'We all really appreciate the opportunity to give back' | Caleb Serong

can you um tell us what what you're doing here today and um who you'll be presenting yes yeah we're uh we're very excited to to be in the express room today and um visiting all the The Starlight kids and there's a lot of um young kids and families in there at the moment and there's I think six of us here and the aflw uh girls were here before as well and um what's and yeah we're we're really excited obviously this is a massive week for our football club and um it's one that we all pencil in in the calendar The Starlight game and and what we can give back to the community and and these families that are doing it tough at the moment and and we've uh we've got a special gift for young Emy who's um going to be in there at the moment I think she's um yeah she's dressed aart and and we're going to present her with the the coin that we'll be doing the toss with pregame and she's going to be a Docker for the day on the weekend run out with us and be a part of the team um so I don't think it'll be me tossing the coin this week I think hopefully Alex will be back and and he'll uh he'll be doing the toss with her um in the middle of up just before the game which is exciting how important is it to come down and do being yeah it's amazing I think we all really appreciate the opportunity that we have to give back and um we come throughout the year um kind of scattered throughout and um try and give and and just the the smiles that you can put on these kids faces and it's not just the kids it's the families as well that I don't think you really understand what they're going through until you get in here and go to the wards and see see that they're living in here as well and um what they're going through when they're seeing their their child um I guess being in the position they are it's really tough and for us what puts a lot of things in perspective and I know for me personally um yeah I love coming here I always walk out with a greater appreciation and perspective on on how lucky we are to kind of do what we do and be as healthy as we are how you couple weeks uh we're probably um every couple of months is we kind of spread it out to be honest there'll be one of us two we come in pairs so Andy and I are always paired up together and try and bounce off each other but we're probably here every month every two months um we kind of get a rotation throughout the season in the offseason and stuff as well so um we kind of get it set out at the start of the year and there six of us now which is exciting six six of the boys that are um kind of Ambassador so Jag is a new one this year and Tommy EMT as well which is exciting to get them involved and have them a part of it this year with a few kind of going out last year and then obviously we got Sunny that's the veteran of the the group and he's been here for a long time so anytime you can kind of get in here with him he uh he has the the kids in in hysterics he's uh he works the room very well so um watch out for him and they get the cameras on him I reckon tell us a bit about the jumper um probably get you to hold it up at the end but y yeah it's um it's really cool this year we've got the the rocket this year which is um representative of the captain Starlights and and their journey to brighten the the lives of these young kids and and what they do um it's incredible when you come in and see the energy that they bring and what they give to these kids um every single day and just trying to make their life a little bit easier and a little bit better it's it's incredible and it would uh it would be quite quite taxing and draining for them I got no doubt and and the sacrifice equipment they have is something that we want to pay tribute to and appreciate so that's uh that's a big part of the Jersey this year with the Stars as well representing those Captain Starlights any at celebrations we saw the Spider-Man one the other day planed for this weekend yeah I think there might be a few floting around in there that we'll we'll have a few uh a few ideas getting handed around so I'm open to any any ideas that uh any of the kids have throw our way and I just got to make sure I keep a goal what's it like wearing your jumpers does it give you a list at all or do you draw inspiration from yeah it does like the whole week we get inspiration from and and we had a few guys speak up this morning in our in our meetings and stuff around the perspective you you're gain this week and and how grateful we are to be in the position we are and I think it it does give you that great appreciation and and I guess obviously the jumper as well as representative of that but the whole week and getting the kids down there um for main training session on Thursday and then captains run and seeing them run around with smile on their face kicking the footy and and being able to I guess put a smile on their face and brighten their day I think that is so powerful for everyone involved and um it does give you a bit of a boost and extra motivation for the weekend up always help help trip no I was I was very healthy I was very lucky um touchwood our families all um been very lucky and that's why I think coming in here I didn't really the first couple of times didn't really understand the extent of what happens and what goes on and what these families and children are going through so that's what I my biggest thing I've taken out of it is the actual reality of the situations and how tough it is for these families so that's why every chance I get I come in here and um try and give back to them because yeah it's it's incredible the resilience and the grit that they have to show to get I guess deal deal with the hands that they've been dealt Longs yeah not long just before the buy um obviously a little bit of a um I guess turnaround in their team and um a little bit of personnel and what not and they're playing some really good foot at the moment I think they're um we haven't really moved on to previewing their game yet but seeing what they've kind of done over the last couple of weeks had a had a few really good wins and and playing some really good footy a few other guys going through the Midfield as well so um it's going to be a really good challenge and and we're really excited for it uh I think if you look at the last quarter as a whole like the first half of last quarter we had some really good opportunities and played the game in that front half and um yeah just didn't take make the most of opportunities really and then second half of the last quarter they uh they got the game played in their front half they won a few clearances and then they made the most of those opportunities so I think it was a big time arm wrestle throughout the whole game the pressure was hot contest was through the roof it was a felt like a finals like game um the intensity was through a lot of mistakes but those are the games you want to playing um felt like no no team could really get a a lot of momentum or a lot of um ascendency on the game and um that's the the beauty of games like that and we felt like we embrace it for the most part but in the end their their execution got us and and we want to be in those games and we we learn a bit from them each each line mid forwards and backs always all had probably something that let us down on the day and um when you have all three lines doing that it probably doesn't give you the best chance to win so um look at it as a missed opportunity but also it's uh the competition at the moment is so so tight and so close that you got to turn around pretty quick and and look to this week which is yeah another massive game for us which is exciting how's um Josh Tracy doing and given how important he is in your forward life you to keep him away from rck duties I don't think you'll keep Josh away from any contest um he can be involved in so whether that's in the rock or up forward it won't matter he wants to uh make his presence felt on the on the game and and also he wants to do whatever the team needs and he's happy to go in there I've got no doubt and he he's probably happy to get around the footy and hit a few more bodies as well probably just for his own his own sake but um obviously that was uh I guess the makeup of our team on the weekend and hopefully have big shy back this week which well I mean Josh will be able to stay up forward but um yeah he's happy to I got no doubt he's happy to play whatever role the team needs he's CAU up okay yeah yeah he's he's feeling good today he was moving around and he'll be right shouldn't shouldn't hold him back the rewards for winning you got to do everything possible to stay in that four uh I guess so I don't think it's it was lost on anyone before the weekend on on that um scenario and what it looks like but if you had to told us at the start of the year that this is the position we'd be in come around 18 two points off second position uh well entrenched in the top eight obviously there's there's a extremely close bunch of teams between 2nd and 13th I think it is so if we were would have been in this position at the start of the year we would have taken it it's a great opportunity for a six games to go to really put our foot down and and really assert ourselves in the competition and that's that's the opportunity we have right now and we we can control what we can do um we can't control how the other games go how ha versus col will go this weekend or um whoever Carlton's playing we can't control all those games all we can control is how we go out there and perform against Melbourne and that's our focus at the moment and I don't think it's uh it's lost on us the the norm of each game but it's also we're seeing it as not a great opportunity and we're really excited about this opportunity that we weren't in in this position last year we were already probably out of the eight and not been able to make the eight mathematically so you have something to play for every week it's it's far more exciting than not so this year yeah yeah always top four is always a massive difference between fourth and fifth and top four or top two and the rest and and that's our goal no doubt we haven't been we haven't been shy by saying that like that's where we want to get to but the way we get there is not by wishing and hoping and praying it's by going out there and doing actions and preparing each day um like we have all year consistency we had a extremely balanced consistent review today around what we need to get better at but also some of the stuff we did well we'll learn from that we'll train really hard tomorrow training really hard on Thursday and approach a game against M on the weekend like it's the most important game we've we've played which it is every single week that that game is the most important thing that you've got going on so we're really excited by that opportunity what were some of the things that you need to get better um it's continuing to trust ourselves in those like the game was hot on the weekend it was probably the most pressure pressure game we've been involved in both what we gave out and what we dealt with from Hawthorne they they brought an extremely contested physical high pressure game which is exciting to be a part of um but that can result in sometimes you're going away from the the game style that you want to play especially by where want to drive use our numbers and really take the game on and when they're I guess in your face like that it can kind of disrupt that at times so it's continuing to really trust our game plan and Trust what we want to do and then just holding up in those key moments um behind the ball in front of the ball through the Midfield um there was critical contests that they they won we didn't and that was probably the difference in the game in the end and it's continue just to Value every moment like it's the most important similar as the game but every moment when you're out there that next moment is the most important so continue to do that and as a Midfield group um we've got a few things we're working on at the moment around opposition teams are trying to take things away from us um and try to throw a few different things at us and and mess mess around with it a little bit and we're continuing to grow and I got no doubt that we're going to come come out on the other side a better Midfield group and a better team as a whole but we're just working through that at the moment and learning learning on the on the gok how was that uh oh we probably need a we didn't actually look at that specifically but those moments where um we want to support each other in the air and help each other out are probably some of the key moments and understanding where we need to kill those contests and whatnot and um I got no doubt The Backs would have reviewed that and understood what we need to do better but in the end he's a if you give him a one-on-one contest he's a very very good player and very hard player to to stop so um credit to hear me when he went forward he had a massive impact on the game but I think our um our team will yeah will review a few of those things and make sure we kill those contests going forward you mentioned Alex before are you confident how confident are you play it was up to him he would have played last week um it's sometimes you got to save those players for themselves and understand the the bigger pitcher at play and yeah I got no doubt he'll he'll have to get through training obviously on Thursday but he's uh he's very likely to player got no doubt expecting Sean and Alex back I think so yeah like Alex like I said he's he would have played last week but Sean I think's ticking every box so far again with concussion protocols you got to get through training main training on Thursday and tick that off but at this stage he's uh he's in a good space and ready to go I think that yeah it's uh it's amazing everyone you kind of question whether the impact the on the team and um earli in the year when he was out obviously Luke was playing some really good footy but he's uh he's a barometer for us he's such a a big imposing character and what he does around the footy for us and gives his first look at a lot of the contests not often he's getting beaten in hit outs and if he is it's G to pretty predictable spots for us so um yeah can't wait to have him back he's um he's a massive sent of piece for us as a Midfield group and as a team so it's exciting