When Caleb Serong was selected with pick 8 by Fremantle at Wednesday’s National Draft, the nerves disappeared as the 18-year old learnt he would be heading west.
The midfielder/forward said he was ‘stoked’ to hear his name called out alongside fellow Fremantle recruits Hayden Young (pick 7) and Liam Henry (pick 9).
“I’m absolutely stoked, it was a pretty nerve-racking time before the draft,” Serong said.
“To hear my name called out by the Dockers, I was absolutely stoked to hear that.
“(To be drafted) with the other boys as well, I already knew Hayden obviously and then kind of got to know Liam throughout the year.
“To be heading west with those boys I couldn’t be more excited.”
Serong’s tight bond with his fellow Vic Country teammate and good friend in Young made being drafted to Freo alongside him even sweeter.
“Back when we met each other we kind of clicked straight away,” Serong said.
“In probably the last 12-18 months we were like ‘how cool would it be to be at the same club’ and the last couple of days there was a bit of talk around that happening.
“We had a bit of a chat to each other and were pretty excited about the proposition.
“To head over west with ‘Youngy’ is pretty special because we’re good mates.
“He’s very skilful, I don’t know if I’ll play with a better kick than Youngy.”
The prospect of lining up alongside Freo skipper Nat Fyfe deemed exciting for the 18-year-old, eager to learn from the competition’s best.
“I think for me initially it’s picking up his training habits and how he trains,” Serong said.
“I’ll be trying to pick his brain as much as possible and learn as much as I can.
“I’ll obviously earn his respect first and try to ask as many questions and learn as much as I can to develop as a person and a player.
“I can’t wait to train alongside him and see what I can do.”
Serong’s introduction to Fyfe has already arrived, with the Freo skipper video calling the new recruit to congratulate him.
“Yeah that was pretty special, I watch him on TV and see all the special things he does so it was pretty cool to have a Facetime chat with him,” Serong said.
After the whirlwind of draft night, Serong is looking forward to soaking it all in with friends and family before flying to Perth this weekend to start life as a Freo Docker.
“I’ll head home back to Warrigal and celebrate and catch up with my family and friends - the people who have helped me get to this point,” Serong said.
“I think we are flying over (to Perth) on Sunday so I’m looking forward to heading over and getting to WA for the first time.”
