Fremantle midfield dynamo Caleb Serong says he not only expects a hard tag, but is ready to “embrace” it when it likely comes in Sunday’s clash with the Ross Lyon-coached St Kilda at Optus Stadium.

Serong said he and co vice-captain Andrew Brayshaw were preparing for a close-checking onslaught in Lyon’s first game against his old team in Perth since he re-entered the senior AFL coaching ranks in 2023.

“If we go in trying to avoid it or hope it doesn’t happen, then you’re you’re a loss already before you even start, so we’ll both go in expecting heavy attention,” Serong said.

“If it doesn’t happen, then sweet. We’ll support the other one or kind of adjust to whatever they’re doing, but if it does, then we’re ready for it.

“That’s the mentality ... not diverting from the way you want to play, not letting them dictate your game, not letting them dictate the way you run, the positions you get to, the role you play for the team.

“It’s keeping it really simple. And from there, if it’s really challenging, then you go to the levers you can pull around stoppage and the team things that we’ll work on, and the strategies, but first and foremost, you’ll embrace it and stick to your guns.”

The match will be Fremantle’s annual Starlight Purple Haze Game and Serong surprised one of the hero kids, six-year-old Mateo Domazetovski, with the news he will be run out with the team at a lunch held at the club’s Cockburn headquarters yesterday.

“It’s something that’s far bigger than footy, and the reach and the impact that we can have as a football club and as individuals is pretty special and it’s something that I and the group don’t take lightly and I’m very proud to be an ambassador for Starlight,” Serong said.

Tagging has been a talking point since St Kilda’s master tagger Marcus Windhager unsuccessfully tried to put Nick Daicos off his game in the last round.

He was successful the previous round, restricting six-time All-Australian Marcus Bontempelli to 13 disposals in 99 minutes, ending his streak of at least 15 disposals across 106 games.

In the Saints previous outing he stopped the hot-streak of Melbourne forward Kysaiah Pickett.

Brayshaw and Serong are the seventh and 14th ranked AFL players in the competition, so will be a key focus for the Saints, with Windhager and Jack Steele the likely run-with weapons Lyon will call on.

Dockers defender Luke Ryan said this week teammates would “make it hard” for Windhager.

“I’ve got no doubt there’ll be support from the boys. We’re a very tight group and a group that’s all about doing it together and doing what we need to support each other,” Serong said.

“I always feel a lot of support from from my teammates whenever I get tagged, or whenever there’s a bit of tension. So it’d be no different this week if that happens. And he (Ryan) will be there front and centre as he always is.”

The Saints’ 10-goal win over Fremantle in round eight at Marvel Stadium was the Dockers last heavy loss this season and after the game Lyon denied Windhager had a tagging role, saying he “was having fun out on a wing”.

“He didn’t tag us last time, he was playing on the wing. But there were definitely some roles and some other guys in the midfield that were doing jobs,” Serong said.

“Either way, we didn’t do a great job of helping each other out or actually getting our roles done ourselves.

“Andy and I .. didn’t play our role for the team as leaders or as players. So we didn’t really look externally there at what they did or what their midfield did to try and nullify either of us or anything, we just pretty much looked internally and looked at what we did, and we weren’t good enough that day.

“We’ve learnt a lot from that, and I think we’ve got better both as players and as a midfield group.”

Serong denied it was a “revenge” match.

“We don’t have a point to prove to anyone except ourselves and our midfield group and our team,” he said.

“Where we let let the team down in that kind of game, and not from a point of view of touches or kicks, marks, clearances, whatever it was, it was just the way that we committed to the way we want to play.

“We pride ourselves on being able to play our role for the team, whatever that looks like. And if any of us get targets, it might not be getting 35 touches, it might be playing our role stoppage, playing our role in transition, doing what we need to do, pressuring, doing all the team acts that we talk about all the time.

“If I do that, I know that I can look my teammates in the eyes, coaches in the eye, say I’ve played my role, and every single bloke in our team can do that as well.

“That’s going to be our focus this week. It’s not going to be how many touches we can get and trying to dominate the stat sheet.

“It’s going to be playing our role for the team. If that results in stat stats, or if that results in clearances, whatever it is, then great. But if not, I know I’m going to go out there and play my role.”

Serong said he would not be playing for free kicks, but the umpires would be able to rule on any unfair or illegal tactics.

“I think the umpires know. And I’m not out there trying to draw three kicks or pull one over the umpire’s head or anything. I’m just going out there and just trying to be physical and go win the footy when it’s my turn to win it,” Serong said.

“And if there’s a holding free kick or something like that, then sweet. But if you’re relying on that, then you’re going to be forever asking umpires for a free kick because there’s plenty of physicality, plenty of things missed.

“It’s a hard game to umpire, so I’ll just go out there and not bank on anything like that. Just go out there and just be physical and do what I need to do. And then if that results in some free kicks, great, but if not, I’ll just keep going about my business with the on ball unit.”