THERE is nothing more nervous than being on the verge of selection. For 21-year-old Ryan Brabazon, his debut finally happened on the weekend against the Western Bulldogs, where the fourth draft pick by the Swans in the 2005 NAB AFL Draft (No.59 overall), acquitted himself very well in the loss accumulating 14 possessions and taking seven marks.

Here is how he found out about his selection and prepared for the match.

Friday, 1pm: I was called into Paul Roos’ office where he told me I was playing on the weekend and congratulated me. I was ecstatic. Roos’ gave me some instructions regarding the match.

Friday, 2pm: I was very nervous at the start of training and I think it showed but I calmed down the longer it went. I was just happy to get through it unscathed.

Friday, 4pm: I rang my parents in Kalgoorlie, WA, to inform them I was making my debut and they were very happy. They decided to fly over for the game.

Friday, 6pm: Cooked dinner for my flatmate Craig Bird and myself because I was in such a good mood. Nothing too fancy though, just steak and vegetables.

Saturday, 10am: Headed down to Maroubra pool for individual player recovery.

Saturday, 4pm: Arrived in Canberra and then checked into hotel.

Saturday, 5pm: I turned my phone off due to family, friends and lots of well wishers calling and texting. I decided I needed to concentrate on the game as I couldn’t respond to everyone.

Saturday, 6pm: Team meeting with more instructions regarding the game with emphasis on what we want to achieve from the match.

Saturday, 7.30pm: Team dinner where I ate a big bowl of pasta to load up on carbohydrates.

Saturday, 9.30pm: Went to bed but had trouble sleeping thinking about the match.

Sunday, 10.00am: Team meeting where final instructions as to match-ups; possible game scenarios, tactics, game plan are gone through in detail by Roosy.

Sunday, 12-1pm: Pretty nervous in the rooms. I just tried to focus on my role.

Sunday, 1.10pm: Bouncedown. I start on the bench but am called onto play within about 10 minutes. I can’t remember who I replaced but I do remember getting my first kick after receiving a handball from Heath Grundy and I found Barry Hall. I felt pretty good after that.

Sunday, quarter-time: John Longmire addresses the midfield group. He is pretty happy with our first quarter, especially the early part.

Sunday, second quarter: That handball! Once it left my hands and went to Matthew Boyd, I realised I had made the mistake but couldn’t do anything about it and tried to block it out.

Half-time: Roosy and the coaches were disappointed with our second quarter. None of the coaches were happy with how we played. The players were pretty aware of what we had to do to turn it around.

Three-quarter time: All the coaches were positive at three-quarter time as were the players. We knew we had to dig in and stick to the game plan. We all believed if we put in a big last quarter we could win the match.

Last quarter, 10 minutes left: I still believed we could win the match as did the players. You could feel the pressure mounting.

Final siren: I obviously felt very disappointed. We missed some opportunities that could have changed the result.

After the match: Roosy said that the second quarter cost us, which was true. For me, I was pretty happy as I didn’t have a lot of game time but I did my best. I didn’t sustain any injuries so that was good too.

I then met up with my family who travelled from WA to see the match, which included: three aunties, two uncles, two cousins, one grandparent, one brother and my parents. I spent half an hour chatting with them before leaving the ground.