FREMANTLE star Caleb Serong says he will “embrace” the tag if St Kilda stopper Marcus Windhager comes his way in Sunday’s clash at Optus Stadium, with the co-captain determined not to let opposition attention dictate the way he plays.
Serong and sidekick Andrew Brayshaw both had their colours lowered by the Saints’ midfield in a 61-point loss in round eight and didn’t fill their role for the team “as leaders or as players”, Serong said.
While the star pair had to contend with defensive tactics from Jack Steele, Jack Macrae and Hugo Garcia in that clash, Windhager is the likely opponent for one of them on Sunday fresh off a controversial tagging job on Nick Daicos.
Serong, who is in outstanding individual form, said he had studied vision of Windhager as he normally would and goes into the clash prepared for whatever the 22-year-old throws at him.
“We go in expecting it, and if it doesn’t happen then it doesn’t happen. But if we’re going in trying to avoid it or hoping it doesn’t happen, then you’re a loss already before you even start,” Serong said on Thursday.
“We’re ready for it, and that mentality is the biggest part of it in my opinion. Not diverting from the way you want to play, not letting them dictate your game, and not letting them dictate where you run, the positions you get to, and the role you play for the team.
“If it’s really challenging you go to the levers you can pull around stoppage and the team things that we’ll work on. But first and foremost, you’ve got to embrace it and stick to your guns.”
Defender Luke Ryan has declared the Dockers will wear down any tagger that comes to their midfield pair, with Serong confident in the support he and Brayshaw will receive from teammates on Sunday.
The dual All-Australian said plenty of lessons had been learned the last time the teams played, and the 9-5 Dockers were in a better position now because of that shock loss.
“We didn’t really look externally at what they did or what their midfield did to try and nullify us, we just pretty much looked internally at what we did and we weren’t good enough that day.
“We’ve learned a lot from that and I think we’ve got better as both players and as a midfield group.
“It’s one of those ones where you don’t want to go through it, but you get stronger and get better from it. We feel like we’re a better team as a result of it.”
Ruckman Sean Darcy is pushing to return on Sunday after being managed for last Thursday night’s win against Essendon on a short break, training on Thursday and rotating through the ruck in match simulation.
Serong said the 27-year-old was in good shape and ready to have an impact if coach Justin Longmuir and the match committee reverted to their preferred two-ruck structure this week.
Sean Darcy in action during the match between North Melbourne and Fremantle at Optus Stadium in round 14, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos
“He’s trained really well last week, trained well over the weekend and trained well today,” Serong said.
“So he’ll be ready to go if that’s the way we go. I love having those two on the team because 100 per cent of the time you’ve got an elite ruckman in there.
“I’m looking forward to that opportunity to be able to play with both of them on a consistent basis because they’re both weapons.”
