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We caught up with AFL champion and Homeloans representative, Matthew Pavlich, to ask him a few questions about football and buying his first home.

The introduction of the Gold Coast Suns has given us an odd number of teams, meaning at least one team has a bye each week. While I’m sure players welcome the rest, do you think overall that teams are better off, or do you think it messes up their routines too much?

Matthew Pavlich (Pav): The fall back position for most players I speak to is that although the bye may halt some form of momentum both for the team and the individual, it certainly assists both the body and mind in what is a very long and challenging season. For teams over here in the West it is amazing what one less week of travel does for your mindset and body!

Next year with the introduction of Greater Western Sydney we will be back to an even number of teams. Do you think the AFL should consider multiple mid-season breaks for teams, or do you think it should just revert to one split round like in previous years?

Pav: My suggestion would be to still have two byes. So potentially yes, the multiple mid-season breaks per team could work, and structure the year around that.

Which team has been the surprise packet for you this season?

Pav: All teams are so well trained and coached these days, it doesn’t take too much for any particular side to bob up and be performing well. If you have all your best players fit and playing and win early games, it’s amazing how much momentum and confidence can come from that. If I had to go out on a limb, I would probably say Essendon and West Coast, after both having reasonably lean years leading into 2011.

Who is your tip for the Brownlow this year?

Pav: Never an easy question, even if it is half-way through the season! As it stands Dale Thomas, Jobe Watson, Chris Judd and Lance Franklin would have polled well to date, irrespective of whether or not they’re eligible.

Between 2001 and 2006 the premiership team each year was from outside Victoria, then every year since it has been a Victorian side winning the flag. What’s behind this trend?

Pav: Given the draft and salary cap, the AFL believes that all teams have a chance to play in a Grand Final every 16-20 years, so I guess it’s only natural that trends like this occur from time to time. I do think however, that teams from Victoria have become more professional and accustomed to travelling, which was a strength of interstate clubs in the early-mid 2000s, and as a result we have seen them able to win interstate more often and therefore finish higher on the ladder.

As footy fans, many of us get nervous each week before our teams play. As a player and a captain, do you get nervous?

Pav: I am much less nervous now than I used to be when I was beginning my career! If I actually gave it more of a thought, the emotion that I have mainly experienced before a game throughout the entirety of my career has been excitement with a dose of anxiety.

When you do a review of each week’s match and watch the TV footage, do you have the TV audio on so you can hear the commentators, or is it muted and you just have the coaches talking?

Pav: Interesting question! It’s muted so we can all discuss the clip being shown.

You’ve been working with us at Homeloans for a year now. Perhaps you could tell us a bit about your first home?

Pav: It was a townhouse in East Fremantle and I bought it at the end of 2000. It was a fantastic first buy and it certainly served its purpose in terms of lifestyle and an investment.

Finally, playing football will have to finish at some stage. What do you have planned post football?

Pav: I have studied at UWA throughout my career – an undergrad in Exercise Health Science and currently doing a postgrad MBA – so I have tried to do as much as I can off-field to at least have some options when I do finish. Initially I believe it will be beneficial for me to step out of the AFL industry - I have been involved since I left school at 17 - and into something else that will challenge me in a completely different way. I will never say never to getting involved in football as it is something that I love and have a passion for.

Do you have a question for Pav? Leave your questions in the comments section below and you may be lucky enough to find his answer in a future edition of the Homeloans eNewsletter!

 

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