AMID the departure of Mark Neeld, and with the appointment of Neil Craig as coach for at least the rest of the 2013 season, emerged a good news player story for the club.

Mitch Clisby’s debut may not have attracted the fanfare as other top draftees or high profile youngsters, but his first game was a timely reminder of patience, perseverance and persistence.

The now 23 year-old rookie, who claimed the last spot on Melbourne’s list last year, was given his first opportunity at the highest level against St Kilda at the MCG on Saturday, and impressed with 24 disposals.

It was a bright spot for Clisby and the club, given his desire to carve out an AFL career and the club’s craving to unearth players for the future. One game won’t secure his future, but he certainly showed more than most first up, and offered promise in the red and blue.

“I’ve taken a bit longer than coming through the under 18 system,”Clisby told melbournefc.com.au.

“I missed out and had to wait a few more years than the average 18 year-old.

“I’m glad I got the opportunity and I felt like I contributed towards the team. It would’ve been nice to get the win, but we improved in a lot of areas and we build on that now.”

Clisby’s first game in eventful circumstances was not unlike his arrival at the club. Selected in the NAB AFL Rookie Draft at No.19 last December, during Melbourne’s pre-season training camp to Darwin, Clisby spent his first day in steaming hot conditions in Jabiru, before hiking 30km in searing Kakadu National Park heat.

As he said himself, the key events to his time at Melbourne have been a whirlwind.

“Looking back on when I was drafted, that happened pretty quickly. Things happened pretty quickly during the week in the lead up to my first game, so things at this club seem to happen pretty quickly when I’m involved,” Clisby said.

“It’s sad to see Neeldy go, because in the short time I’ve been here, I’ve had a good relationship with him, but I feel I have a pretty good relationship with Craigy. Hopefully he persists with me and hopefully I can improve on my first game.”

Craig told Clisby after training on Wednesday that he would start his AFL career three days later. Until that point, the New South Welshman hadn’t been given that indication by Neeld.

“To be honest, no, but he’d given me some pretty good advice over the past two weeks. With a new coach taking over and everything else that had happened [I wasn’t sure when I would debut],” Clisby said.

“I was hoping, but I didn’t want to get ahead of myself and I had to be elevated off the rookie list first, so for that to happen on the Wednesday afternoon, I was pretty happy.

“I had trained, then had weights and then when Craigy approached me after training, he shook my hand and congratulated me and I was pretty pumped.”

Now that he has his first game under his belt, Clisby is fully aware of what it takes to play at the highest level. He said the standard was as physically and mentally demanding as he expected.

“I didn’t expect to play that well. I just wanted to go out there and play my role for the team and hopefully get a good result. I ended up getting the ball in my hands a lot more than I thought I would, so I just want to improve on that going forward,” he said.

“Compared to the VFL, it was another step up in both of those areas, so you had to be switched on and play against stronger and bigger bodies, so it was definitely another step up.

“I want to turn one game into many.”

Clisby has set his sights on playing the last 10 matches of the season, but he knows that won’t be easy.

“For me, it’s about my recovery. I’m not used to the intensity of an AFL game, so for me, it’s about getting my body right and making sure I can be selected week in week out,” he said.

“Hopefully Craigy persists with me going forward, and I can play the remainder of the year.

“It was pretty intense. You’re always doing something, whether you’re communicating with someone else, running to man someone up – you’re always doing something.”

But if someone such as Clisby, who has waited for his opportunity, can capitalise on it, it’s only going to benefit the player and club, long term. The ball is now in his court – or oval – but there is no doubt, Clisby is making all the right noises in terms of building a career with the Demons.

“I definitely want to be a part of it. In the last six months since arriving here, I’ve wanted to be part of it going forward,” he said.

“Even the losses we’ve had, I want to be a part of it. I want to be part of a side that’s struggled and then come out of the other end with some rewards.

“As I said to [backline coaches] Twig (Jade Rawlings) and Bongo (Andrew Nichol), I want to be at the other end of it.”

And there is just another glimmer of hope in the rebuild.