FREMANTLE captain Matthew Pavlich and discarded Geelong great Steve Johnson are still deciding their playing futures, according to their manager Craig Kelly.
Former West Coast player Karl Langdon has declared that Pavlich has retired after signing a deal with the Seven Network, but Kelly, of management group Elite Sports Properties, said the 33-year-old was still weighing up his options after the Dockers lost their preliminary final to Hawthorn on Friday night.
"'Pav' is just an amazing individual – he's loved by all. He will decide in the next little bit what he's going to do," Kelly told the Nine Network.
"He has asked us to make sure that he's got options, so we've spoken to a number of organisations. There's a (media) pathway there for him to go down if he wants to, when he wants to.
"I'm not going to say if he's made his mind up or not because I seriously haven't spoken to him since (Friday) night."
Kelly said it was a difficult decision for Pavlich because he was playing "amazing footy" and Freo was still in contention to win its first premiership.
"The question is can he drag another year out of his body, because it's such a demanding game, he's got a young family and he's got options," he said.
Meanwhile, Johnson, a 32-year-old, three-time premiership player with the Cats, is working out whether to play on at another club, with Kelly revealing there were "clubs that definitely want him involved".
"I think his preference would be to play for another year and have an opportunity to be coaching and developing his coaching," he said.
"He's got an amazing ability to look at a game and be a forward scout, for example, and see how you could pick a game apart if you were playing them the next week. And he's got a really good ability to work with kids."
Kelly stressed that Johnson would only play on if he felt a suitor was "the right fit", adding that any deal that transpired would be a last-minute thing, with clubs working out whether they had space on their lists for the veteran.
"He's just got to be patient, which we've spoken about," Kelly said.
Steve Johnson farewells the Geelong crowd after his final game as a Cat. Picture: AFL Media
