Saturday’s reserves scratch match against Brisbane was Luke Valente’s first chance to line up alongside fellow midfielder Caleb Serong, and Valente liked what he saw from the 19-year-old.

Both Valente and Serong formed part of the young cohort of midfielders quietly building Fremantle’s depth in the engine room.

A no.8 pick in the 2019 NAB AFL National Draft, Serong shone in what was a tough assignment against a deeper Lions reserves side.

“We stuck with them, we were playing 14 and they had around 22 that they were rotating through,” Valente said.

“Just the last quarter, they probably ran away with it, but I thought we played really well.

“It was really good because we all get along and have good chemistry. It was myself, Caleb, Mitch (Crowden) and Tommy (North) going through the midfield and Lloyd (Meek) in the ruck.

“It was good to be out there, especially with Caleb, as I haven’t played much footy with him so far.

“He’s a gun. He’s an absolute bull inside the contest and just great to play with. He’s a very selfless team player, a good hand baller and he gets you involved.”

A year older than Serong, Valente arrived at Freo at no.32 in the 2018 draft.

Valente played limited football in his first year at Fremantle as he battled a groin injury.

He now hopes his issues are behind him after working extensively on his recovery and going on to build his fitness in the shutdown period.

“I’m definitely feeling the benefits (of training in the shutdown period). I probably didn’t get the pre-season that I wanted because of the groin injury I was dealing with,” Valente said.

“It was kind of a blessing in disguise for me, to be able to have a six-week block of running and get really fit.

“I still do a lot of work to keep my self out on the park but I feel like I’m starting to get over the sort of problems I had.

“I’ve put a lot of work into my body, made a lot of changes so I feel I can hold myself in good stead.”

The hit-out was especially important for Valente, who hasn’t played regular football since mid-2019.

“I played against the Eagles WAFL team for Peel up at Joondalup before our Marsh series game,” Valente said.

“Before that, it was round 15 (of the WAFL) last year.

“It was unreal to be back out there, even though it was a bit of a different type of game.”

Valente was also impressed with the ruck work of Meek, as well as a pair of young defenders.

“It was a huge effort from Lloyd, playing the full game in the ruck,” Valente said.

“He won most of the hitouts, took his marks, kicked a good goal, so it was huge for us.

“I thought the backs were unreal, Jarvis (Pina) and Tobe (Watson) were so courageous.

“Tobe would have gone back with the flight more than a handful of times, which was ridiculous.

“I was really impressed with Hoges (Jesse Hogan) as well, just his work-rate, energy and voice that he brought to the group.

“It was awesome to have him out there with us, he made us a bit taller, he was great.”

Valente was less than effusive in his praise for his best mate Stefan Giro, who was a boundary umpire for the game.

“Stef was not great, to be honest,” Valente said.

“Meeky was trying not to laugh when he was throwing them in!

“I was saying to some of the boys today that we should have organised a set play with me just running along the boundary and him ‘accidentally’ throw it in badly.

“Nah, he did alright actually, just his throws were a bit wayward at times.

“It was a great effort from him, and Cam McCarthy as well running out the drinks, bringing heaps of energy. It was great to have those boys there.”