The Narrm midfield may have a couple of key outs for Walyalup’s clash on Saturday at the MCG, but Caleb Serong is bracing for another physical challenge against the Demons.
Demons Senior Coach Simon Goodwin officially ruled our star midfielder Clayton Oliver for the game with a hamstring injury, while Lachie Hunter is also unavailable due to suspension.
Walyalup had varying results against the Demons in 2022, winning their clash at the MCG before being outclassed in the wet at Optus Stadium.
“We’ve had some good battles with them over the past 12 months, especially in the midfield, it’s always a good battle, I’m looking forward to it,” Serong told Triple M.
“We had a good one there last year, but they got us back pretty comfortably here at Optus Stadium.
“(I’ll play on) Jack Viney a bit, you float through different guys. He’s tough, strong but all of them are, Christian Petracca, they’re all big boys.”
Serong said Walyalup had gained confidence during their three-game winning streak, but wanted to become a mature side that didn’t rely on momentum.
“You’d like to say confidence doesn’t play that much of a part because you can fluctuate so much,” Serong said.
“It does play a part, especially with a young group, it’s amazing what some belief can do.
“We feel like the Brisbane game, while we lost by nearly 10 goals, we made a lot of mistakes, we started to play the way we wanted to, taking some risks, taking the game on.
“We just missed our kicks. The last three weeks we’ve been hitting our handballs and kicks and kicking some goals.”
The game is the first of three Walyalup games at the MCG this home and away season, also taking on Collingwood in round 18 and Hawthorn in round 23.
Serong said there was always a buzz around the group heading into an MCG game.
“It’s different for different guys but as a Victorian, I used to go and watch footy there and it’s an incredible stadium to watch from, and be a part of playing out there,” Serong said.
“I think the guys who come from interstate marvel at how big it is when they get there.
“It’s pretty cool, we really enjoy it.”
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