The Dawn of the Debutants
The future is bright if Round 1 is anything to go by, with the draft Class of 2024 putting on a masterclass.
Tiger Cubs Give Hope
A side that was tipped to potentially go through the season winless pulled off the impossible against a Carlton side touted as a Top 4 prospect.
Number 1 pick Sam Lalor delivered on his potential with 18 disposals, 2 goals, plenty of score involvements and a pack mark on the wing that brought the Richmond faithful to their feet.
Declared as draft bargains, Luke Trainor and Harry Armstrong also filled tiger hearts, with Trainor throwing himself at everything, including a game-saving smother, when he looked completely exhausted. Big Harry crashed packs, and it looks like he has some 1980-type mongrel in him, which will endear him to fans for years.
Honourable mention to son of a Blues legend Lucas Camporeale, who was everywhere in the first quarter, finishing the match with 20 touches and 5 tackles.
The Bombers Delight
They had their sights set on Issac Kako for years, and you can see why. He lit the park up in the praccy matches and delivered on the big stage with an incredible first goal, finishing with 14 disposals, 8 pressure acts and 3 scoring shots.
The Best Quarter Ever
Has Murphy Reid played the best quarter of footy ever by a debutant? With his side down by 10 goals in the third quarter, Reid lit up GMHBA Stadium with 4 incredible goals in six minutes, taking his side to within 4 goals at three quarter time, albeit to no avail as the Cats piled on 10 in the final term.
Jumping for Joy
The Kangaroos had no hesitation in calling out Finn O’Sullivan’s name, and the kid looked right at home at the top level, collecting 16 disposals at 81% efficiency, 4 intercept possessions, and 12 pressure acts while he didn’t bag his first major, he had 4 score involvements. Add to that 246 metres gained (Lalor had 181), and you can see why the Kanga fans have plenty to cheer about in Finn.
VFL Feeds the Future
In addition to the debutants from the draft class of 2024, the Victorian Football League (VFL) also provided some debut highlights, with former Werribee stars Aidan Johnson and Jack Henderson having an immediate impact for the Demons in their close loss to the Giants. The former VFL Tiger also kicked a goal on debut for the Doggies to round out three great stories.
