- McCarthy was found unconscious at his Perth home earlier this month.
- The Freo captain and his good friend paid an emotional tribute to their former teammate
- If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
Fremantle captain Alex Pearce fought back tears as he dedicated his last-gasp goal that sealed Friday night’s draw with Collingwood to his late friend, former Docker Cam McCarthy.
McCarthy tragically passed away earlier this month at just 29 years old.
Pearce and his teammates played bravely against Sydney just hours after hearing the tragic news two weeks ago.
On Friday, Pearce scored an emotional late goal as the Dockers staged a frantic comeback to secure a 75-75 draw with Collingwood at Optus Stadium.
Fremantle captain Alex Pearce dedicated his final goal to his former teammate Cam McCarthy.
McCarthy was found unconscious at his Perth home in early May, police said there were no suspicious circumstances.
The game appeared to have been won by Collingwood after Bobby Hill’s goal gave them a 25-point lead with seven and a half minutes remaining.
However, Fremantle’s Bailey Banfield, Hayden Young and Sean Darcy scored crucial goals to put the Dockers within reach.
Pearce then took a slide mark and kicked for real to cut the lead to one point with 109 seconds left.
Pearce took a moment to honor his late friend after scoring the final goal.
“I was actually talking to (teammate) Lukey Ryan and I said, ‘Dude, my legs are cooked here.’ ‘ Pearce told 7Sport after the game.
‘So I went. I am happy to have done it.
“It’s something that when the game is on the line we send one of our defenders forward; defenders don’t want to play forward from time to time,” he added.
After scoring his fifth goal in his nine-year AFL career, Pearce was visibly moved as he waved and pointed to the sky.
‘It’s been hard. “A couple of weeks ago it was a very difficult game to overcome,” he said of McCarthy.
‘I was nervous to go back when I had it. My hands were a little shaky.
I thought ‘Cam would kick this,’ so yeah, I was happy. It was for him. To be honest, I’m very proud of everyone.”
Reflecting on the final minutes of the match, Pearce said: ‘Those last five minutes were extraordinary! We had quite a few problems there; It seemed unlikely.
Although Fremantle had a chance to win it, Jeremy Sharp’s 25-metre shot on the run with 47 seconds left could only make the difference. Collingwood advanced but Fremantle’s defense held firm, leading to a 10.15 (75) to 11.9 (75) tie.
It marked Collingwood’s second draw of the season, following their draw with Essendon. Adding to Collingwood’s woes, Mason Cox and Brody Mihocek look set to join their injury list.
