Amid the chaotic final moments of Thursday night's thriller at Optus Stadium, Fremantle captain Alex Pearce went down with a concerning lower leg injury. Pearce was spotted in significant discomfort on the ground and later in the rooms, after his foot was trapped while he was attempting a tackle on Hawthorn's Connor Macdonald in 'the last play of the game'.
Gun 7NEWS sports reporter Ryan Daniels said after the game: 'This was interesting ... right at the very end of the game, it was Alex Pearce .... so the ball was down in Hawthorn's forward line .... it's quite hard to see. But (his foot) was caught underneath in a tackle.'
The incident went unnoticed in the moment, but a trainer quickly rushed out onto the ground, while Pearce tried to stretch out his pain. Fremantle's Karl Worner had grabbed Macdonald and, as they fell to the ground, Pearce's left foot was briefly trapped.
Fortunately for the inspirational defender and the Dockers, the siren went soon after, but the club will now be sweating on the fitness of their 30-year-old skipper. Daniels added: 'He looked really sore and he looked a bit cranky after the song too. So that one, obviously, they'll have to take a look at.'
'He has had a heap of injuries in his lower leg over the course of his career. He's been relatively healthy for the last 18 months or so. But that was basically the last play of the game. So it would be absolutely devastating if they lost Alex Pearce for a little while. He just gets sort of trapped underneath that tackle ... it'll be a watch all week.'
Pearce hobbled off the field after the siren, with AFLW great Daisy Pearce (no relation) noting that 'he was a bit more subdued than the rest of the team' in the rooms. 'So hopefully it's not too serious,' Daisy said.
It was a bruising encounter for both teams, played under finals-like conditions with an electric atmosphere to match. Hawthorn are set to be without star defender Tom Barrass for at least several games after the former Eagle injured his left hamstring in the second quarter. Veteran Hawks forward Jack Gunston, who kicked five first-half goals on the way to a six-goal haul, injured his ankle late and was spotted in a moon boot after the game.
The Hawks led by 17 points with a little over seven minutes remaining in the fourth as they headed for what appeared to be a gutsy road win. But in what is set to send a shudder through the rest of the competition, Fremantle slammed home five goals in quick succession to steal the 12.16 (88) to 11.7 (73) win in front of 54,140 fans.
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said he wanted the club's success-starved fans to embrace the growing hype surrounding the team's premiership credentials. If Fremantle beat Essendon at the MCG next week, the Dockers will equal their club-record run of nine wins, set in both 2015 and 2006.
Longmuir said although the growing hype would be a 'distraction', it was a welcome problem for the group. 'I'm happy for our fans to be excited. We're playing an exciting brand of footy. We've won a lot of games in a row. Our fans are starved for success - our fans should be excited about the path we're on. But our challenge is to just stay in the moment and give every team our best. It's been a mantra all year and it won't change.'
Longmuir believes the growing maturity of his group means they will be able to handle the external noise with a minimum of fuss. 'We've done a lot of work on that to be able to stay in the moment, to be able to ignore what the outside world is saying and making sure that we value the right things week to week. People don't realise that it takes time. It takes time for players to learn that and feel comfortable doing that. Our leaders are driving that mantra really well and the rest of the playing group's falling in behind.'
One sign of Fremantle's growing maturity is the way they handled their three six-day breaks in a row. The Dockers beat Carlton, the Bulldogs and Hawthorn — all from shortened lead-ins. 'I didn't hear any players whingeing about it, talking about how sore they were. They just got to work,' Longmuir said. 'I'm really proud of the group.'
Longmuir heaped special praise on Luke Jackson, who tallied nine disposals and three clearances in a monster final quarter. 'He's a bit of a barometer for us, Jacko, when he's up and going and doing his thing on ball. He just adds another layer to our stoppage work. He was huge.'
