DEAN Kent was doing his best My Kitchen Rules impression on Wednesday night when he received a call that would’ve instantly taken his focus away from the kitchen.

Kent was cooking up some “good old pasta to get his carbs up” for this weekend’s Casey match when coach Mark Neeld gave him his best news since he was drafted by the club: he had been selected for his first AFL match against Carlton at the MCG on Sunday. 

“I was at home cooking tea and my phone rang, and it came up with Neeldy, so I decided to answer it to make sure I wasn’t in trouble,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“He asked what I was doing. I told him I was just watching the news and cooking some tea, and he said ‘you’re going to debut this week against Carlton’.

“That’s how it all came about. I was excited to call Mum and Dad and they were happy that they’re coming over this weekend to watch me going around, which should be good.”

Kent said he couldn’t contain his excitement when told of his news.

“I just wanted to yell and jump around. My girlfriend was there as well, so she was excited and I was excited. My first reaction was just to say a couple of words out loud, but I couldn’t because I was out on the balcony,” he said.

“I told Mum and Dad. I was talking to Mum and made sure she was sitting down when I told her the good news, so they were very excited and they can’t wait.

“It’s definitely exciting – finally my dream come true is just around the corner.”

Kent said his family was set to fly across from Clackline, which is 80km north-east of Perth.

“They’ll come over on Saturday and be here for the game. Then Dad’s off to Tasmania on Monday as well, but Mum will go back to Perth on Monday morning, as will my brother and sister as well,” he said.

“Dad’s actually having a couple of days off for a fishing holiday, so they’ve given him some time off to go on a fishing trip with one of his mates.

“The club’s bringing the family over to watch me run out.”

Kent, who was drafted from Perth at No.48 last year, has impressed for Casey in the VFL so far this year. He played two matches in the NAB Cup against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium and Port Adelaide in Renmark, but also battled a calf injury after playing in a win over the Power.

A powerful left-foot kick, the high half-forward won the Jack Clarke Medal for the best WAFL Colts player in 2012.

Now that he knows he’s debuting on Sunday, Kent said he was unsure how he would feel on the morning.

“I don’t know,” he said.

“Normally going into games I’m pretty chilled and laid back – I don’t think too much about it. 

“I’m just trying to be down to earth and think about what I have to do. I’m sure the emotions will get me and I’ll have to see what happens.”