MATTHEW Pavlich might have missed a crucial shot for goal that could have won the game for his side against the Sydney Swans, but his coach Mark Harvey won’t hear a bad word said about his talismanic skipper.

Freo was 13 points up with about eight minutes to go in the final term when Pavlich’s set shot from 30m drifted wide.

The Swans, inspired by eight-goal hero Adam Goodes, went on to score a four-point win.

“There were a lot of comments made about Matthew earlier this year, but he’s one of the best players that I’ve seen,” Harvey said.

“He brings it upon himself to do everything that you would aspire for a leader and a captain to do.

“There are a couple of areas late in games where he’s missed shots on goal, but that’s because of how hard he’s worked to try to rally the team.”

While acknowledging the pain of such a narrow defeat, Harvey was heartened by the efforts of his side, declaring it Fremantle’s best performance on the road this season.

“We had more shots on goal, we ‘out-stoppaged’ them, we were right in there,” he said.

“We were right into every challenge that Sydney presents when you play them and we were bettering them in a lot of areas.”

With the likes of Rhys Palmer, Michael Johnson and Paul Duffield producing significant contributions, Harvey was buoyant about the club’s prospects for 2009 and beyond.

“I’d say that we’re starting to actually to see Fremantle evolve. I’m not putting any expectation on us, I’m just saying we rally every time we play,” he said.

“We’ve had four players retire and we’ve had a lot of playmakers not in the side, yet we’ve still had this resolve in games that’s been significant."

Harvey acknowledged his players simply couldn’t go with Goodes as the Swans star enjoyed a night out.

“That’s why he’s won a couple of Brownlows, isn’t it? It’s great that the game’s got those sort of guys that people come and see, and we’ve got one of them [in Pavlich].”

Meanwhile, Harvey said Antoni Grover withdrew from the game for personal reasons and it was possible he might play against St Kilda on Sunday.

Veteran midfielder Des Headland is a chance to return against the Saints, as is Jeff Farmer.