We caught up with with Essendon’s three young debutants from Friday night’s win over North Melbourne on their first experience in the red and black.
Patrick Ambrose
4 kicks, 6 handballs, 10 disposals, 3 marks and 6 tackles
“It was unreal out there, we all played for each other and it was great to get the win in the end. It was like a dream come true playing alongside Fletch and all of these other legends I couldn’t believe it. I found that you could feed off the older guys, when they lifted everyone just feeds off that. During the week I had a mix of both excitement and nerves but I am pretty relieved now to get the first game under my belt. I think once you are out there it is just another game of football they are just a bit quicker and everyone is a bit stronger so it was really enjoyable.”
Marty Gleeson
8 kicks, 6 handballs, 14 disposals and 5 marks
“It was really good fun out there, all the boys joined in, everyone contributed and I just loved it, it was awesome. I was screaming a bit out there then singing the song so I have lost my voice. I got pretty nervous a couple of days out when I found out I was playing. As soon as I got out there it just felt like a normal game, which was good. I just have to keep getting better every week, continue to improve and hopefully keep playing good football and just see what happens from there.”
Zach Merrett
6 kicks, 5 handballs, 11 disposals and 4 marks.
“It was amazing, when the final siren went and I could see we had won it was a very special feeling and the roar of the crowd made for a very special feeling. I sort of knew when Bomber told me on Tuesday that I was a chance of being the sub but I didn’t know definitely until today, it is obviously different but I got used to it during the pre-season. When I first got told I was hoping that I could just do something during the game but now I know I can do it I have just got to back it up and be consistent for the team. I obviously want to play each week but we will just have to wait and see what happens so I will just aim to keep improving and getting better each week.”
