4391.
Those were the four digits assigned to a young man from South Australia named Matthew Pavlich in the 1999 AFL National Draft.
A young man who’d been overlooked at the 1998 draft, when his beloved Adelaide Crows passed on him as a 17-year-old recruit.
A year later, Fremantle, with selection four, didn’t let him slip.
Fifteen years and 299 AFL games later, anyone who bleeds Freo purple understands the enormity of the club’s choice.
There will be those who say Pavlich has not tasted the ultimate success and therefore should not be ranked as highly as other greats of the game.
But premierships are not the only measure of greatness.
Matthew Pavlich changed Fremantle.
He changed the very meaning of the word professionalism at Fremantle.
Never had there been a player at WA’s second AFL club who prepared so meticulously in every aspect of his life, all in the name of performing at his very best for two hours each weekend.
Pavlich, by example, showed his teammates the sacrifices required to pursue greatness.
He changed the way those outside the club’s walls perceived and spoke of the Fremantle Dockers.
Most people outside WA didn’t know the names of many Freo players in the early years. But soon after his debut, in round 5, 2000, when he kicked two goals with his first two kicks, everyone knew who ‘Pav’ was.
No one would have begrudged Pavlich for leaving Fremantle when he had the opportunity to. Other clubs threw the kitchen sink to get him to move east.
They tempted him with the lure of success. Fremantle was lingering at the foot of the table.
But there’s a loyalty in Pavlich, forged from a strong family upbringing.
He would not abandon his club, just as he’d never abandon his loved ones.
He was taught early on in his life that one should always finish something they had started.
For everything he has given us over the years, we should owe him tremendous gratitude.
But Pavlich would say it’s the other way round. He feels he and the team owe the supporters for their loyalty, and the only way to pay that debt is to leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of the ultimate team success.
So on the eve of the most significant individual milestone in WA’s AFL history, we say thank you, Matthew.
Thank you for the memories you have given us, and for those you are still to create.
Thank you for standing tall in your teammates’ milestones, just as you did in Shaun McManus’s final game in 2008 and Shane Parker’s 200th in 2005, when you kicked nine goals.
Thank you for performing at your very best in some of the biggest finals this club has ever played in.
Who can forget what you did to Geelong, one of the greatest teams of all-time, on the MCG in a do-or-die scenario?
You have led us into a Grand Final, and although the outcome was disappointing, not one ounce of respect was lost for you and the club from anyone whose heart beats Freo.
You have constantly reminded us that Saturday night is not about you. While that may be the case internally, you will struggle to get the 40,000-plus people at Patersons Stadium and all your supporters around the country to accept that.
Win or lose, you will be carried off the ground on your teammates shoulders, just as you have done for your comrades on so many occasions.
Whatever the outcome, you will always be our captain, our legend, our ‘Pav’.
Thank you, Matthew.
