Players like Lewis Jetta, Campbell Heath and Gary Rohan have definitely shown that they will be great players for the Club for many years to come. They have stepped in and made an immediate impact and they also bring a ton of energy and excitement to the group.
This bring me to this week’s blog - my debut! I made my debut back in Round One of the 2004 season. It was my second year on the playing list and I was absolutely blown away that I was going to play on the big stage.
I was told a day after our main session that Tadhg was unavailable through injury and I was going to play against the Lions up at the Gabba. The Lions had just won three premierships in a row so it was definitely a daunting thought, but I was so pumped I wanted to play there and then.
The second I hung up the phone after hearing the news I quickly rang my family. They flew up to Brisbane to support me. I remember receiving so many text messages wishing me all the best before the game.
I was a nervous wreck before the game, walking around not knowing what to do. The more senior players at the time (Stuart Maxfield and Paul Willams) came up and gave me some advice, which definitely helped and settled me down.
I started the game in the backline on Craig McRae who had only 300-plus games experience on me, but that’s ok! We lost the game by a mere 3 points, which was disappointing but I knew I could definitely get used to playing and representing the Red and White. It was such a buzz and still is!
It’s great hearing that a new player is going to play their first game. I think back to when I received the news and understand the excitement they would be feeling. Each new player playing their debut game is presented their guernsey before the game by a past Sydney Swan great which is a real honour.
