\n Caleb Serong opens up about the challenges he overcame to win his third Doig Medal\n <\/p>\n
Reflecting on his history-making third consecutive Doig Medal, midfield star Caleb Serong explained how his elite consistency is, in part, thanks to the support and faith shown in him by his fellow leaders, the Club and fianc\u00e9 Chloe Furnari.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking to media after claiming his third Doig Medal on Saturday night, Serong opened up about the difficult start to the 2025 season, and how a simple act from his fianc\u00e9 helped get him back on track.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cConsistency is something that I pride myself on,\u201d Serong said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWanting to perform for my teammates and the Club week in, week out, and having the trust that I can do that – this (third Doig Medal) is potentially an outcome of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a lot of fears and doubts every week. Throughout the pre-season I do a lot of work with a sports psychologist\u2026 it\u2019s funny, halfway through pre-season you have guys like Matthew Johnson, Neil Erasmus and Murphy Reid coming in – who are hungry as anything to improve, get better, and take your spot – and I\u2019m sitting there doubting if I\u2019m going to be able to hold my spot inside next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat kind of thought process needs to be monitored to make sure it doesn\u2019t drain you, but it\u2019s also what drives me to try and get better every single day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite averaging over 29 disposals individually across the first six rounds, the team sat at a 3-3 record. With pressure mounting on finals aspirations, Serong was asking himself questions as one of the leaders of the side. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Serong explained that returning to a simple mindfulness trick he first trialled in 2024 helped guide him through the tough time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI lean on Chloe (fianc\u00e9) a lot to keep me pretty even-keeled,\u201d Serong said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first couple of months of the season were tough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t start the way we wanted and there was a lot of pressure on the football Club.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a leader, you feel that – and I felt a responsibility to problem-solve and try to fix it and have all the answers, and you\u2019re just never going to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where leaning on the guys and the people around me – whether it\u2019s Chloe, the other leaders, coaches – that\u2019s why I speak so fondly about our leadership at the football club, because we lean on them a lot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were times in those first couple of months where Chloe had to kind of call me out on some of the stuff I was going through and pull me out of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spoken a lot about Lego this year \u2026 but that started last year. I did a little bit, but stopped and didn\u2019t really pick it back up \u2026 but there was one day I was down in that hole, and I was feeling the heat in the first couple of months, and Chloe pretty much said, \u2018go into that study, open up that Lego again and don\u2019t come out for two or three hours until you feel a bit better.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The simple advice worked wonders as Serong and the team finished the year strongly, winning 12 of the final 14 home and away games and playing finals for the first time since 2022. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Serong\u2019s Doig Medal hat-trick is the first since Pavlich\u2019s run from 2005 to 2008.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It caps an outstanding individual season that saw the 24-year-old earn his third All Australian selection, his fourth Glendinning-Allan Medal (equal record), plus set Club records for the most inside 50s in a season (134), along with the most clearances (197).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Serong now sits alongside Nat Fyfe and Peter Bell with three Doig Medals, second to six-time champion Pavlich.<\/p>\n
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