Fremantle midfielder Caleb Serong says Dockers showed they could match Sydney despite lopsided scoreline

Fremantle star Caleb Serong says the scoreboard did not accurately reflect their competitiveness against ladder-leaders Sydney and the team can only grow from the performance. On an emotional night at Optus Stadium as the Dockers grappled with the tragic passing of former forward Cam McCarthy, Sydney reminded the league of why they sit top as they ran out 48-point winndes. Fremantle had just eight less disposals, five less inside 50s and five less contested possessions than Sydney, while having a better inside 50 conversion rate and edging the clearance battle. They also had only three less scoring shots than the Swans (19 to 22) but the difference between their scoreboard accuracy — 4.15 to 13.9 — was unmistakable. Amid the emotional circumstances, Serong said he was proud of the effort even if the execution was lacking. “I felt like we showed a lot of fight the first three quarters, the scoreboard can look very different, and we felt like we played the game the way we wanted to really,” he said. “They’re the best team in the comp, we matched it with them and bettered them in a lot of areas. “But in the end, their class stood out across the board — not just in the forward half, but across the board and that’s probably the difference in the game.” Serong was among Fremantle’s best with 34 disposals, 11 contested possessions, seven inside 50s and seven score involvements. The 23-year-old stood up in the first half in the face of waves of Sydney pressure, with Fremantle greeted by a flurry of red and white jerseys every time they touched the ball. Sydney finished with 293 pressure acts to the Dockers’ 258 and Serong said while they were their own worst enemies at times as they missed easy kicks, took risky options and hand-balled their way into danger, it was a good learning experience for the team. “The pressure was really good. We probably fueled that a few times, especially with the slippery conditions, just hand-balled a little bit too much especially around stoppage and were probably less urgent in getting it going forward and give our forwards a chance,” he said. “But they’re the games you want to play, the high-pressure, finals-like games. “They’re the best team in the comp for a reason at the moment. So it’s a good benchmark test for us and I don’t feel like we’re too far off.”