In ANZAC Round, I often find the attention gets diverted to the big Essendon v Collingwood game, but when it came time to allocate games for this round, this was the game I wanted to see most. It was the first one I put my name next to.
Why?
Because so much was riding on it.
With both teams at 3-3 heading into Round Seven, and the Dockers stung by a loss to their cross-town rivals last week, they found themselves in a position that seemed unlikely a few weeks ago – a position that was on the cusp of undoing their fast start to 2024.
The Dogs were doing what has become their usual thing – promising a lot and then failing to deliver. Yet, with a big win over the Saints to open Round Six, they looked like they’d found their groove.
Yes, this game promised plenty, and for once, it delivered.
We witnessed a virtuoso performance from Caleb Serong, Nat Fyfe wound the clock back, and Liam Jones bruised his fist with the power of some of his big spoils.
Heading into the last quarter, it was anyone’s game, and the team that settled fastest and best was going to take the chocolates.
That team was Freo, as their attack on the ball never relented, and their ability to win 50-50 contests saw them extend the final margin out to 24 points.
Although it never really felt that comfortable, did it?
Let’s jump into The Mongrel’s Good, Bad, and Ugly of this one.
THE GOOD
DON’T CALL HIM A BALL MAGNET
Caleb Serong made stoppages his domain in this game. He didn’t have to take out a mortgage – he outright owned them right from the first quarter.
When a player gets labelled a ball magnet, you get the impression that the ball just finds them, as though it is attracted to them. That is not the case with Serong, and if you think it is, you’d best think again. He doesn’t wait for the footy to come to him – he goes and gets it, and if he doesn’t get it, he fights, scraps, and dives after the player who has it. Those are not the actions of a ball magnet – those are the actions of a player who flat-out refuses to concede a contest. Ever!
Watch Serong – watch the way he chases. Watch the way he gets from contest to contest. The guy is an animal!
I was pulling for him to have a big last quarter and add his name to the 40-20-10 club, but he ended up falling three disposals short. Still, it takes nothing away from how prominent he was in this contest. Combining with Nat Fyfe and Andrew Brayshaw, the trio collected 31 clearances of a total 77. That’s over 40% of the total in just three players – outstanding stuff by the Freo on-ballers, particularly when you consider the quality of the opposition.
The Dogs lost Libba before the game, due to a case of food poisoning (and well done to whichever local eatery helped with that one), and the Dogs missed him terribly again. He is one bloke who would have made things a little more difficult in the clinches for the Freo mids, but they still had plenty of firepower.
They were just outgunned by a Fremantle unit that got some great service from Sean Darcy throughout the game.
The night belonged to Serong, who is putting together a stellar season. The thing I liked best about his game was the way he was able to maintain his pace whilst hunching over, attempting to collect the footy. Anyone who has ever played knows how easy it is to do one of two things when you’re hunched over and trying to run at pace. Either you strain a hamstring… and I became an expert at that later in life, or you get knocked over, as you’re already lurching forward and off balance.
But Serong is an anomaly in that regard. He should be put on his backside, but he absorbs the contact and continues moving at pace. Relentless.
It doesn’t sound like much, but far out, try it. It is not an easy skill to master.
Serong also worked back inside defensive fifty really well to support his defenders. That’s where you see just how hard midfielders work. Some kind of drift back there, fill space, and only drop the hammer when their team find the footy. Not Serong – he is first back inside fifty often, as he knows his back six, as good as they are, are only as solid as the support they get from the on-ballers.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more complete midfield game this season. He should get three votes in the Brownlow, but there was another guy out there who has a pretty decent history in that count. Maybe it’ll be him?
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