PRIOR to Round 1, Tom Sparrow had been on the hallowed turf of the MCG just once in his life.

And he couldn’t even recall it.

“I didn’t actually know that I’d been out there until last night when dad told me, so I didn’t even remember that at all,” Sparrow told Melbourne Media.

“I thought I’d never been out there but apparently I had – I had done an MCG tour when I was five.

“But today was the first time I could get out there and take it all in, so it was a pretty special moment.”

And Sparrow’s shot on the big stage came much sooner than he was expecting after being called into the side as a late inclusion in replacement of the injured Jordan Lewis.

“I wasn’t expecting to be emergency at all really for Round 1,” he said.

“To play was just way off the cards in my mind.

“It was good to just enjoy this day with all my mates so I’m just happy I got the opportunity.”

The 18-year-old was flat after his side’s 26-point loss to Port Adelaide on Saturday afternoon, but he was still thrilled to have had the opportunity to debut at such a young age.

“It was pretty disappointing, we obviously would’ve liked to have gotten the win there,” Sparrow said.

“But I hadn’t been out on the ’G for 13 years so it was a pretty amazing moment to get out there and play with such a good bunch of lads.

“It was certainly disappointing, but I guess the show goes on.”

While the pressure of playing in the AFL is difficult to comprehend, Sparrow appeared to adjust to the game immediately.

“It’s pretty different – you sort of have to have your wits about you a bit more than what you do at school footy and stuff like that,” he said.

“But then again, your teammates are always helping you out.

“You just have to be aware while you’re out there – that’s probably the main thing.”

Sparrow had 14 disposals in his first senior match and got off to a flyer with a first-quarter goal.

“I felt pretty comfortable and after that first goal I started to settle a bit and just started to focus on playing footy,” he said.

“It was good to settle the nerves out there, and it was nice for all my teammates to get around me – that was a pretty special moment.

“I just tried to stick to my instincts which is tackling and putting on pressure which I think helped me stay in the contest.”

With 38,866 people pouring into the MCG, the pressure was high, but Sparrow enjoyed playing on the biggest stage of his short career.

“It was a bit different, I’d never really played in front of a crowd like that before,” he said.

“It was good, my teammates just had my back all day and were always talking to me, so the crowd didn’t play too much of a role really – I just focused on playing footy.”