Two young Fremantle players provided a silver lining to a disappointing day when Freo lost to Essendon by seven points on Sunday.
The hosts of On the Couch on Monday night were full of praise for 20-year-old Caleb Serong and 21-year-old Adam Cerra for their efforts at Marvel Stadium.
Both midfielders impressed in their roles, especially Serong, who tagged Essendon star Zach Merrett.
The 25-year-old Merrett failed to have a clearance in a game for the first time since his debut season in 2014.
“I’m putting this down to Justin Longmuir, who elected to go with Caleb Serong to play on Zach Merrett. It just doesn’t happen like this. It was so good to watch. The on-ball stuff was great to watch,” said co-host Garry Lyon on Fox Footy.
“Merrett’s running was great. Serong took the challenge up and ran with him and busted his gut.
“It was just a great midfield (battle). I loved it. I would imagine Caleb Serong will be an infinitely better player for running around with Zach Merrett.”
St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt praised Cerra for his skills by foot.
“Adam Cerra did a couple of things. He had a left-foot bullet and a few seconds later he follows up on the other side of his body. He had a bit more time and space and goes on the right foot and laces out Taberner on the lead,” Riewoldt said.
“It’s just sublime skill. I didn’t have a full appreciation (of Cerra) coming into the game but walked away thinking wow, this kid is a super player.”
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