Pavlich will miss Sunday's game with the first of a three-week suspension while Ballantyne is out with a hamstring injury.
When asked how the Tigers would counteract Freo's miserly defence, Hardwick said it was something he was putting plenty of thought into.
"I was thinking that this morning while I was driving along Punt Road – I likened it to the Fremantle defence, trying to make my way along and trying to get through," Hardwick told SEN radio on Wednesday morning.
"They're a fantastic side and many people say with Pavlich and Ballantyne now out they become easier to beat, but there's nothing further from the truth.
"They're very well coached by Ross; they're a great system side that certainly requires some serious thought about how you go beating them."
The Tigers lost to the Dockers in round five by a single point at Patersons Stadium and have gone down in their last three head to heads.
Hardwick said the Tigers needed to change to some degree the way they played to counteract Freo's style, but there was more to consider than the Dockers' defensive elements.
"They're very good, surprisingly, and most people wouldn't know this, with controlling the ball offensively," he said.
"Most people think they're a defensive side, which they are, but they control the ball through offence.
"They hold the ball to uncontested possession [as] one of the best in the AFL, and the best form of defence is generally offence, so they do that very well.
"That's something we've got to take away from them this week."
The Tigers have a tough few weeks coming up with clashes with the Sydney Swans and Hawthorn to follow Sunday's game.
Hardwick said the key to the next three weeks was consistency, with the coaching staff happy with some aspects of the way they're playing and disappointed with occasional lapses.
"We've beaten the sides below us that we probably thought we should, North Melbourne being the obvious exception there," he said.
"We didn't have a great game and they played an outstanding brand of footy.
"We've been found out a little bit short against sides above us and that's been the disappointing thing from our point of view.
"We certainly look forward to the challenge of playing those sides again … and improving our record against sides above us."
Hardwick also supported a rethink on the interchange cap, set to come in next season.
"I think most clubs have reached the ceiling, about 130 is about the AFL average, which is similar to last year I think," he said.
"I think the game in general is pretty good. We're seeing some really good contests, obviously there's going to be a couple of games every week that are blow outs one way or another."
Jennifer Phelan is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenPhelan.
