Speaking at the club's official season launch on Thursday, Pavlich believes the Dockers learnt a valuable lesson from Tuesday's loss.
"If you don't turn up with the right attitude and intensity, this competition will find you out very quickly," he said.
"Our effort was way off the mark. A team who had a new coach wanting to impress absolutely smashed us.
"We're expecting West Coast to go really well this year and it's a good reminder of how far we've got to go."
Pavlich revealed that the Dockers are in a heavy training phase at present but he refused to use that as an excuse for Tuesday's performance.
"We've got a really big training load, so there's that physical aspect to it," Pavlich said.
"But this was clearly a mental choice on Tuesday. It's a good reminder that if you're not switched on and ready to go, you're going to get found out.
"We'll watch the tape and make sure we address that really quickly, because we know we're an effort-based sport."
Pavlich started as the substitute in Tuesday's match alongside Luke McPharlin. Neither player appeared until after half-time when the deficit stood at 66 points.
Pavlich kicked two goals in the second half having expected to play most of the match but the Dockers strength and conditioning staff decided to hold back the veteran.
"I was expecting to play pretty close to a full game on Tuesday, but myself and Luke had really slight niggles, or at least a high training load," Pavlich said.
“There was some risk going into the game. So I was managed for only a half. I guess over the next couple of weeks we need to ramp that game time up and make sure come round one we're ready to go.
The Dockers face the Western Bulldogs in their next NAB Challenge encounter at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
