Pavlich puzzled by flat performance
Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich struggled to comprehend the thumping loss to Hawthorn, saying the Dockers paid a high price for a lack of intent.
The Hawks smashed Fremantle from the opening bounce and led by 30 points at quarter time.
That buffer extended to 57 points at half-time when Fremantle had kicked only two goals.
"They came to play, we didn't," Pavlich said. "They convincingly beat us around the stoppages and clearances early. When you're half a step off, it's a huge difference in this game.
"Very good players and very good teams like Hawthorn - the benchmark - they split you open. They were able to win enough of the ball and really dictate terms by using their accurate kicking around the ground."
Pavlich said it would be easy to look for excuses for why the team didn't perform, but he couldn't fault the Dockers' preparation.
"We had a good week on the track," he said.
"You have a look at all the preparation factors when you start so poorly because that's all you can go by. You look each other in the eye going down the race and think 'are we on?'
"You start evaluating all of those things. But the fact of the matter is we didn't hit hard enough in at the football and they were able to win the ground balls and get it going their way."
