MY RECENT comments regarding Matthew Pavlich certainly polarised people's thinking. It caused a bit of light-hearted niggle between Wayne Carey, who said the comments were "stupid", and Dermott Brereton, who referred to them as "fantastic".

I had inferred that if he was under hypnosis, perhaps Pavlich would admit to being more satisfied by playing well than by Fremantle winning.

Both happened last week against the Tigers. Fremantle won and Pav played a great game. He provided five goal assists (No. 1 in the competition for the round) and added to the eight goal assists he had from the previous 10 rounds.

Although an impulsive view at the time, I make no apologies for the assessment. It is part of the role I perform as a media commentator.

The comments were not meant to be personal and were not intended to suggest Pavlich is a selfish player, which is what many people seem to have assumed.

Pavlich is an outstanding player with enormous gifts and talents. He is a game-breaker and is central to Fremantle's performances.

Many people have told me since that if every player played like Pavlich, the team would win anyway. That may sound like a watertight argument, but allow me to put an alternative view. I am convinced a selfless team usually will beat a talented side, especially during finals and critical games.

Pavlich is definitely not selfish but I believe if he realigned his foundation thinking, he would be even more valuable to the team.

An interesting question that each player should ask himself is "Do I get a greater sense of fulfilment and satisfaction from helping others or helping myself?" In a lot of cases, the key drive for great players is their fanatical desire to be the best. And there is nothing wrong with that as a motivation.

It then comes down to to what your definition of best is. For me, it is the player that can tick the following boxes:

■Leadership qualities: being able to influence teammates and results.

■Consistency of performance anywhere, anytime, anyhow.

■Dealing with adversity and performing under pressure at all times.

■Playing for the team and being humble and selfless.

The ability for a great player to bring others into the game is of extreme importance. Through scoring assists, selfless leads to create space, protecting the ball carrier, encouragement and body language, a player can have a dramatic influence on the team's performance. Generally speaking, the truly great players always come to play because they are driven to succeed.

Conversely, selfish acts can have a destabilising and negative effect on the team. It's not just about kicks, marks and goals. Amazing things can be achieved by teams when nobody cares who gets the credit.

This may involve a slight shift in mental preparation for some players, as the idea revolves around "What can I do for my teammates?" rather than "What can I do for myself?". Their influence, if directed towards their teammates, produces a better result rather than just playing their part week-in, week-out.

This may come as a surprise, but there are an extraordinary number of players who do little or no mental preparation for a game.

They are quite content to take what the game gives them on any given day instead of dictating what they can get out of the match.

Sometimes, that attitude will result in a player having a very good game. The ball may bounce his way; he may get an early free kick, kick a goal and be inspired from there. But that attitude means a player is waiting for something to "kick-start" his performance rather than imposing himself on the game.

The most consistent players in the competition don't rely on lucky breaks, they make a conscious decision to "milk" the match for all its worth. The lucky breaks become bonuses. Teams with more players like this produce more even and consistent performances.

The players who wait for the lucky break and do not possess the habitual work ethic or understand the correlation between effort and performance cost teams dearly.

For lesser lights, mental preparation can be a constant battle.

Brett Kirk is an example of a player that, in skill level alone, should be playing at a level below AFL. But someone forgot to tell him that. He has built himself into an elite player by mentally preparing himself in a manner that belies his skill. He is not prepared to accept what the game may throw up at him — he dictates what he wants to extract from it. He gets the best out of himself and with that comes enormous respect and admiration.

I have always felt that games are won by a team's worst six players, not its best six. The lack of effort by an individual and the consequent damage caused by opponents is usually the difference in the result.

This is why it's critically important that players respect their teammates and do not show poor body language or abuse them for poor skills or decision-making.

Fundamentally, we love to help and assist someone less fortunate — it is human nature. That is why most players enjoy bringing teammates into the game and help them kick a goal. They are called team goals and coaches find teams that play this way much more difficult to coach against. Individuals can be curtailed tactically, teams cannot.