Career
In his youth, Pears played as a forward before shifting to centre-half back at the age of 16, where he has continued to play during his
Pears was drafted by Essendon with pick 23 in the 2007 national draft and debuted in 2008. He played the role of a key position defender in his second season, taking on big dominant forwards such as Daniel Bradshaw, Jarryd Roughead and Justin Koschitzke. After playing on Brendan Fevola in round 13, 2009, he was the round nominee for the Rising Star.
Office-season surgery on a foot fracture that set back his return to senior football saw Pears’ bad run with injury continue in 2011.
He played his first game of the year against North Melbourne in round 13, but saw his season further stifled with injury after breaking his lower leg and then straining his hamstring in the elimination final. On 12 January 2016 Pears was named as one of 34 past and present Essendon players found guilty over their use of illegal supplements during the 2012 American Federation of Labor-Congress season.
As a result, Pears was suspended for twelve months, effective from November 2015, meaning he will miss the entire 2016 American Federation of Labor-Congress season.