Simpson: All-time great captain spearheading Freo from full-back

Fremantle are charging towards September, led by a player Adam Simpson believes to be one of the great captains of all time.

After a commanding come-from-behind victory over the Sydney Swans, the Dockers sit eight points clear atop the AFL ladder, storming towards their second minor premiership in club history.

Completing an incredible 63-point turnaround, much of the Dockers' fightback can be credited to their ability to cull the influence of Charlie Curnow in the fourth term.

Entering the final exchange with 12 disposals and four goals, Curnow kicked his fifth within five minutes of the restart, before captain Alex Pearce took on the raging bull head first.

From that point onwards, Curnow only mounted one singular kick, as the Dockers kicked seven straight goals to overrun the Swans by 38 points.

Beyond his work on Curnow late, Pearce was a crucial cog in keeping his side in the game as Sydney dominated in the early phases, finishing with nine disposals and a game-high nine intercepts.

Simpson believes it’s time that the veteran defender earns his flowers.

“From a box craft point of view, Charlie Curnow was their biggest issue,” Simpson told SEN’s Whateley.

“He was playing on Brennan Cox, who can be exposed with speed and power a little bit. Pearce just said, ‘step aside and I’ll get this covered’.

“Curnow was playing in this 50-70 metre range, which I thought was really smart because he can kick goals from 55-60 metres.

“He ended up deep with Pearce for whatever reason, and I suspect Fremantle said, ‘let’s get going a bit quicker in the second half and let’s take out Curnow’.

“When he got on a run, Pearce just said, ‘enough of this’.

“Talk about being a captain from full-back or full-forward. I know Nick Larkey is struggling a little bit at the moment – can you be a captain as a full-forward?

“Well, you can be a captain from full-back, and we’ve seen one of the best of all time doing it this year. He is leading from the front and is doing a great job.

“What about that mark, back with the flight! It wasn’t quite Jonathan Brown status, but it wasn’t far off.”

Gerard Whateley added: “He is playing like it means everything to him at this stage of his career, and he is the leader of the best team in it.”

Fremantle will head to Adelaide to face the Power this Saturday, before returning home for a Western Derby the following Friday.