FREMANTLE should never take Alex Pearce and his leadership for granted as the rest of the AFL starts to take notice of a key defender who sits in the "upper echelon" of AFL captains, according to backline coach Jade Rawlings.

Pearce has been lauded this week for the stunning game-saving smother against Adelaide that ensured his team won a third straight match and entered Friday night's blockbuster against Collingwood with momentum.

It was the type of on-field leadership that the key defender has become revered for internally in his third season as skipper, but his captaincy has become about much more than standing up in the big moments.

A quiet and humble captain who develops a "massive presence" on game day, Rawlings said Pearce had become an outstanding leader through the way he treats people, his work ethic and resilience, and his competitive spirit.

"A lot of Alex's leadership and captaincy is based on his value set. He's from a great family, he lives his life well, he's naturally a quieter person away from the club, but he plays with a massive presence on game day," Rawlings told AFL.com.au.

"He leads with authenticity, he's himself, and his deeds are what people follow.

"His teammates love how he plays, how he trains, and how he is towards people. So that value set really enables him to influence people.

"The capacity to have people follow you is one of the greatest challenges of a leader, and he can do that. It just comes out of him with his spirit and the way he wants to compete."

Pearce was appointed captain ahead of the 2023 season, taking over from champion midfielder Nat Fyfe after standing in as skipper for the majority of 2022 and helping lead the club to a breakthrough finals campaign.

Back-to-back seasons out of finals in 2023-24 meant critics questioned whether Pearce was the right player to lead Fremantle, with Andrew Brayshaw a strong contender and popular pick externally for the job when Pearce was appointed, and stars Caleb Serong and Josh Treacy since emerging as leadership options.

But Pearce's continued ability to stand up in big moments has shifted the narrative for one of the game's best key defenders.

As well as his game-saving smother, the 201cm Tasmanian pushed forward to kick a match-winning goal against Port Adelaide last season, put his body on the line in a collision with Darcy Byrne-Jones in round 11, shut down star opponents including Sam Darcy, and performed in finals.

"I think people are starting to acknowledge the impact he has as a player as much as a leader and starting to see that in the key moments for our club, Alex is thriving as much as anyone when the moment requires it," Rawlings said.

"You don't fluke that. It doesn't just keep happening to him by chance, so it's good when people start recognising that.

"I think Alex is starting to be seen more in the upper echelon of captains in the comp … and we should never take him for granted and what he gives to us."

Pearce's performances this season have been vital to the Dockers' 3-1 start, with the key defender leading the club for intercepts (22) and intercept marks (11) and averaging 4.5 spoils a game (his most since 2021).

He has been involved in a team-high seven defensive one-on-one contests, including four against the Crows, and he is yet to lose one all season, conceding just three goals to his direct match-ups.

Pearce and Rawlings have developed a strong relationship since the backline coach joined the Dockers at the end of 2024, with the pair hailing from Tasmania and sharing several mutual connections.

Rawlings has coached at Brisbane, Richmond, Melbourne and North Melbourne, as well as led Norwood to a premiership in the SANFL, with the experienced assistant comparing Pearce's leadership to that of a champion Lion.

"I spent a couple of years at the Brisbane Lions and Jonathan Brown was our captain. He was unbelievable as a professional, as a competitor, and a bit more of an enforcer," Rawlings said.

"He was an extroverted personality, but they are similar with the presence of how they play and how they make people feel around them.

"He's unique in many ways, Alex, but I'd probably align Alex to JB with the effect they could have on games with how they played, but also how they led around the club. It's got a similar feel."

While he is a quieter personality, Pearce develops an "intensity" about him on game day, Rawlings said, and commands attention when he speaks, given his habit for not wasting words.

He used his appointment as captain this season to again ask teammates to hold him accountable and pledged to do the same for them, finding the right balance of questioning his players in a respectful way.

The resilience to fight back from injuries over his career and continue performing at a high level is another aspect of his leadership that inspires teammates, with the backman most recently missing eight games in each of the past two season because of shin and arm injuries.

Those setbacks have robbed him of individual accolades when he's been among the best key defenders in the competition, but Rawlings said he was again performing at an All-Australian standard this season.

"He was arguably the best man on the ground last weekend. He had 10 possessions but he was able to intercept, spoil, win groundballs and obviously make big plays when the time required," Rawlings said.

"He plays with presence, he has maximum impact moments, and he takes on the best and thrives with a bigger task, which is a great trait you always look for in a defender.

"His spoiling technique is fantastic, his back with the flight marks is something he trains, and I love his ground-level play as well. So there's a lot to his game, and that enables him to influence games in different ways as a leader."

The reaction of Fremantle players on the final siren against Adelaide told a story, with Pearce's teammates rushing to celebrate with him as he gasped for air after the desperate final minutes.

He was voted as the team's 'trademark player of the week', with players sharing stories as part of the weekly presentation about why Pearce is a special teammate and the impact he has on the group.

They were no doubt aware of the courage it took for him to smother James Peatling's kick, with the purple guard he still wears on his left arm following multiple breaks in 2024 flashing across the Adelaide midfielder's boot.

"I think that's probably been underestimated. He still deals with that and he doesn't wear it for show. He wears it for protection," Rawlings said.

"That sort of act is what the team required at the time and that's the way he plays. We're lucky to have him, and he's thriving as a player and as a leader."