Fremantle senior coach Ross Lyon has had success follow him throughout his tenure as an AFL coach, but with Freo in unfamiliar territory at 0-6, Matthew Pavlich opened up on what makes Lyon such a great coach.
 
Pavlich told ABC Grandstand radio on Saturday that Lyon practices what he preaches, and continues to lead by example.
 
“He’s a very good coach,” Pavlich said.
 
“With his hard work, he really leads by example in that way.
 
“He’s so diligent with reviewing the game and preparing for the opposition.”
 
Lyon’s reputation as a disciplinary has merit, but he shouldn’t be solely defined as a coach on that characteristic, according to Pavlich.

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The six-time Doig medallist said one of the often unseen traits Lyon possesses is the ability to relate with his playing group.
 
“In a lot of ways, people see him as ruthless and a disciplinarian and he is, but at the same time he’s got great empathy for the modern player,” he said.
 
“He has a fantastic working relationship with all his players and backs his leaders in.”
 
Just like Freo’s 0-6 start to the season is unfamiliar to Lyon, Pavlich said the so far winless campaign would require extra hard work and from those not used to playing in the undesired circumstances.
 
“We’ve had great success and we’ve had down time and unfortunately we’re in a bit of a lull and not playing the footy we thought we were capable of,” he said.
 
“We have to dig ourselves out and that takes hard work and discipline to stick to our structures and maintain our structures and maintain high standards on and off the field.
 
“We have seen growth and there are plenty of guys digging in and we’re a tight group.”