Matthew Pavlich

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Matthew Pavlich

Pavlich prepares for a set shot at goal
Personal information
Birth	December 31, 1981 (1981-12-31) (age 26), Adelaide, South Australia
Recruited from	Woodville-West Torrens FC
Height and weight	192cm / 100kg
Playing career¹
Debut	Round 5, April 8, 2000, Fremantle vs. Melbourne, at The WACA
Team(s)	Fremantle (2000 - present)
¹ Statistics to end of R22 2007 season
Career highlights
Doig Medallist 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 Ross Glendinning Medallist Rd 3 2008 Fremantle Leading Goal Kicker 2005, 2006, 2007 All Australian 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 International Rules 2002, 2003 Captain of Club 2007 175 games, 312 goals

Matthew Pavlich (b. December 31, 1981) is a South Australian-born Australian rules footballer of Croatian descent. He plays for the Fremantle Football Club, wears guernsey number 29 and made his AFL debut in 2000.

Pavlich flies high for a mark against Melbourne in 2008

Pavlich was recruited by Fremantle (the Dockers), from Woodville-West Torrens with the fourth selection in the 1999 AFL national draft.

Since his first game for the Dockers, Pavlich has consistently shown all the attributes of a key forward: physical size (a height of 192 cm and a weight of around 100 kg), strength, speed and agility. However, it was not until 2005 that he played primarily at centre half forward. The move paid off, as Pavlich topped Fremantle's list of goalkickers, with 61 goals for the season. He also took more marks than any other Docker and won his second Doig Medal as Fremantle's best and fairest player. In the 2005 Brownlow Medal count, Pavlich finished equal ninth and received more votes than any other Fremantle player.

He has been selected in All-Australian Teams five times: in 2002 (fullback), 2003 (half forward flank), 2005 (centre half forward), 2006 (interchange) and 2007 (full forward). He was a member of the Australian International rules team in 2002 and 2003, and was a Rising Star nominee in 2000. On the 13th of December 2006 Pavlich was named the captain of the Fremantle Football Club after Peter Bell retired from the role at the conclusion of the 2006 season.

Despite the additional burden of captaincy, Pavlich performed well throughout the 2007 season, leading an otherwise disappointing Fremantle side. He kicked a club record 72 goals, came second in the Coleman Medal and was named full-forward in the All-Australian team for 2007.

On August 14, 2007 Pavlich signed a new, 3-year contract with the Fremantle Football club, which ended speculation that he may join the Adelaide Crows or the Port Power. The contract is rumoured to be worth $2.5 million. ^[1]

Pavlich won the Ross Glendinning Medal in the 27th Western Derby on Saturday April 5, 2008 at Subiaco Oval in Perth.

[edit] References

1. ^ O'Donoghue, Craig. Freo's $2.5 million man reveals: Why im staying, The West Australian p.124, 2007-08-14.

[edit] External links

• Biography and player profile
• Footywire.com player profile
• Matthew Pavlich statistics
• "Anatomy of a Superstar" Australian newspaper article
• Woodville-West Torrens FC