MITCH Clisby says his first AFL season was a whirlwind experience, but one he relished every minute. 

Clisby, who claimed the final spot on Melbourne’s list for 2013, said his first season was filled with a range of “rollercoaster” moments. 

“This time last year, I didn’t think I’d end up on a list and I was just concentrating on playing good finals footy for North Adelaide. It wasn’t even on my mind to be honest, but once a bit of interest popped up through finals, I started to think about it a bit,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“Thankfully enough, Melbourne gave me an opportunity and I’ve experienced VFL and played some OK football there, made my debut and played a handful of games and then was suspended at the end of the season.

“I feel like I’ve been playing for 10 years, after everything that’s happened. I’ll learn from everything this year and carry that into next year.”

Reflecting on why he wasn’t drafted earlier, the 23-year-old said he had often contemplated it. But he was thankful for the opportunity, albeit later in his career after shifting from Broken Hill to North Adelaide, where he was drafted from. 

“I think about that a lot and wonder why this opportunity hasn’t come up in the last few years or when I was an 18-year-old,” he said.

“It was disappointing to miss out as an 18-year-old, because I thought I’d probably done enough … but it was only about two years ago, I pulled my finger out and had a crack.

“Last year was my best season by a long way, so that helped me to get onto a list. It’s been a long, long journey, but I’m glad I’m here and hopefully I can be a part of it going forward.”

Clisby joined Melbourne when he was selected at No.19 in last December’s NAB AFL Rookie Draft. He joined the Demons, along with Nathan Stark (selected at No.3 in the same draft) during Melbourne’s pre-season camp in Darwin.

On his second day, Clisby undertook a 30km hike in Kakadu National Park.

Once the season was underway, he spent the first half of 2013 in the VFL, before making his AFL debut against St Kilda in round 13 – Neil Craig’s first as coach, after replacing Mark Neeld.

“It was a pretty big week, with Neeldy leaving and then Craigy being appointed to take over as coach,” Clisby said.

“To find out the news that I’d make my debut – it was a pretty big week for the club. In a way, the news of the changing of coach took the spotlight away from me debuting, so it made me relaxed. I didn’t have to deal with so many other things.

“Craigy was good. He came up to me one on one and said ‘congratulations, you’re playing this week’. So he gave me time to speak to my family and friends and get some people over for the game, so it was a big week.”

Now with his second pre-season on the horizon, Clisby said he still had to pinch himself at times that he was on an AFL list, but he was ready for the challenge of his first full pre-season.

“I’ve still got to experience a full pre-season, so there’s still a lot to look forward to. I just think I can become a better player and hopefully bring something to this group and take the club forward,” he said.