Matthew Pavlich will captain Fremantle for a ninth consecutive season after the club announced its 2015 leadership group on Wednesday.



Pavlich, who has skippered Freo on a record 167 occasions since taking over from Peter Bell in 2007, said he was as proud as ever to lead the club.



“I’m really excited about another year and the honour and privilege that comes with the position,” he said.



“I don’t take it for granted and never have, it’s a serious position and I take it on with a great deal of responsibility.



“I’m really excited and very privileged to be in the role again.”



Long-term members Aaron Sandilands, Luke McPharlin and David Mundy were again selected, as was Lee Spurr, who was added last year.



There was only one change from the 2014 leadership group, with superstar midfielder Nat Fyfe included for the first time, replacing Matt de Boer.



Pavlich said there would be some great challenges ahead for the 2015 leaders, given the demographic of the group.



“There’s a few senior players that have been there for quite some time, and that presents its own challenge, making sure that we keep driving the high standards and setting the tone for the group,” he said.



“But having a couple of younger players in there is fantastic and it will certainly stimulate the senior players to keep driving and make sure that we’re hitting high marks and high standards.



“In a season itself, there’s plenty of ups and downs along the way, so I can guarantee there will be some great times, but also some challenging times that we’ll have to deal with.”



The club uses an established player vote system to elect its captain and leadership group every season.



Pavlich said the large number of players who gained votes from their peers was a healthy sign for Freo.



“That shows a great development and strength in our leadership throughout the whole team,” he said.



