FOR SOMEONE such as Tom McDonald, being tired is not unusual.

After all, during year 11 he used to do a six hour round trip on a bus from Edenhope (western Victoria) to footy training in Ballarat and then back every Thursday night. He'd do the same or more to play in the TAC Cup on the weekend.

Nor does he mind pushing himself at training. He loves the competition that comes during pre-season and has spent this summer testing himself against Daniel Nicholson, his housemate and one of the club's best runners. 

But during the last quarter of his third game on Saturday against the Eagles-his first senior game for the year-he began to feel the pinch. The hot conditions were different to any he had experienced before while playing football. He was hanging in there, just. When he looked at his teammates, he could sense they were trying to push on under adversity too. So he kept going.

Eventually the Eagles overpowered Melbourne to win by 108 points. McDonald did not wilt but he ran out of legs.

"I think they (West Coast) are used to the conditions more than us," said McDonald. "We have improved our fitness a lot over Christmas but it shows we have still got a bit of a way to go."

McDonald estimates he lost three kilograms or more during the encounter. He would normally lose one and a half kilograms during a game. That is literally sweating buckets.

Despite the tough going, McDonald performed well during the game having received a call-up when Stefan Martin was ruled out late with a hip injury.

It wasn't the ideal preparation either. Having planned to fly back from Perth on Saturday afternoon and play with Casey on Sunday his inclusion came as a shock, but he was excited when told the news after training on Friday. Some of his teammates suggested he should feel fortunate too.

"Lynden Dunn said he had been an emergency carry over 30 times and has never been called up, so he said I should go and buy a lotto ticket next week," said McDonald.

McDonald's elevation has been more a result of hard work than luck however. He moved to Ballarat to board at St. Pat's in year 12, where he played in a winning Herald Shield team at the MCG in 2010.

Melbourne used pick No.53 to select the key forward and he moved to Melbourne to live with a host family in 2011. He trained with the forwards and then was selected to play with the backs for his first VFL game.

McDonald played the remainder of the season in defence and won admirers for his consistent effort, earning two senior games in the final two rounds.

He followed the same pattern this season, training with the forwards and then being asked to play back as soon as the season started. He is versatile with his wingspan giving him the capacity to pinch-hit in the ruck.

The 19-year-old's enthusiasm means where he plays doesn't worry him: "Wherever I can get a game I'll be happy," he said.

On Saturday, he provided run from defence and took the game on, winning 17 possessions after lining up initially on the Eagles' Jack Darling. 

"I don't like losing," said McDonald, "but there were positives to come out of [the game] for me."

McDonald is a worker and a doer. He studies Commerce at Melbourne University (albeit just four contact hours this semester) and grew up on the family property near Edenhope that farms merino sheep and a crop each year of about 500 acres of barley or oats.

He has already made sacrifices to reach the highest level and will leave no stone unturned in his quest to get better. It's why those who know him best are rapt he has been given the chance to prove his worth. McDonald wants to stay in the side all year if he can but his early goal is to play eight to 12 games. "Whether that is realistic or unrealistic at this stage, I don't really know. We'll wait and see," he said.