The Dockers games record holder was very emotional after his side was bundled out of the finals by Hawthorn at Domain Stadium on Friday night in the Preliminary Final.

He did no media interviews, instead spending time on the ground after the crowd has left, having photos taken with just his family.

He has consistently said that he would make a decision at the end of the season and has denied that the imminent release of his book means he won't add to his 335 games and 669 goals.

Coach Ross Lyon said that he had not discussed the future with Pavlich, nor defender Luke McPharlin. "I can't enlighten you on Luke or Matthew, because I haven't had one discussion over pre-season or to this moment about what they are doing next year," he said.

"So I can't help you with that.

"You're going to have to ask them and hopefully we'll have a discussion at some point."

​McPharlin missed both of the Dockers finals this season due to a calf injury and if he retires, he will have played 256 games over 16 seasons, including 12 in his first AFL seasons, with Hawthorn. He has kicked 115 goals. Both McPharlin and Pavlich are 33 years old.

Of current players older than the Dockers pair, Dustin Fletcher (40), Adam Goodes (35), Rhys Shaw (33) and Paul Chapman (33) have already announced their retirements. However North Melbourne's Brent Harvey (37) and Geelong's Corey Enright (33) have extended their contracts for at least one more season with their respective clubs.