Geelong defender Harry Taylor may not have been up against the same calibre of opponents as during the AFL pre-season, but he still made an impression in Saturday night's VFL practice match at MC Labour Park.
The 21-year-old draftee enhanced his push for a senior debut, emerging as one of the Cats' best in a 20-point win over Collingwood.
AFL premiership onballer Max Rooke got through the game unscathed for the Cats, while coach Leigh Tudor named Liam Bedford, Shane Mumford, Dawson and Scott Simpson and Tom Lonergan (four goals) in his side's best.
But Taylor, who kept Jonathan Brown to two goals and nullified Matthew Richardson in AFL practice matches earlier this month, got a special mention.
The former East Fremantle defender read the play well and showed poise in one-on-one contests with Ben Reid and Tim Walsh.
After the game Taylor said he was itching for an AFL call-up.
"I was an emergency at the weekend, and travelled to Adelaide with the (AFL) side," he said.
"I t really makes you want to play well and get out there amongst it.
"(To play on) Jonathan Brown, Richo, big guys like that (in the pre-season); big-name players, then there's Harry Taylor, who nobody has a clue who he is, so it was a great experience," he said.
"Now, I'm just feeling a lot more confident."
Tudor praised Taylor's performance.
"Harry was good, he intercepted the ball really well, marked well and showed he's a very good VFL player already," Tudor said.
The coach said a number of VFL players were already creating welcome selection dilemmas for Geelong.
"There's five or six guys in this side who want to be in the ones next week; probably more than that," he said.
"I'm sure the VFL guys are going to be trying to play well each week to put pressure on the AFL guys."
The Cats will kick off their VFL title defence on Saturday, with a grand final rematch against Coburg at Coburg City Oval. The match will be televised on ABC TV.