did your childhood shape you? My upbringing had a huge influence on my life. It was all in Ulverstone. My family was all there for most of my life – cousins, uncles, aunties. I went to Ulverstone Primary and then Ulverstone High School. In grade 11 and 12 I went to Don College. All through that a big part of my life was playing sports. Pretty much as soon as I could walk I was at the footy and cricket clubs in Ulverstone. My life revolved around that. I think that’s where I gained a bit of my competitiveness and sense of community from – belonging to a club and a place. Not only hanging out with kids my age, but mates’ parents and older guys and girls around the clubs. I feel very lucky to grow up having so many different people influence who I am and be able to learn how to live.

Sportspeople from Tassie talk about having a competitive edge compared to mainlanders. Do you agree? Yeah, definitely! We have a chip on our shoulder because we’re the smaller island with not many people. Other states can sh!t on us pretty easily, but we are very proud of our sporting history. I was lucky enough to play State football in my late teenage years and it means a lot to put on a jumper with the massive Tassie on it. It was spoken about that we have an obligation to be tough and to compete like Tasmanians should.

I was lucky enough to play state football in my late teenage years and it means a lot to put on a jumper with the massive Tassie on it.

How did it feel to be voted captain again by your teammates for the 2025 season? It’s great! It’s been the biggest honour of my football career to be able to captain the Club. When I got drafted Matthew Pavlich was captain, he was an idol of mine. All the leaders that I had early in my career had such a huge influence on me as a person and my career. To have that honour but also responsibility to lead a bunch of young men, and try to make this club as successful as we can. Ideally win a premiership but also to set an example for the young guys who I play with to allow them to be the best versions of themselves they can be. Growing up, I had great leaders around me at my Ulverstone clubs, and not everyone grew up in those environments. Now that I’m at the Freo Football Club, we’re trying to make it a club where everyone feels welcome, a place everyone loves coming to work. It can be a pretty stressful environment sometimes. As much as we can, we try to make it feel like an escape from some of the pressure. I think my upbringing and the people that influenced me earlier in my career are helping me be the leader I want to be.

The club’s 2024 season didn’t go as hoped. How does that fuel you and the team for 2025? We finished the season in a really disappointing fashion. We really thought we had a team capable of going deep in finals and winning a premiership. So to finish really early, it has meant that our guys have got a real hunger to make sure we’ll be better next time around. I’ve definitely seen that in the way we’ve trained and approached things and it’s been great to have another year of experience under some of our young players. We’re really excited but also driven to make sure this year we’re better than last year and we can give things a crack.

What did you learn about your team while you were out of action for much of 2024? Despite having a few injuries and being under pressure, we played some really good footy. It makes me proud to be able to come back again this year knowing we’ve got a bunch of guys who can perform when things get tough.

The Tasmanian Football Club is on the way. Will you playing WITH the Devils or AGAINST the Devils? Haha. Unfortunately, I’ll probably be playing against the Devils, but like all Tasmanians, I’m very excited for the team to come in. I think it’ll be an amazing thing for Tasmania. Growing up, if this team was formed while I was in school, it would’ve been the greatest thing in the world. I can’t wait to be a supporter of the Devils, even though there’s a good chance I’ll be playing against them.

What’s one thing about being an AFL player you wish more people knew? How hard it is to get through a season. The amount of stress and pain we go through to get through a season and play 23 games, it’s quite a lot. I feel sorry for not only some AFL players, but professional athletes who cop a lot of criticism 31 that are sometimes enduring a lot of pain to get out there and play and do their best. It’s a ruthless industry because it doesn’t really matter how we feel if we don’t perform, we get held to account.

Is there a favourite memory from your career? In 2022 we played a home final against the Bulldogs and were eight goals down during the first quarter and came back and won. That was a special moment because the home crowd really got behind us. Nearly 60,000 people at Optus Stadium. It was really special and something I’ll never forget. Also, we played a game in Launceston against Hawthorn, which we won. We hadn’t beaten Hawthorn in Tassie for a really long time. I think I might’ve had 50 tickets to give out that day and had heaps of family there. So it was special to play in Tassie in front of my friends and family and get a win.

If you weren’t a professional footy player, what would you be doing? I feel like I’d be travelling in Europe, maybe playing cricket in England. I’m studying psychology and politics at the moment, so I’d finish that!

What music are you listening to? I’m loving Royel Otis at the moment, and Old Mervs, a band from WA. I’m always listening to Luca Brasi, my favourite Tassie band.

What’s the last great book that you’ve read? I read Papillon, the story of a French guy who escaped the penal colonies in the early 1900s. It’s quite good.

What do you like to do when you come home to Tassie? I’m down at least a couple of times a year, always back home in Ulverstone, close to my family. These days I like to get out and explore if I can. Last time I was there I spent a day at Cradle Mountain by myself, just doing a few walks, and I also spent time on the east coast. I think I didn’t appreciate the beautiful environment and wilderness I grew up in. Now when I get back I find it really special to tap into that and explore some of the amazing places that we have in Tassie.