The way Darren Walsh handled himself against the Western Bulldogs gave little or no indication that he was actually playing his first senior match. The lightly built 18-year-old notched up 11 possessions in just under a half of footy and showed he has what it takes to become one of the Bombers' future mid-fielders. Walsh but in fact suffer from a bout of pre-game nerves but a phone call from teammate Adam Ramanauksas helped calm him down. ""I got a phone call from Rama which made me feel pretty good. It was great of him to think of me and call considering he has been sick. All the players were really good especially the young guys - Joel Reynolds and Ted Richards were great because they have only recently played their first game as well and now what it feels like,"" Walsh said.

Q. Did you think you would play a senior match this early in the season?
A. Not really. I thought they would want me to develop my body a bit more. So I was pretty rapt to play this early.

Q. Saturday night was the first time you have played at The Dome and the biggest crowd you have ever played in front of - did you notice the crowd when you ran out?
A. I did notice the crowd and you have to take it in for a little bit but once the game started I didn't really notice it at all.

Q. You came on mid-way through the second quarter - where you nervous sitting on the bench?
A. I came on for about ten minutes in the second term. It was more nerve racking sitting on the bench than actually running out on the ground at the start.

Q. It must have felt good to get your first touch out of the way?
A. I gave a handball off to Jason Johnson and it was good to get the first touch to calm the nerves.

Q. You finished with 11 disposals for the match - did that exceed your expectations for your first match?
A. It did a bit. I would have been happy to just get five touches. I think I was just lucky. I ran and linked up and got a few more touches. I was fresh in the last quarter and everyone else was tired, so that probably helped me out as well.

Q. You looked pretty comfortable out there considering you haven't played much if any football with most of your teammates....
A. I was just trying to play my own game and I suppose I was lucky that a couple of things came off.

Q. How different is the pace of the game in the seniors?
A. It is so much quicker and you don't have much time when you have the ball - you have to get rid of the ball pretty quickly. The pressure is a lot greater than the VFL.

Q. How did you pull up after the match considering the increased intensity of the seniors and the physicality?
A. I wasn't too bad. I copped a pretty big tackle on the wing and I was winded for a bit but that was the only thing.

Q. Looking ahead to Anzac Day - you would be hoping to get another game in the senior?
A. I will keep my fingers crossed and just train hard all week.