Fremantle captain Alex Pearce reveals he had "sleepless nights" following the heartbreaking elimination finals loss to Gold Coast, which has acted as "motivation" to go deeper in September next year.
The Dockers were overrun by a hungry Suns outfit at Optus Stadium, and some heroics from David Swallow, putting a full stop on their exciting campaign.
"Personally, I have thought about that game a lot, and had a few slept of sleepless nights,” Pearce said on Friday.
"I want to get better, because I don't want to be in that position again, and I want to become a better team so we can win finals and finish a bit later in September."
The 30-year-old believes the club will be better equipped for "high-pressure environments" going forward.
Not only did they experience a finals match, but the Round 24 contest against the Western Bulldogs acted as an elimination, helping build a sense of familiarity in those moments.
"You learn best and quickest in really high-pressure environments, and we were able to be in a few of those throughout the season," Pearce added.
"We were able to play in some big games and win some big games, but then we had some big games where we didn't perform either, and had some bad losses during the season.
"And then that final series, it was an extended one for us, really. The Bulldogs game was a final for us. Proud of how we were able to perform then, but the Gold Coast game, inconsistent.
"To sit with that real disappointment and to have a game finish where you know that we could be playing next week and our season could be live, our dream could be alive, but it wasn't, it's really hard, and you learn really strong lessons in that.
"I feel like going through that sets us up better for next year, when we're in those big moments in big games that we have more experience and are more assured of ourselves with a bit more calm."
But returning from the off-season, which saw the club add Judd McVee and Mason Cox to the list among a host of draftees, Pearce said the team has come back "hungry" to amend the early-season exit, as they push for a maiden premiership.
"The way you finish the season always lingers. So yeah, we're hungry because we made finals and we lost," he said.
"We were hungry the year before because we didn't make finals. We were hungry the year before that because we made finals, won a game and lost.
"So you always take the end of the season as motivation, because for 17 teams, you lose, so you need to get better."
Pearce also touched on his time as captain of Fremantle, a role he has held for the past three seasons.
Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw pose as his successors, but whether they will take over the position will be decided by the club in early 2026.
