ST KILDA youngster Luke Dunstan is confident he can handle himself in the cut and thrust of the AFL if he plays at senior level early this season.
Dunstan, taken by the Saints with pick No.18 in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft, has impressed teammates and coaches with his strength and willingness to work this pre-season.
Adam Schneider recently described the young midfielder, who weighs in at 82kg, as a "man-child", and the expectation is the former South Australian product may play for the Saints from the outset.
Saints coach Alan Richardson has already signalled to the club's younger players that he will not hesitate to play them straight away if they are deemed ready.
"If he (Richardson) thinks you're good enough to play, then you'll earn your spot basically," Dunstan told AFL.com.au.
"So if you're in the best 22 that week, you'll get a game. It's pretty straightforward."
If he does receive his chance, Dunstan – who was exposed to senior football when he played for SANFL club Woodville West-Torrens last season – is hopeful he will be ready to take the next step in his football journey.
"I'd like to think so," Dunstan said. "It's pretty hard to tell at this stage, but hopefully I can put together another solid month on the track."
With the Saints' opening NAB Challenge match against the Western Bulldogs little more than a month away, Dunstan is looking forward to testing himself against some of the game's best players.
"It's more just about seeing how it works and how quick the game really is and how much more challenging it is," he said.
"Training's been a massive jump and that'll obviously go up again when the games come around."
While a round one debut would be the ultimate achievement in his first year in the League, Dunstan understands it is not the be all and end all.
"It's just about finding my feet and earning a bit of respect from the playing group first," he said.
"As the year goes on, I'd like to set my goals on playing some senior footy and that's the expectation of the coaches as well."
