Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich has downplayed suggestions that the club’s tough start to the 2015 season will be the club’s most important period of 2015.

Freo opens the season with a home game against its 2014 conquerors Port Adelaide at Domain Stadium (formerly Patersons Stadium) and also plays against Geelong (Simonds Stadium), West Coast and last season’s runners-up Sydney (Domain) in the opening month.

Pavlich admitted it was a difficult start to the season, be he added it did not make those games any more important than any game in 2015.

“Any AFL game or any part of an AFL season is a clutch period because they’re all critical,” he said.

“If you take one game lightly you can be very quickly on the slippery slide down the ladder.

“We go into every game wanting to win, we go into every game competing fiercely, and it won’t be any different for any home and away game this year.”

Pavlich welcomed the opening month against some of the best teams in the league, and he said Freo’s supporters should, too.

“We’re starting the season off with a bang, there are some enormous home games,” he said.

“The fans should be excited about that, because I know the players are.

“We want to play against the best and beat the best.

“To get where we really want to get at the end of the year we’re going to have to do that on a regular basis.”