The 18-year-old from country Western Australia, taken with the 44th overall selection, and the club’s fourth pick, in the 2006 AFL Draft, lit up the MCG in his first game with 11 touches and a couple of important goals in the 25-point triumph.
The enthusiasm and passion shown by Dick, as well as fellow debutants Alan Toovey and Shannon Cox, genuinely filtered through the Collingwood side, and provided a spark in the second half when the Magpies trailed by 22 points at the main break.
It was a baptism of fire for Dick, who came on to the ground early in the first quarter, and unlike most youngsters, who get told to stand in a pocket or a flank and ease into the game, coach Malthouse threw him straight into the heat of the action, the centre bounce.
“I didn’t know what to do actually, it was alright, I guess, going straight in there. As the ball went up, that’s when I really started thinking ‘I’m in the centre’, it was good”, Dick told collingwoodfc.com.au at the Lexus Centre on Monday.
He may only be sporting a 70-kilogram frame at this early stage of his career, but what he lacks in bulk, he certainly makes up for in pace, skill and courage, not to mention excitement.
It didn’t take long for the Magpie army to see the young number 33 in full flight either, as Dick swept past his opponent Andrew Raines, and swooped on a spilt mark at the top of the goal square in the second quarter to register his first ever six-pointer.
“Raines was trying to block me out, I just got around him, slipped past him somehow, and I saw the opportunity when the ball bounced and I just soccered it off the ground.”
Then, as the Magpies sliced away at the deficit in the third term, Dick showed tremendous strength and courage to hold his ground against Raines in the forward pocket, eventually taking an impressive mark and booting his second major.
“I was thinking I’m not going to miss this one, and yeah, I drilled it, so that was alright.”
Dick’s celebration after his first goal in particular was something to remember, and he explained the gesture of pointing to his forearm.
“I had to show my tat, where I’m from, Goomalling. It’s about an hour and a half from Perth, that’s where all my family are buried, and my dad grew up. I was just showing a bit of respect for my family.”
Although he may have seemed confident and exuberant throughout the match, Dick admitted nerves were certainly prevalent in the lead up, but advice from some of his senior team mates proved very helpful.
“I was more nervous than excited actually, it should’ve been the other way around, I was just really nervous.
“The boys said, just go out in the warm up and look around and try and get all the nerves out, and it was pretty good after that.”
His modesty and level-headedness certainly showed when asked about the team getting the four points.
“That was probably the best thing about it, that we got the win.”
Like any young player who bursts onto the seen, Dick faces the challenge now of keeping a lid on his performance and working towards improving and building a career, but with the biggest game of the home-and-away season less than two weeks away, it’s hard not to have that in the back of his mind.
“I’ve got to get a good training regime going, see how I go this week through training, and then hopefully play next week (against Port Adelaide in round four), and if I go alright, play the big game on ANZAC Day.”
