Caleb Serong (born 9 February 2001) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who plays for

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). A

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

known for his ball-winning ability and consistency, Serong has been the co-vice-captain of Fremantle since 2023. He has won two Doig Medals, awarded to the best and fairest Fremantle player, been selected in the

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

twice and won the

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Bu ...

award in 2020. Serong was selected by Fremantle with the eighth pick of the 2019 draft after captaining Victoria Country and being named MVP of the under-18 championships. He made his debut in Round 4, 2020 and played every game onwards, averaging 17.9 disposals across his first season. Continuing his progression as a midfielder, Serong kicked the 2021 Goal of the Year. In 2023, Serong won his first Doig Medal with a club record for disposals in a single season and was named in his first All-Australian team the same year. The next year he repeated the same achievements, collecting a second Doig Medal and another All-Australian blazer while he continued to break club records, such as most disposals in a game, when he notched 46 against the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

Early life

Serong grew up in the

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

n country town of Inverloch before moving to

Warragul Warragul () is a town in Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne. Warragul lies between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Mount Baw Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range to the north. As of the , the town had a population of ...

. From 2013 to 2015 Caleb played for the Warragul Colts JFC he was the U12's best & fairest of 2013 and also helped the U14.5's win the Warragul and District Junior Football League premiership that year. He attended St Paul's Anglican Grammar School and later boarded at

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay. Establ ...

on a sports scholarship. He was drafted with the 8th selection in the

2019 AFL draft The 2019 AFL draft consisted of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) can trade and recruit players following the completion of the 2019 AFL season. Key dates Mid-season rookie draft The first mid ...

from

Gippsland Power The Gippsland Power is an Australian rules football team in the Talent League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. Honours *Premierships (1): 2005 *Runners-up (3): 1999, 2010, 2012 *Minor Premiers (3): 2005, 2007, 2 ...

in the

NAB League The Talent League (also known as the Coates Hire, Coates Talent League under naming rights and previously as the National Australia Bank, NAB League and Transport Accident Commission, TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representa ...

. He made his senior debut for Warragul Football Club at the age of 15. He co-captained the Victoria Country team at the

2019 AFL Under 18 Championships The 2019 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships was the 24th edition of the AFL Under 18 Championships, AFL Under-18 Championships. The tournament was played between five teams—The Allies (Australian rules football), Allies, South Australian state ...

, where he was awarded the team's

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

award and was named in the

AFL career

Serong was recruited by

with pick eight in the

and made his debut in the fourth round of the

2020 AFL season The 2020 AFL season was the 124th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featur ...

Metricon Stadium Carrara Stadium (also known as People First Stadium under naming rights) is a stadium on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara, Queensland, Carrara. The stadium is primarily used for A ...

against Gold Coast. In Round 8 of the

Serong was awarded the Rising Star nomination after being one of Fremantle's best players in their 32 point loss to

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

, and won the award overall at the season's conclusion. A thrilling

Western Derby The Western Derby () is the name given to the Australian rules football matches between the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers, who both participate in the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW). As both teams are ba ...

in round 22 of the

2021 AFL season The 2021 AFL season was the 125th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season feature ...

saw Serong win Goal of the Year after kicking a remarkable off-the-canvas banana from an 'impossible angle' deep within Optus Stadium’s south-east pocket. He was awarded the Glendinning–Allan Medal for best on ground. The

2022 AFL season The 2022 AFL season was the 126th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featur ...

saw Serong play 22 out of a possible 24 games, missing Fremantle's Round 3 Western Derby due to a sore knee, as well as their clash against GWS the following week. He was arguably best-afield during Fremantle's round 23 clash against GWS at

Manuka Oval Manuka Oval is a sporting venue in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is located in Griffith, Australian Capital Territory, Griffith, in the area of that suburb known as Manuka, Australian Capital Territory, Manuka. Manuka Oval has a seating ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, collecting a game-high 32 possessions, 11 clearances, eight score involvements and kicking a goal. Serong again had a stand out performance the next week during Fremantle's elimination final against the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

at Optus Stadium, racking up 33 disposals, 10 clearances and a goal. Following the 2022 season Serong was named co-vice-captain of Fremantle alongside Andrew Brayshaw. In round 3 of the 2023 season, Serong won the Glendinning–Allan Medal for best on ground in the Western Derby against the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

with 35 disposals and 9 score involvements, and tallying a perfect 10 coaches votes. Serong collected 37 disposals and was best afield during Fremantle's round 5 game against , which was played at

Norwood Oval Norwood Oval (currently known as Coopers Stadium due to sponsorship from the Adelaide-based Coopers Brewery) is a suburban oval in the western end of Norwood, South Australia, Norwood, an inner eastern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. The ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, due to the AFL's inaugural

Gather Round Gather Round is an annual Australian Football League event in which all games in one home-and-away round are played in a single city and its surrounds. The event was first held in 2023 in Adelaide, South Australia, which will host the round each y ...

. Serong was among Fremantle's best in round 20, during their 7 point win over at

Kardinia Park Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria, South Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major Australian Football League, AFL stadium, a seco ...

, collecting a game-high 29 disposals. He finished the season having played all but one game and won Fremantle's

Best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award the Doig Medal. Serong was awarded his first

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

selection at the season's end named on the interchange bench of the 2023 All-Australian team. Serong was also the league leader in disposals with 675 across 22 games and an average of 30 disposals a game. Fremantle's opening match of the

2024 AFL season The 2024 AFL season was the 128th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 18 clubs and ran from 7 March to 28 September, comprising ...

saw Caleb break the Fremantle Football Club record for most disposals in a single game, tallying 46 disposals against the at Optus Stadium. He was again one of Fremantle's best players the next round against at Marvel Stadium, collecting 35 disposals and eight clearances. The fourth round saw Fremantle travel east for a two week stint in

, first facing in the AFL's annual

, and

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

the following week. Serong collected a club record 17 clearances and 37 disposals in round eight during Fremantle's 24 point win over the at Optus. Serong won the Glendinning–Allan Medal for best on ground in Western Derby 59 collecting 32 disposals, 10 clearances and kicking a goal. He played his 100th game the next week against the

Essendon Bombers The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers or colloquially the Dons, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCrac ...

at the

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the el ...

. He broke the league record for most consecutive games with 20 or more disposals during the match with 71 consecutive games, the record was previously held by Jack Macrae at 70 games. After the 2024 season, Serong was selected once again for a spot in the

team and also won his second Doig Medal, joining fellow Fremantle greats

Peter Bell Peter Bell may refer to: People * Peter Hansborough Bell (1810–1898), governor of Texas, U.S. representative * Peter Bell (footballer, born 1898) (1898–1965), English footballer * Peter Bell (footballer, born 1976), Australian rules footballe ...

Matthew Pavlich Matthew Lee Pavlich (born 31 December 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A versatile player, Pavlich is widely regarded as one of the p ...

and

Nat Fyfe Nathan Fyfe (born 18 September 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Fyfe is a dual Brownlow Medallist, dual Leigh Matthews Trophy recipient, three-t ...

as back-to-back winners of the Fremantle best & fairest award. In Round 3 of the

2025 AFL season The 2025 AFL season is the 129th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season features 18 clubs and will run from 7 March to 27 September, comprisi ...

, Serong won his fourth Glendinning-Allan Medal for best on ground in Western Derby 60, equaling the record also held by Fremantle great Paul Hasleby.

Family

Caleb's younger brother Jai was drafted by in the

2021 AFL draft The 2021 AFL draft consisted of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) could trade and recruit players during and following the completion of the 2021 AFL season. The National Draft returned to being a t ...

Statistics

''Updated to the end of round 24, 2024''. , - ,

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Honours and achievements

Individual * Doig Medal: 2023, 2024 *

* AFLPA Best First Year Player Award: 2020 * AFLCA Best Young Player Award: 2020 * AFL Goal of the Year: 2021 * Glendinning–Allan Medal: 2021 (round 22), 2023 (round 3), 2024 (round 20), 2025 (round 3) * 22under22 team: 2022, 2023

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Serong, Caleb 2001 births Living people Fremantle Football Club players Gippsland Power players People educated at Geelong Grammar School All-Australians (AFL) Australian rules footballers from Warragul 21st-century Australian sportsmen AFL Rising Star winners