The Dockers will take on Sydney in a preliminary final next week after defeating Geelong by 14 points in an epic semi-final showdown in Perth on Friday night.
The brave performance from Freo was in stark contrast to a week earlier, when the Dockers crumpled under the cauldron of finals football in an upset 32-point loss to the Hawks.
Fremantle's player group had a series of heart-to-heart chats in the wake of that loss and vowed to bounce back hard against the Cats by playing with freedom.
"I think last week (against Hawthorn), for lack of a better word, it was embarrassing walking off feeling like we didn't put our footy on show at all," Serong said.
"It was a tough week. Like especially the first few days after the game ... you want to crawl into a hole and not come out. You don't want to go out in public.
"Our fans are incredible, but it's an intense environment.
"We could have gone one of two ways after that. We could have splintered. We could have fractured. But instead we leant in, and that's the result we got."
The loss to Hawthorn was Fremantle's third consecutive finals defeat and heaped massive pressure on coach Justin Longmuir and the players.
The good feelings from the club's minor premiership had well and truly evaporated, with fans fearful of a straight-sets finals exit.
But Freo's lightning-quick start against Geelong and ability to bounce back from the Cats' third-quarter fightback proved the Dockers have what it takes to thrive on the big stage.
The heart-to-heart chats in the wake of the Hawthorn loss now have Fremantle primed for a flag assault.Â
"We wanted to lean in and make sure we let each other know how much we love coming to work with each other," Serong told Fox Sports.
"Training was incredible."
The Dockers will start as slight favourites against Sydney at the SCG next week given the Swans have been decimated by the season-ending bans handed down to Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice, plus Callum Mills' anterior cruciate ligament tear.
