Caleb Serong relishing chance to give Nat Fyfe a fitting farewell to Perth Stadium

When Nat Fyfe walked a lap of Perth Stadium following Fremantle's big loss to Brisbane in round 23, one player felt bitter disappointment.

The Dockers had been smashed by 57 points, and their finals hopes hung by a thread.

But it was the sight of Fyfe, one of the club's greatest ever players, saluting supporters which struck Caleb Serong.

"It hurt a fair bit individually for me," the midfielder told ABC Perth's Sports Talk program.

"Seeing him do the the lap and stuff and thinking, 'wow, this could be his last game at home and we've put on that display', that hurt pretty deep.

The fact Fyfe will get another home game in the elimination final against Gold Coast reflects the Dockers ability to put poor performances behind them and focus on the next challenge, which was to beat the Western Bulldogs in Melbourne a week later.

That was a trait put to the test early in 2025, when Fremantle stumbled to four wins from its opening eight games, and the blowtorch was on the squad and its coach, Justin Longmuir.

Serong believes the side's trust in Longmuir and his methods, allowed them to recover and string together important wins.

"It was on the back of the St Kilda game (which Fremantle lost by 61 points) there were a few conversations, it was a tough result for the club," he said.

"There was a lot of pressure on us, but we didn't want to chuck everything out and change everything. There was a lot of trust in the way we were going about it.

"JL's coached as well as he ever has, in my opinion, and the things he's had to deal with have been pretty unfair at times. Internally, he's got a lot of faith."

Winning the game of tag

Serong has endured an up-and-down season, which has seen him targeted by opposition taggers.

After a blistering start to the year, the midfielder's output was impacted by the extra attention, including in the loss to the Saints, when he managed just 15 disposals.

He also had just 11 against Sydney in round 17, and his overall numbers were down on 2024.

"To get to where I want to as a footballer, that's something that I'm going to have to deal with," Serong said.

"I can't have these lofty goals and set myself a high standard that I want to achieve and not expect that along the way, if I start achieving those things, that attention and difficulty is not going to come.

Serong has plenty of support as he learns how to combat the tag, with Fyfe, Andrew Brayshaw and coach Joel Corey providing advice.

He also leans on his sports psychologist, Jonah Oliver, to help combat the taggers.

"He's really important in my ability to see it as a challenge, rather than try and avoid it," he said.

The work he's done has paid off, with the 24-year-old named in the All Australian team for the third successive year.

He also claimed a second Geoff Christian Medal as the ABC's best footballer based in Western Australia.

Something to build on

A lot has been made of the quality on the Dockers list, and the expectation they should be competing for a premiership.

It's something the players embrace.

"There's no hiding from the fact that we have expectations of where we think we can get to, and what we believe this group is capable of," Serong said.

"But that doesn't come before our process. Our process sits above everything.

"That's the way that we prepare every week, the way we approach team meetings, the way that we review the game from the week before, but then look forward."

Serong has a hobby outside of football that he uses to provide space from the intense nature of professional sport.

He builds LEGO models.

"We've turned the study into a bit of a LEGO room," he said.

"I finished one (a Ferrari) just before the Doggies game just before I flew out.

"Now we're in finals we've got a few more weeks left, so I bought a new set, so it's ready to go for the final."