Harry Cameron has described the feeling of making his senior Albury debut in a tense win over Yarrawonga.
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The 19-year-old received a call from Tigers co-coach Anthony Miles on Friday night to say he was playing against the Pigeons.
Cameron played forward, kicked a goal and ended the day drenched in Gatorade after helping Albury hang on to win by five points.
"I wish I could make my debut every week to be honest," Cameron said.
"It was pretty special to make my debut in such an important game for the club.
"It was great to have my family in the rooms pre-game and for Chris Hyde, an all-time club great, to present my jumper was pretty special.
"Playing in such a thrilling win on my debut was unreal."
Cameron's form in the reserves had made it impossible for Miles and co-coach Luke Daly to ignore him.
"The last three weeks, Harry's been able to kick goals playing predominantly midfield and then going forward," Daly said.
"He pretty much knocked our door down and that's what we love seeing because blokes pick themselves if they've got consistent form over a certain period of time.
"He cracks in, puts his head over the footy and he got reward by kicking his first goal which was really exciting and all the boys got around him.
"We love it when kids make their debut, particularly kids that come through our junior system, so it was an exciting day for the club and no doubt for him."
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Cameron, who's been with the Tigers since his Auskick days, admitted he didn't get much sleep the night before the game.
"I couldn't have been happier," he said.
"Surprisingly, I wasn't too nervous.
"I expected my excitement to translate into nerves but that didn't quite eventuate.
"I'm relaxed, pre-game, so that helped.
"I didn't over-think it and the coaches just told me to play my role.
"I played forward predominantly, that high half-forward pressure, that was the instruction from the coaches, just to keep it really simple, play my role, that high pressure which we value so much as a team.
"I'm glad I was able to get on and do that.
"You're always going to make mistakes and there's moments in games you'd like to have back but it's a great learning experience and I was just happy to be out there.
"I've been training with the seniors and trying to put my best foot forward.
"To finally get the opportunity was pretty special.
"My time at the club has been awesome.
"The demographic of our list is pretty young at the moment, we've got some great leadership and it's just a great place to be.
"The culture's great and we're a really close brotherhood."
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