TWO days after his club's embarrassing capitulation to Melbourne in one of the worst reversals in AFL history, Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich continued to refuse to speak publicly yesterday about the club's perceived "cultural" problems.

During an appearance at the AFL Players Association announcement that those taking part in the Hall of Fame Tribute match on Saturday would donate their $250,000 in match fees to charities, Pavlich gave a vague answer about his feelings on the loss to the Demons and then refused to address further questions on the Dockers' culture.

"I think that's enough about Freo," was all Pavlich would say.

Sitting beside him, association chief executive Brendon Gale looked to his public relations assistant to intervene, which he duly did, and no doubt Gale would argue that the occasion — to announce the noble gesture of players donating their match fees to charity — was not the right time or place.

Long-suffering Dockers fans would be wondering just when that right time and place would be.

Pavlich's efforts yesterday continued his refusal to speak about the loss and the internal issues that began straight after the match on Sunday — which the Demons won after trailing by 51 points late in the second term — when he reneged on an agreement to talk to The West Australian newspaper.

Yesterday, he managed to at least say the club was disappointed about its performance when asked how he felt about the loss.

"Obviously, we were very disappointed with the way things ended up," Pavlich said. "Speechless was the word I guess I used directly after the game. But then I guess I soon got over that part and I'm just shell-shocked about it all.

"I'm just really disappointed and this focus (on the Hall of Fame match), to a certain extent, has taken a bit off that. But I'm still making sure I get around the guys and speak to them and ensure they're on the job for training this week and then the Bulldogs in a week's time."

But it was then he decided "that's enough about Freo". Shortly afterwards, he refused an interview request from a Melbourne television station and another from The West Australian. He said he did not want to talk about the Dockers ahead of the Hall of Fame game.

When it was suggested Fremantle's fans deserved to hear the captain's opinion, he said, "They heard me on Channel Nine last night", referring to his lucrative paid weekly segment on the network's nightly news, which was, coincidentally, Perth's lowest-rating news bulletin on Monday night.

According to official ratings, it attracted fewer viewers than a repeat of the comedy Two And A Half Men, Big Brother, Neighbours, Deal Or No Deal and Good News Week.

The initiative from the Hall of Fame players to donate their match payments, however, is commendable. Of the $250,000 in match fees, $100,000 will go to the association's past player health hardship fund, which supports former players who experience health-related financial difficulties that can often be attributed to their playing days.

A further $100,000 will be allocated to the the Ladder program, a project managed by former Essendon player Mark Bolton that is a joint venture between the association and the AFL Foundation to address youth homelessness. "It's footy tackling homelessness," Bolton said yesterday.

The final $50,000 will go to RecLink to provide better football and sporting facilities in remote areas of the Northern Territory. The money will be used to start 18 teams in the NT this year.

With STEVE BUTLER