A 21 point deficit at the final siren didn’t feel like a loss to SUNS debutant Daisy D’Arcy, who was one of five players experiencing the adrenaline of an AFLW game for the first time on Saturday.

The young group remains in high spirits, with their performance against a Melbourne outfit, which many expect to go far this season, filled with plenty of upside and promise.

“To be honest I don’t feel like we lost, everyone had such good energy around the game,” D’Arcy said.

“There were so many nerves like ‘What should I do here? What should I do here?’ but once I got out there and first touched the footy I had everyone around me to tell me where to go so it was pretty good.”

However the excitement of playing her first game for the SUNS didn’t overwhelm her or any of the other debutants, with the group already reflecting on what they learnt and how to improve next week.

“We’ve got a couple of things to work on, (we want to) come out flying at the start and hopefully hold that throughout the game,” D’Arcy said.

“There were definitely lots of positives, it was a fast game, definitely a fast game.”

Along with Ellie Hampson from Townsville and Lauren Bella, Emma Pittman and Wallis Randell from Mackay, the Townsville product D’Arcy is hoping to build the game and SUNS membership in North Queensland, with some making the trek down for her debut.

“Basically the whole of North Queensland (was here),” D’Arcy joked.

“I had some cousins and my family (in the crowd to support me).

The Gold Coast SUNS face Collingwood for Round 2 (Pride Round), at Victoria Park at 3:10pm AEDT, Saturday February 6.