For years Pavlich has been the sole tall target in Fremantle's forward line but Taberner has stood up over the last month with three superb performances, including winning a NAB Rising Star nomination in round 22 for his performance against the Brisbane Lions.
Taberner has averaged 17 touches, seven marks and has kicked four goals across the last three rounds.
Johnson's season over for Dockers
Pavlich said the youngster's emergence had added another element to the Dockers' forward structure.
"It's certainly assisted, another tall there," Pavlich said.
"He's a fantastic athlete. He's worked so hard at his game, both physically and mentally understanding the forward line play.
"It's great reward for him all the hard work he's put in.
"It's definitely alleviated some burden. But what we've seen as a group is we've all improved together.
"It's great to have him playing well and we're expecting him to continue doing that."
The Dockers forward line has been firing on all cylinders over the last three weeks averaging 16 goals a game.
Pavlich said the defensive pressure of the forwards was just as valuable as hitting the scoreboard.
"It's an important part of our game," Pavlich said.
"Our role is not only to kick a winning score, but to help the defence and the mids stop the ball going the other way."
The skipper believes Chris Mayne's recent form and Michael Walters' return from injury have been a major factor in the Dockers' success over the past three weeks.
"Chris is back to his best," Pavlich said.
"A couple of the chase-down tackles we saw on the weekend were first class, and as a result he's been able to hit the scoreboard as well. Michael being back in there - he's not only an offensive threat, and able to use the ball beautifully, but his chase and tackle is first class."
Pavlich was among a host of players who did not train on Tuesday. Aaron Sandilands, Nick Suban, Cameron Sutcliffe, Michael Barlow, Luke McPharlin and Alex Silvagni also failed to appear but the Dockers’ skipper denied that was unusual.
"Just looking after the geriatrics," Pavlich said.
"It’s that time of year.
"It's more of a management issue of the individual guys, how much they ran in the game, all those sort of things. I was just a part of that rotation today."
