JUST 15 days after being recruited by the Melbourne Football Club, Jay Lockhart made the unlikeliest of senior debuts.

And while it wasn’t the fairytale story with his side falling by 80 points to Geelong, he was pleased to have finally conquered his life-long goal of playing on the biggest stage of all.

“It was obviously a dream come true to run out with an AFL team and to represent such a great club,” Lockhart told Melbourne Media.

“It’s a club full of great people so I’m just so glad I’m here.”

The 23-year-old had six touches in his first AFL game after getting off to a flyer with a classy goal in the opening term.

Lockhart joins the rare club of players to have slotted a major with his first kick in the AFL but wasn’t getting too ahead of himself after a tough hit-out at GMHBA Stadium.

“It was nice to contribute early but I’m ready to work hard and get stuck into the next 20 games we’ve got for the season,” he said.

After being a standout for the Casey Demons in the VFL last year, Lockhart thoroughly earned his spot on an AFL list.

But the youngster admitted there is a significant jump between the two leagues.

“It was just the speed and intensity of the game that was the biggest difference,” Lockhart said.

He wasn’t the only Demon to find Saturday night’s clash with the Cats a challenge, as the Dees were clearly beaten in the contest.

“We’ve just got to improve in the fundamentals and getting back to the ball,” Lockhart said.

“That’s what we’re working on, so we’ll continue to focus on that.”

On a personal note, Lockhart has overcome plenty of adversity to make it to the AFL and will treasure some special moments from the night.

The versatile small had his family in the room’s pre-game, with his father presenting him his guernsey.

“It’s been an amazing couple of weeks, things have changed so quickly for me,” he said.

“I’m rapt to have had the opportunity tonight but obviously it was a really disappointing outcome.”