The Dockers reached the Grand Final last season but their 2014 campaign was brought to a crashing halt in Perth on Saturday night after they stumbled to a shock 22-point semi-final loss to Port Adelaide.
Fremantle possesses the oldest list in the competition, raising doubts about whether its premiership window has passed it by.
Star defender Luke McPharlin is considering retirement following an injury-plagued season, while veterans Pavlich and Aaron Sandilands are in the twilight of their decorated careers.
But Pavlich is optimistic the Dockers are well placed to challenge again in 2015, promising fans the team will do everything they can to improve over summer.
"Outside of a couple of old blokes that are still running around, we've got a really young list," said Pavlich, who turns 33 in December.
"And a lot of those guys have played a huge amount of football.
"That's where the improvement and growth is going to come.
"We're really confident we can lick our wounds and really learn where we need to get better.
"As (coach Ross Lyon) says, we win and lose together, and we need to grow together as well.
"We'll improve again, and I'm confident we can do that."
Fremantle led Port Adelaide by 31 points late in the second quarter before crumbling in the second half.
Pavlich said he would be haunted by key moments of the match that didn't fall his team's way.
"You're not an AFL player or athlete unless you stay awake at night and think about moments of the game, both individually and collectively," Pavlich said.
"It's a hard existence sometimes. You repeat them over in your head all the time, and I'm no different.
"It's always hard to lose a final, regardless in what manner.
"It's quite numb and quite hard to swallow right now."
Pavlich will now spend some down time with his young family before launching into action for his 16th pre-season.
McPharlin played just 13 games this season after succumbing to knee and calf issues, with the 32-year-old to weigh up his future over the next fortnight.
