Pavlich, or the One Man Spine as he has been dubbed after being named All Australia in nearly every key position on the ground, was the only Docker to make the grade this year but he's had such a good season himself that Fremantle will still be carrying the Austrian side.

There were nervous murmurs around the country at the start of the season as word got out that Pavlich was making the move to permanent centre half forward for 2005. After a quiet pre-season, he exploded onto the scene in Round 1 with a 3 goal 11 mark game against Port Adelaide. He'd arrived as a forward, running amok at centre half forward, marking the ball at will and commanding it to do his bidding. Everyone around he country was awestruck with his awesomeness - everyone but Robert "Always the Last to Know" Walls.

Walls made his infamous call after the Dockers loss to Richmond that Pavlich was "a huge disappointment" and "not in the same league as Jonathan Brown, Nick Riewoldt, Barry Hall or Warren Tredrea". (it'll be interesting to hear Robert's reaction in a few weeks time when he gets the news that Pavlich has been named All Australian centre half forward).

Unfazed by Walls's slagging off of him, Pavlich got on with the job of redeeming himself for a bad game with an 18 mark, best on ground performance against Carlton the following week.

It's not often that you can pin point an exact moment when a footballer takes the step from great to unspeakably magnificent, but in Pavlich's case, that moment happened in Round 5, 2005 - 08:47 Greenwich Mean Time. Fremantle looked like they'd finished Carlton off midway through the last quarter of that game but the Blues got a bit of a run on and moved to within a couple of kicks of the lead - and that's when it happened.

Peter Bell kicked the ball long down the wing to Matthew Pavlich. Pavlich was given all sorts of treatment from Bret Thornton and the ball spilled to the ground. Looking at the umpire for some assistance, only to be rejected for the umpteenth time, something started to happen in his head. The rage was growing. The rage he'd been suppressing every time an umpire refused to give him an obvious free kick, the rage he'd been suppressing every time Dennis Cometti asked him a smartarse question about the Dockers, the rage he'd been suppressing every time a team mate kicked the ball over his head, the rage he'd been suppressing every time Robert Walls waltzed in from Melbourne and decided to slag him off. It all boiled to the surface and, like Bruce Banner turning into the Incredible Hulk, Pavlich transformed from mild, thoughtful young man into a rampaging beast - The Purple Hulk.

He threw himself onto Scott Camporeale, he dived onto the ball, smashing blokes to all corners of the oval - even his own team mates if they were stupid enough to get in his way. He ripped the ball from the bottom of the pack, gave it out to the little blokes and set up a much needed goal. As he tried to mend his tattered clothes, players came from all directions to pat him on the back, unable to hide their excitement at the Purple Hulk's game saving work.

From then on, Pav became the go-to man. The bloke who could win a game off his own boot. Thirteen marks and 28 disposals the next week against Melbourne, 6 goals and 24 disposals agaisnt Collingwood the week after that. He could do it all. But it wasn't until after the midseason break that the footy world realised just what that 'all' entailed.

With Fremantle seemingly beaten by half time against Adelaide in Round 14, Pavlich was shifted a bit closer to goals and given the nod to rampage. He kicked 7 goals in the second half to get his team within a kick of upsetting the soon to be Minor Premiers at their home ground.

It was a phenomenal performance but Pavlich refused to rest on his laurels. He finished off the season by kicked 40 goals in 8 games, including 9 in the return match against Carlton at the MCG.

So it comes as no surprise that he's been named All Australian Centre Half Forward, what is a bit of a shock is they bothered to name any other forwards. We all know the coach would just clear the forward fifty and let Pavlich loose on his own.

Now normally with a player like Pavlich and a season like Pavlich's there'd be cries 'they'll write a song about him someday'. But Pav is so good, they've already done it. Dan van der Meer's 'I Love The Pav' is a perfect way to celebrate Pav being named the greatest player in the AFL. After all, who doesn't love the Pav.