Stanton admits he suffered from a bout of pre-game nerves and his teammates were on hand to offer advice. ""It was a long day before the night game which probably made the nerves even worse. I sat on the bench for most of the first half, but once I got out there the nerves went away,"" he said. ""All the players told me to relax and enjoy the moment. They settled me down a bit and helped me through the experience.""
In his first senior appearance, Stanton showed no signs of pre-game nerves. He moved well on the wing and wasn’t afraid to get into the thick of the action. In just under one half of football he notched up eight possessions and showed the potential of having a big future at the club. Stanton did notice some differences between senior footy and under-18s.
""It is definitely quicker. The five minutes before half-time probably helped me out to adjust to the speed of the game. The second half seemed like another game of football. You learn to enjoy yourself out there and play your own game and realise it is just a normal game of football,"" Stanton said.
Stanton made a contribution to the Bombers’ eight point win and he is hoping to remain in the team that faces Brisbane this Saturday night at The Dome. Bomber coach Kevin Sheedy indicated at training yesterday that he could make up to six changes to the team that defeated Fremantle. Adam Ramanauskas is set to return and Dean Rioli, Matthew Allan, Mark Alvey, Aaron Henneman and Joel Reynolds are also in the selection mix.
What ROBERT SHAW says:
""Stanton was actually selected because he didn’t play the AFL exhibition match in Sydney the week before because of his sister’s wedding. With eight on the bench in Darwin we thought it was a good opportunity to give him a chance to play. He played just under one half of football and he exceeded our expectations because some of his play on the outer wing actually influenced the result of the game. It wasn’t a bad start was it! PS – but he still has a long way to go!""
