He plays more like the half forward flank goalkickers of the 60's/70's in the WAFL, the likes of Laurie Richards, Ron Wilson, Tierney, who kicked more goals in that role than the Austin Robertson "lead from the square" Full Forward. Being allowed to play that role gave him the freedom, and also brought Tabs into focus in his role.
Something else I noticed last night was Pearce having the confidence to turn on a thruppenny bit again down back, made him much more effective, as he had time to cleanly dispose of the footy after losing his opponent.