The Dockers skipper, the club’s record appearance holder with 335 games, took time away from the game to consider his future following the AFL preliminary final defeat by Hawthorn last month.

But the club revealed late on Wednesday that the 33-year-old will go around again after signing a contract extension until the end of next year.

“While I can still play, I will choose to play,” Pavlich said.

“It’s a decision I took very seriously. Retiring and playing on were toing and froing in my mind.

“It didn’t necessarily come to me straight away.”

The South Australian, a product of the Sacred Heart football ‘factory’, was drafted by Fremantle in 1999 after being controversially overlooked by both SA clubs in the previous year’s draft.

He said his decision to continue his distinguished career followed “thorough discussions with (coach) Ross Lyon and (general manager) Chris Bond and they were so supportive and gave me the time and space I needed”.

“I needed to ensure the decision being made was the right one and it suited the football club, myself and my family,” Pavlich said.

“I had some really good conversations with my wife, Lauren and, more recently, with my dad.”

He said the time away was crucial in coming to his decision.

“To get the time away, get away from football, get away from Perth and really understand what I value and what I want to achieve in this last season was critical,” he said.

The decision follows a trade period in which the Dockers unsuccessfully tried to prise promising young forward Cam McCarthy from GWS, where he was contracted.

-AAP