KEY FORWARD Jack Fitzpatrick made his AFL debut against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval last Sunday. He spoke to melbournefc.com.au editor Matt Burgan about the experience

So what was it like playing your first AFL match?  

It was good to get the first [hand] experience. I’m just glad to be getting a taste of it before pre-season.

But your season hasn’t finished either, as you’ll continue playing in Casey’s finals.

I’ll get another few chances at VFL, hopefully over the next few weeks with Casey, and go into pre-season after that. It’s really good to be getting a chance. 

Was it everything you thought it would be? 

I had a bit of a taste of it - I played a couple of NAB Cup games in my first year, and I pretty much got overawed in those games. I really wanted to make sure that I had a good game and focused on the job at hand, rather than going ‘wow, this is AFL’. 

How did you find the step-up from VFL to AFL?

It’s unbelievably quick, and I think a couple of times I put too much pressure on myself to get rid of the ball too quickly, with a bit of mental pressure. I think that if I play a couple more games, I’ll get a bit more composed, and should get a bit more used to it. 

How were you feeling leading into the game? 

I was a little bit nervous, but I’m not one to get a great deal of nerves. I think that’s because I used to do athletics. 

You felt your athletics background helped you a fair bit with this?

I taught myself - because I used to do sprints - to be ready right from the start, because that’s the key thing. If you’re nervous when you’re in the set position, you’re either going to get yourself disqualified, or you’re going to start one or two metres behind everyone. I think that helped me in trying to stay a bit calm, but at the same time, there were a few butterflies in the guts.

What do you think this experience will do for your confidence going into the pre-season now? 

It’s unbelievable, to be honest. Hopefully I’ll play three games for Casey and we’ll go all the way, but the knowledge now that I’ve got a taste of it - I know exactly what to work for, and my confidence will go through the roof.

How do you reflect on the time that it’s taken you to get here? 

Obviously, growing up, all you want to do is play AFL footy. That’s every kid’s dream. It’s been pretty well documented that from the age of about five onwards, I’ve had chronic fatigue syndrome, but it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do ever since I was a young kid.

But you’ve had to endure some hurdles along the way, such as injuries and chronic fatigue syndrome.

To finally get a chance after some injury setbacks and the chronic fatigue syndrome, particularly early this year, I’m just really happy to get that chance, and really grateful to Todd and the selection committee, and to the rest of the boys - they’ve been great. I have to thank the boys for being really supportive, and the coaches for giving me the chance to play. And a big thank you also to all the fitness staff, physios, doctors, for helping me get my body right, especially this year. It hasn’t been an easy road. 

You’re obviously very thankful for the support you’ve been given.

Yes, and also a big thanks also to my family and friends for being so supportive, and I just want to give a real big thank you to the Scully family as well. I’ve been lucky - because I’m from Werribee myself - and when I came to Casey it was a long trek, so I would travel out to Berwick to stay with the Scullys the night before a game at Casey. Especially during pre-season, that’s three nights a week, and it’s pretty solid. So, just a big thanks to them, because there’s no doubt that without them, God knows where I’d be. I’d probably have had to move out, which would have caused more challenges in itself.