Caleb Serong says he would “very much appreciate” a victory for West Coast this weekend as Fremantle look towards their cross-town rivals to help their finals cause.
In a rare admission, Serong said he would enjoy seeing the Eagles beat Carlton in Perth on Sunday, a result that could give the Dockers a significant boost in their desperate late bid to hold onto their spot in the top-eight.
And Serong said he wants to flip the script on Fremantle’s treacherous run home this season.
The midfield leader believes clashes with Greater Western Sydney and Port Adelaide that will make-or-break their campaign are actually the perfect run into the finals.
That’s because Serong believes a Dockers side that has got through the next fortnight and is still in the finals reckoning will be one ready to be serious contenders once they get there.
But a victory for West Coast over the battered and bruised Carlton would make life easier.
“I’m barracking hard for them,” Serong told 92.9 Triple M.
“I would very much appreciate it if they got the dub this week, but again we are in the mindset of it’s in our control, and it is.
“If we win the next two games we are in the position we need to be.
“That’s all we’re focused on, and if you kind of get consumed too much by the ladder and the other results, you kind of lose sight of where your head needs to be at.”
Fremantle will go in outsiders against GWS when they meet in Sydney on Saturday. They then play a high-flying Port Adelaide side the following week in the very last game of the entire home-and-away season.
Their finals fate could still hinge on those two hours of football.
“For us if we approach the next two weeks the right way and play some really good footy it is the best run into finals we could ask for,” Serong said.
“We are seeing it as a really good opportunity for us. If we do it the right way and play the type of footy we know we can, that’s the perfect run into finals.
“We have got two really tough games that are both essentially elimination finals.
“Then we can go into finals with a really good momentum and playing the right way, because to win the next two weeks we have to play some good footy, they’re both two really good teams and we are really excited about that because we have got so much belief in the way we go about it.”
The Eagles have shot into favouritism for the clash at Optus Stadium on Sunday amid the Carlton injury crisis that has already claimed Charlie Curnow, Harry McKay, Adam Saad and Lachie Fogarty among others.