Taylor Hunt ran around like a headless chook for the first couple of minutes of his debut match at Subiaco Oval on Saturday night.

But he chose the perfect way to work his way into the game with a crunching block for Jimmy Bartel at a boundary throw-in and a series of strong tackles soon afterwards.

Hunt was credited with four tackles for the match but it was a long goal from a centre clearance in the second term that will probably be the enduring image of his first AFL game.

The 19-year-old gathered the ball just inside the centre square and ran around one player and set sail from just inside 50m. The ball soared through at half-post height to announce the arrival of another Geelong midfielder.

“I didn’t look to kick straight away and I was a bit on my left foot so I thought, I’ll just go for the goal and I was lucky enough it came off,” Hunt said.

“To get that goal and have all the boys come around me was one of the best feelings I’ve had ever. I really enjoyed it out there to finally get the taste of it.”

With six top Cats out of the line-up it fell to the likes of Hunt and Simon Hogan to help out in the midfield. Hunt ended with 10 possessions for the night but says he didn’t go out there expecting to shine.

“I didn’t worry about getting too many kicks and trying to stand out, I just wanted to play a role inside the team and that was the best thing I could do,” he said.

“I played on the wing so it was nice to run around and see the work rate required to be a midfielder. I really had to work hard in that position.”

Hunt was in Perth as emergency when the Cats played Fremantle earlier in the season and was the last man cut several other games both last year and this. He admits the wait to get his chance had been frustrating.

“You go through flat spells playing in the VFL sometimes so it is good to get the opportunity and get a taste of what it takes to be an AFL footballer,” he said.

“Hopefully I can go from there and really improve. There were big differences (from the VFL), just the intensity and even the build-up to the game during the week, the professionalism.

“But we play the same structures through the VFL so I knew what I had to try and do. I’ll probably be buzzing for a few days after this.”

Hunt’s brother Tim and his parents Darryl and Sue flew across from Melbourne and still looked excited when they came into the rooms post-match.