AFL Finals 2022: Fremantle defender Alex Pearce tasked to restrict Western Bulldogs star Aaron Naughton

Fremantle defender Alex Pearce says it’s no secret he’s been given the task of preventing Western Bulldogs star Aaron Naughton from ending the Dockers’ premiership pursuit.

The stand-in skipper will go straight to Naughton, known as AstroNaught, who kicked three majors when the two sides last met in round 21 and will play in his milestone 100th game in the elimination final on Saturday.

“It’s no secret, I’ll go to Naughton again,” Pearce said.

“They’ve got some good talls, they’ve got some good smalls - they’re quite a dangerous side in general.

“When they’re playing really well, they’re scoring fast and they’re taking the game on.

“As a defensive unit we know there’s going to be moments during the game when they’re up and about and we’re going to have to just limit the damage at times.”

Former top two picks Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Sam Darcy, who played down back on debut against Fremantle, have been named alongside Naughton in attack, with the club opting to omit key forward Josh Bruce for the must-win clash.

Despite the potential triple threat, the Dockers resisted the temptation to swing returning utility Griffin Logue back into defence, with Pearce confirming he will continue his role up forward after returning to the 22 alongside Rory Lobb.

“They’ve got some strengths and we’re wary of that,” Pearce said.

But we’re also really confident in ourselves that if we can bring our strengths, we’ll be able to get the job done.

Teenager Jye Amiss has also been recalled for his second game, which Pearce said was “super exciting” for the group.

“He’s such a great kid, Jye. His story this year, he obviously had the significant (kidney) injury and there were times, I thought, he was sort of ruled out for the season,” he said.

“All of a sudden he’s training... comes and plays at Peel, I watched him play a couple of times, he’s just such a natural footballer.

“Getting to play on him at training, the way he always competes is what I really love about him. He’s played some good games and I think he’ll be able to stand up and do his role for us.”

Pearce said he’s “very honoured” to captain the side in the absence of skipper Nat Fyfe, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

“I’ve obviously got the opportunity to captain a little bit this year... it’s probably been one of the proudest and best experiences that I’ve had being a Docker,” he said.

“It’s no different this weekend to what I’ve done throughout the year. My goal, as ever is to lead well and make those around me better.”