Shannon Byrnes played just four games for Geelong in 2012, averaging 10 possessions. But he is also a dual premiership player.
Now a Fremantle player, Pearce will add some much-needed outside run to his new side, while the leadership Byrnes will bring to a developing Melbourne squad will be invaluable. But he is two years older than Pearce.
And where does Brent Moloney fit into the picture? He averaged just 17 touches in 15 games for Melbourne in 2012, down from 23 in 2011, the year he won the best and fairest. But he will turn 29 before the start of next season, when he makes his debut for the Brisbane Lions.
Is his departure from Melbourne a bigger loss than the gain of Byrnes?
These are the sorts of deliberations the AFL needs to make over the next few days ahead of Friday's end to the first Gillette AFL Free Agency Period.
It is then that the AFL will announce the compensation picks for the clubs that have lost players to free agency.
It is a difficult and fairly subjective exercise that AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson will oversee, made more complex by the differing length and worth of the contracts that the free agents have signed with their new clubs.
What we know is that the compensation won't be anywhere near as lucrative as that clubs received for losing uncontracted players to Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney. No club will receive a pair of first round selections as was the case when Gary Ablett left Geelong for the Suns.
Free agency hub
It will be one draft pick for every player lost to free agency, with five bands of compensation available. These are first round, end of first round, second round, end of second round and third round.
Port Adelaide will receive two picks for losing Pearce to Freo and defender Troy Chaplin to Richmond. The Power can't petition the AFL into bundling those two selections into one selection earlier in the draft.
Free agency has been welcomed by the football industry as another mechanism to free up the movement of players between clubs. But there is frustration at club level that the compensation picks won't be determined until Friday afternoon, which marks the end of the free agency period and the start of the last week of the trade period.
It means that some clubs can't progress much further with their trade negotiations because they don't know exactly how many and the nature of the draft picks they have on the table.
"There hasn't been a lot of communication from the AFL on the topic of compensatory picks," said one club list manager.
"They're being much more secretive about this other than to tell us not to expect a similar sort of bounty as was the case with Gold Coast and GWS.
"There certainly hasn't been any lobbying by the clubs this time around."
There is universal agreement that former Saint now Bomber Brendon Goddard is the gold standard of the eight free agents to have changed teams so far and that St Kilda should expect to receive a first-round pick for the one-time No.1 draft selection who played 205 games for the club.
So on that basis, it is worth having a stab at what the other compensatory picks might be.
ADELAIDE
Chris Knights: Only played five games for the Crows in 2012 and is not a massive loss for a club with a deep and improving midfield. Third round.
GEELONG
Shannon Byrnes: A great clubman and all, but not close to the best 22. Third round.
HAWTHORN
Tom Murphy: Almost a carbon copy of Byrnes at Geelong. Played just six games in 2012. Close to selection for the Grand Final but only because of a few injuries. Third round.
MELBOURNE
Brent Moloney: Tricky one because he is a good player just a bit down on form. Needs to be weighed against the Demons also gaining Byrnes through the same mechanism. Third round.
PORT ADELAIDE
Danyle Pearce: While his last few years with Port were disappointing, he remained a first choice selection and he should have plenty of football left in him at Fremantle. End of second round.
Troy Chaplin: Port has lost its best key defender. Second round.
WEST COAST
Quinten Lynch: Good enough to be in West Coast's team for two finals this year and would appear to have at least two seasons in him at Collingwood. Second round.
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the AFL or the clubs.
You can follow AFL Media senior writer Ashley Browne on Twitter @afl_hashbrowne.
