Matthew Pavlich says Fremantle would be negligent if it admitted Luke McPharlin’s 200th AFL game on Saturday night would cause the team to lift.

The Freo captain said a victory over Essendon would be sweet for McPharlin, but that the side was in the wrong business if it needed a milestone to inspire it to perform.

“It would be negligent on our behalf, as athletes, to put any other game ahead of a normal home and away fixture,” he said.

“It’s in the back of your mind and, like any milestone game, you want to win for that person.

“It will be a focus leading into the game, but once the ball is bounced, it’s pretty hard to draw further inspiration from it.

“It’s about playing our brand of football and our way, regardless of whether it’s Luke’s 200th or his 201st.”