Matthew Pavlich says Fremantle’s pre-season focus has been ensuring that every minute players spend at the club is utilised wisely.
Senior coach Ross Lyon indicated on Doig Medal night last year that the team should expect changes to the summer program.
Pavlich, who is entering his 16th year in the AFL, said the pre-season had been everything Lyon had advertised.
“After so long in the game now, they are all pretty tough and they all have varying challenging elements,” he said.
“But certainly we’ve upped the ante and we’ve made sure that not only on the field we’re training hard, but off the field we’re studying our game plan trying to improve that and ensure that by the time round one starts, and that’s not that far away now, we’re ready to go.”
The Freo captain said efficiency was the key theme of the pre-season.
“Making sure that when we are here, we’re operating in a really efficient manner and doing the work in a vein that’s extremely high intensity,” Pavlich said.
“Efficient in terms of us using our time effectively whilst we’re at the football club to improve not only our body shapes and our fitness abilities but our learning and our growth in that side of the game plan.
“The training has been football focussed. A lot of short, sharp effort and trying to replicate what we do in a game.”
Pavlich is Fremantle’s greatest ever player and among the best in the AFL in the past 20 years.
Despite being in the game for so long and playing at such a high level, he said there was always room to improve going into what possibly could be his final year in the league.
“Any person in this elite environment, if they’re not looking to continue to improve or at least gain some extra advantage, then there’s no point being in this environment,” Pavlich said.
“I’m always trying to get that little bit better in every aspect of what I do, particularly in the way I prepare and be as absolutely meticulous as I can.”
The skipper said his duty also included imparting his knowledge on the next wave of key forwards at Freo.
“A part of my role now is assisting Matt Taberner, Michael Apeness and Chris Mayne, and by virtue of that improving Michael Walters, Hayden Ballantyne, Hayden Crozier, our forward line group,” he said.
“I want to work really closely with them and I have been doing so.”
As for his own condition, Pavlich said he was “not going too badly”.
“I was able to do a fair bit of work in the off-season and maintain a level of fitness as well as work on a few of my body’s issues in terms of where I’m at with my age,” he said.
“I’m really, really pleased where I’m at at the moment and I’m training quite well.”
