For most of the game the Saints had a very effective zone defense.
It wasn't that 2 men ran to pav. The back six and some midfielders formed a solid zone, so the leading players had no space to lead into.
Walters and Johnson led up but no matter where they ran they just found another Saint.
The man with the ball, finding no clear, open, leading players, bombed it long, knowing that Pav would be at home
BUT once the ball went long, the nearest three players in the zone ran to the drop, two of them bodied pav while the third went for the easy mark/spoil.

as with all zones, the answer is to lead, then double back and re-lead until the man with the ball can pin-point a pass through the traffic.
That way, the marking forward has the momentum and the stationary 'zoned' defender is easily outmarked.
It requires a lot of persistance from forwards and patience from mids.

But, with the stronger saints midfielders applying such good pressure, the dockers got panicked and had to bomb for fear of turning it over in the middle.

Meanwhile the forwards, who lead and re-lead are rewarded with a bomb to 3 saints and quickly lose their vigour.

strength to tackle and not be tackled, and discipline to hold structures and continue re-leading is what Freo need if they're to overcome teams like the Saints.
give them time, they'll get there.

On Pav, when the real stuff starts, we'll see pav lead longer (Reiwoldt style) up to the wings and then deliver inside before running in to re-lead. But for the NAB cup it makes more sense for Pav to 'stay at home', do less running and just provide a constant marking option. That way Pav doesn't over work himself and risk soft-tissue injuries.