Fremantle captain Alex Pearce has fought back tears dedicating his last-grasp goal that sealed Friday night’s draw with Collingwood to his late mate, former Docker Cam McCarthy.
McCarthy was tragically found unresponsive earlier this month and couldn’t be revived at the age of just 29.
His former teammates, including Pearce, bravely played out their loss to Sydney only hours after finding out the tragic news a fortnight ago.
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On Friday night, defender Pearce took a moment to honour his late friend when he slipped forward against the Magpies and kicked the final goal of the clash at Optus Stadium.
“I was actually talking to (teammate) Lukey Ryan, I was like, ‘mate my legs are cooked here. You might have to go forward instead of me’ and he was like ‘nah mate, you’re doing it’,” he told 7Sport post-match.
“So I went. Glad I did.
“It’s just something when the game’s on the line we send one of our backs forward – what defenders out there don’t want to play forward every now and then.”
After kicking the goal – just his fifth of his nine-year AFL career – Pearce was visibly moved as he saluted and pointed to the sky.
“(Breathes deeply) it’s alright. It’s been tough. A couple of weeks ago it was a really hard game to get through,” he said of McCarthy.
“Yeah I was nervous going back when I had it.
“My hands were a little bit shaky. I did think ‘Cam would kick this’, so yeah I was happy. It was for him.
“I’m just so proud of everyone to be honest.”
Pearce said it was hard to describe the final minutes of the contest with the Magpies, given the Dockers had fought from 25 points down to come within a point.
Fremantle’s Jeremy Sharp then missed his running shot on goal to level the scores before full time.
“That last five minutes was something!” Pearce said.
“We were in a fair bit of trouble there – it looked unlikely.”
The win keeps Fremantle in the top eight on six wins – equal to Collingwood who sit two points adrift thanks to an earlier Anzac Day draw.
Source Agencies
