Serong made a clean sweep of all of the first-year players awards, taking out the AFL Rising Star, the AFLPA’s Best First Year Player and winning Fremantle’s Beacon Award. What was most impressive about the 19-year-old’s debut season was his ability to deliver in roles normally played by the game’s more mature midfielders. He had negating roles on some of the game’s best players and he still managed to have an impact offensively with his ability to win the footy and distribute it cleanly and quickly.