Swans recruit Jai Serong says his decision to land at the Swans was far from straightforward. 

On this week's episode of More than Footy, presented by Bing Lee, Serong revealed the chat with senior coach Dean Cox that ultimately paved the way for his arrival to the Harbour City.

The 23-year-old played 10 AFL games in four seasons at Hawthorn, but none at all in 2025. 

Having won Box Hill's best and fairest award for the second time, Serong knew he was capable of playing AFL football. 

"I sort of had two years at Box Hill and felt like I was playing some really good footy, I was ready to take that next step to AFL level," Serong said.

"And there were a lot of good players in front of me at the Hawks and that was just the reality of it, and I sort of knew from early last year that if nothing changed, I was probably going to look for another opportunity elsewhere.

"Sydney showed a fair bit of interest sort of mid-year, I had a few chats with the club and then towards the end of the year, I was able to actually come up here and check out the facility, which is pretty amazing."

Last October, Serong had the option of joining his older brother Caleb at Fremantle.

He explains the pull to play alongside his brother was real, their close relationship a significant draw card to head west.  

"No, it was definitely a factor. I don't know, some brothers probably would, it would be a deterring factor or a contributing factor but for me, it was contributing," Serong said. 

"Caleb and I have a really good relationship, we get along really well and feel like we'd be able to have a good professional relationship where other brothers probably couldn't. But I feel like it would have worked and that's what made the decision really tough to be honest.

"Take out the brother, it probably would have been Swans all the way. But yeah, the draw to play with your brother and achieve things with your brother was really strong and probably just showed how well the Swans did present to me and why I went this way."

Serong said Cox and club explained how he would be an asset to the team and how the evolution of the list meant he was a perfect fit. 

"I think the thing that stood out to me with this club is just the people, I was introduced to Leon, Pav and Coxy and just the quality of people they are really stood out to me," Serong said.

"How welcome they made me and my girlfriend Grace feel when we came up here and toured and had a look around the place was really special and that was something that went a long way to the decision.

"When I spoke to them, they pinpointed my strength and what I bring and sort of made it clear to me that there was a role and they were looking for someone like me to add to the back six and they sold that really well."

It's a decision that has paid off, Sunday's match-winner featuring in 12 matches this season and averaging 20 disposals and six marks, playing on the wing and in defence. 

"Obviously, Ramps isn't getting any younger and he's obviously still a gun and he's still got maybe a couple of years left in him but to be able to learn off the back of someone like that as well was another drawing factor," he said.

"They sold it really well and obviously went onto the wing in the pre-season game and went alright and then sort of stuck there throughout the year.

"But yeah, I think my versatility is something that I pride myself on being able to play different roles, so if I'm playing footy and I'm playing in the AFL and the Swans, I'm happy."