Caleb Serong has conceded Fremantle’s grand final loss was “horrific” while Nick Riewoldt fears Dockers coach Justin Longmuir may never get over their collapse against Brisbane.
Freo went 17 points up with four minutes remaining and pulled the trigger on Wharfie Time, only to concede four quickfire goals to lose by seven points.
Serong was one of Freo’s best and finished with four votes in the Norm Smith Medal.
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But he was also part of the midfield that was overrun by the Lions, and in particular Will Ashcroft, in the dying stages.
“It’s horrific,” Serong told Channel 7 about 20 minutes after the final siren.
“In terms of football it doesn’t get much worse than that. I’d much rather be in the game and in the fight and out here today and feeling these emotions right now, but it’s shocking.”
Dockers coach Justin Longmuir brought the group together on the field before the presentations and told the group “how proud he was of us”.
“And how well we held ourselves today aside from that last two, three minutes, which we didn’t get right,” Serong said.
“Aside from that we showed up today and played a Freo brand of footy and we’ve got to be proud of that.”
Brisbane’s loss to Collingwood in the 2023 grand final set the stage for their hat-trick, and Serong is confident Fremantle can bounce back next year.
“I know the character of the blokes in that room,” he said.
“They’re incredibly hard-working but they’re great people, and I know that this won’t break this group. This will galvanise this group. We’ve been through a lot these last couple of years. So many different experiences that we’ve continued to use as fuel and this will be no different. This is the hardest thing you can go through as a football club, as a team, emotionally.
“I know that whilst it hurts like hell and there’s no way around that I know this group’s going to come together.”
St Kilda great Riewoldt knows the feeling and said it was difficult to visit the Fremantle rooms after the game.
He likened the defeat to when teammate Brendon Goddard took a famous mark and put the Saints ahead in the 2010 grand final, only for Collingwood to fight back to draw and then win the premiership in the replay.
“You think you’re about to win one and in the blink of an eye you haven’t,” Riewoldt said after returning to the victorious Brisbane rooms.
“Some devastated people in there, players, staff, partners, families.
“The contrast is stark and that’s why live sport is the best drama of all.”
Riewoldt felt for Longmuir, who was pictured falling to his knees in heartbreak as he waited for the presentations.
“It’s the longest and potentially the worst 20 minutes of your life,” the Channel 7 commentator said.
“He just can’t believe what’s happened and neither can we … it’ll take some getting over, if you ever get over it.”
A “devastated” Longmuir said there was “no sugarcoating it” but wanted his players to avoid beating themselves up over the loss.
“They’ve felt so disappointed but there’s a massive sense of pride in the group,” he said.
