Fremantle captain puts the heat on AFL’s agenda

Fremantle captain Alex Pearce wants to put playing in the heat on the AFL’s agenda.

The temperature reached high 20s and hovered near the 30s during the Dockers’ win over the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium on Sunday.

That came on the back of 30 degrees against West Coast in the Derby and as high as 35 during the narrow loss to Sydney on Round 2.

With the season commencing in early March, the AFL has enacted its heat policy for several games so far in 2025, allowing longer breaks at quarter-time and half-time with extra water carriers permitted.

Pearce admits it has been tough for the players to handle the 3pm starts in sweltering heat, wondering what the AFL could do to change the uncomfortable scenario.

He referenced recent comments from Brisbane premiership coach Chris Fagan who questioned the Round 2 start time after his Lions battled the Eagles in the Brisbane heat in a 12:10pm start.

“It’s been a challenge,” Pearce said on SEN Breakfast.

“All of our summers in Perth are hot and increasingly hot, so you expect that with pre-season so we can start a bit earlier and manage it as best we can.

“But I can’t really remember a start to the season like this where we’ve had four rounds that have all been in the heat policy. Games starting at 3 o’clock most of the time in Perth where it’s been anywhere between 30 and 37.

“It’s tough. This weekend it will be 32 in Adelaide.

“I saw some comments from Chris Fagan up in Brisbane with a similar sort of thing, mentioning maybe the time of the games needs to be changed.

“I do wonder about that as well. I’m looking at 34 to 35 degree weather in the middle of the afternoon and whether we’re getting the best footy because blokes were just hanging on.

“From an AFL point of view I’m not sure we’re getting the full crowd capacity with young families coming to watch and sitting in the sun for three hours.

“I haven’t felt it like this before so I think the feedback from a lot of the players and clubs is going to be, ‘I’m not sure whether we can play consistently in Perth and Brisbane where it can be mid-30s in the middle of the afternoon in the peak heat’.”

This weekend in South Australia for Gather Round, North Melbourne will meet Gold Coast at 12:05 ACST at Barossa Park on Saturday with a forecast high 32 degrees.

Then Pearce and his Dockers will take Richmond at the same venue and at the same time on Sunday where 33 degrees has been forecast.

Carlton v West Coast and St Kilda v GWS will also be played during the day when it is likely to be 32 or hotter in Adelaide.