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An emotional Fremantle captain Alex Pearce has opened up on kicking just his fifth career goals in 117 games, holding back tears as he dedicated it to late teammate Cam McCarthy.
It came after the Dockers notched up a 75-all draw with Collingwood – the third of the season.
It was also the Pies second draw in just six weeks, coming off their Anzac Day result against Essendon.
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After being up by 26 points at the final break, the Pies were unable to stop the Dockers’ late comeback, which saw the home side kick five goals to two.
But the Dockers also coughed up their chances, headlined by a damning miss from Jeremy Sharp, who couldn’t slot the goal with just 49 seconds left in the last quarter.
After the game, he was caught slamming his mouthguard into the turf in frustration.
But it was Pearce, who is one of the strongest defenders in the game, who kicked Fremantle’s 11th major, to put them just one point down with under two minutes left to play.
The defender reflected on the major, just the fifth of his career, after the tragic death of former Docker and GWS forward Cam McCarthy.
Pearce was extremely emotional at the time, and upon reflection on Friday night, is still deeply impacted by McCarthy’s passing.
“It’s been tough. A couple of weeks ago, it was a really hard game to get through,” Pearce said on 7 post match, holding back tears.
“I was nervous going back, my hands were a little bit shaky.
“But as I was going back, I did think ‘Cam would kick this’. It was for him.”
Meantime, the Pies were left bewildered by a shock umpiring call which awarded Dockers ruckman Sean Darcy a goal with a couple of minutes left to play in the final term.
After the umpire blew his whistle to signal a ball up, Pie Lachie Sullivan, who was getting up from a tackle, threw the ball up to teammate Nick Daicos, instead of straight back to the umpire.
The field umpire then called it a free kick against Sullivan, for not giving the official the ball back immediately.
It was also a tough night for the Pies, who ended up with three men on the bench in the final term, due to injuries to Mason Cox and Brody Mihocek.
Cox drifted across the pack to spoil a marking contest in Collingwood’s defensive 50 in the third term, landing awkwardly on his knee.
He took a heavy hit to his ribs, competing with Docker Jye Amiss whose knee went into his ribs, falling to the turf, with his knee getting caught underneath him.
Cox was subbed off immediately, nervously awaiting scans to see the extend of the damage.
Mihocek was taken off the ground, citing hamstring awareness.
The Pies sit in fifth on the ladder with a 6-3-2 record after 11 rounds.
Meantime, Fremantle are in sixth, with a 6-4-1 record.
