Alex Pearce's lengthy and growing illustrious football career has turned first circle after initially arriving from a quiet part of Tasmania on its humbling North-West coast now that the AFL's westernmost team in the nation is the first to anoint a female Indigenous vice-president at Fremantle.

Alex Pearce's illustrious football career has turned first circle, the key defender from Ulverstone on Tasmania's North-West coast arriving at Fremantle - the AFL's westernmost team - and the first to anoint a female Indigenous vice-president in Colleen Hayward.

However the arrival of Pearce, a Palawa man, to the Dockers 12 years prior to Hayward's appointment saw him not talk about pride in his Tommeginer clan's roots.

Yet that pride only bubbled to the surface a decade later when the then 27-year-old was named captain for the first time in 2022 during the absence of an injured Nat Fyfe.

Pearce says his extended family had to slowly trace their Aboriginal heritage over the years – a task difficult for many hidden Tasmanian bloodlines in the institutionalised system of the Stolen Generations.

Palawa people can experience difficulty in tracing their Indigenous background, with Pearce referencing the genocide of Tasmania's Aboriginal population during the state's colonial 1800s period.

"With the Stolen Generation, there's a loss of culture and belonging and that would obviously be extremely difficult," Pearce first spoke about discovering his Aboriginality to afl.com.au.

"In Tasmania, there's not a great understanding of Indigenous history.

"Colonisation did a pretty good job of wiping a lot of Indigenous people off Tasmania.

"Even though my connection isn't quite as strong, as I've got white skin and it goes back a few generations, it is still important to acknowledge that history was there.

"It has sustained and been able to come through all the horrors of the 19th and early 20th century.

"I feel like it's important as a nation and as a society that we're aware of all those different histories along the way."

That greater understanding of Indigenous pride has sustained his time playing the game at the highest level and his recent ascension to the Dockers captaincy.

From growing up in Ulverstone somewhat unaware of his place in history to now being one of Freo's key figures in a club revival, Pearce is one of 36 First Nations players to run out in 2559 AFL matches across the club's 30 seasons.

Not only is Pearce a prominent footballer holding together the team's defence while standing at 201 centimetres, but he originates from one of the oldest mobs in Tasmania.

There's a bust of one of Pearce's ancestors on display in the Tasmania Museum in Hobart from the early days of the Van Diemen's Land settlement.

"He was a local leader of that (Tommeginer) tribe," Pearce proudly says.

"It's nice to be able to trace my family heritage back that far and know there is that really strong connection to Tassie – that's always been really important to me.

"I've always felt a really strong affinity to Tasmania and it's really important to know there's that real cultural strength there as well."

A further two years has passed and Pearce is not only viewed as a key Indigenous leader among the Dockers, but also among the greater AFL First Nations Community.

He is the eighth Aboriginal man to skipper a club along with current North Melbourne captain Jy Simkin, while Steven May did so at the Gold Coast in addition to past retired greats Chris Johnson, Adam Goodes, Michael Long, Gavin Wanganeen and, of course, Graham 'Polly' Farmer.

Pearce was recently named among the first half of players selected for the Indigenous All-Stars fixture against Fremantle at Optus Stadium in February, alongside one of his newest teammates, Shai Bolton.

"He has just fitted in really well to our club," Pearce said of Bolton.

"It's great to have him and his family involved with the club.

"He is going to add a lot for us on the field.

"He has been training really well as you could imagine."

Pearce felt the club was a "seamless fit" for Bolton, the ex-Richmond star enjoying returning back to Western Australia to be around more family and the support the move provides.

Although not having that luxury, Pearce talks about how being drafted by Fremantle has aided the Tasmanian tall to better embrace his own heritage.

"I'm really proud that we celebrate our history as a club so well," Pearce recently said after his selection for the Indigenous All-Stars clash.

"It is quite easy to celebrate Fremantle's Indigenous history because it is so strong.

"We had that streak running for nearly 30 years of having an Indigenous player playing every game except for when I missed last year for a little bit.

"For myself, personally, to come into a club with such great Indigenous leaders and role models like Michael Johnson and Stephen Hill, Danyle Pearce, Sonny Walters, helped me embrace my culture and be really proud of where I come from and my cultural history, which is different to a lot.

"Now to represent the Palawa people – Tasmania's own Indigenous people – in this game is really exciting for me.

"I hope those in Tassie will be really proud as well."

Pearce was yet to debut in the AFL debut when he was included in a training squad for the last Indigenous All-Stars game was held in 2015.

Indigenous representation has since become a pressing point for the AFL, with a steep decline in numbers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A number of former AFL players were delisted or retired during the past five seasons, but of greater concern was the absence of a First Nations player selected in the 2024 AFL draft - the first time in the draft's 38-year history.

Only Malakai Champion, by the West Coast, and Ricky Mentha jnr to Melbourne, were added to club lists as Category B rookies.

Pearce believes the reintroduction of the All-Stars fixture after a decade absence will foster greater AFL Indigenous representation, however he accepts the game needs more done to continue to nurture its next generation.

"I think as an industry, we celebrate Indigenous players and Indigenous cultures, and the history quite a lot during Sir Doug Nicholls Round in the middle of the year," Pearce said.

"The All-Stars game isn't something we've tapped into for a while.

"I attended the last camp, but I was injured and didn't take much part.

"These one-off marquee games can really grab the attention and the excitement of the footy community.

"We don't have State of Origin and those games, so it is unique.

"It's clearly going to be exciting to have so many players that fans come to watch all playing in the same team.

"I think it really will capture the attention of everyone around the country."