When Wil Powell got a phone call from his coach Stuart Dew on Thursday afternoon, something funny happened.
While Dew's call to tell the Gold Coast teenager he was to debut on Saturday against Collingwood was meant to be a surprise, Powell's housemate Peter Wright may have inadvertently tipped the youngster off.
"I was out the front about to wash my car and I got a call from Stuey," Powell said.
"The conversation started off relatively normal, then I saw Pete creeping around the corner with his phone filming me and the lightbulb went off.
"Then Stuey asked me what my footy plans looked like this weekend and I said, ‘Hopefully we can get a win in the NEAFL.’ And he said, ‘how about you do that in the AFL team this week’.
"My face just lit up. I haven't wiped the smile off my face since."
Powell was somewhat of a surprise selection by the SUNS in last year's NAB AFL Draft, taken with their first pick (No.19 overall).
Plucked from Claremont's Colts team, Powell came to the SUNS at 70kg (he has since added 8kg), but blessed with clean hands good skills and courage that defies his size.
The 18-year-old said despite his path and light frame, he expected to debut this season.
"I'm in an AFL system now, I believe that's where I should be," he said.
"I definitely had my expectations pretty high to play in my first year.
"I wasn't going to come in and not expect to play, I was going to try and do everything to play an AFL game, especially when it's been your dream for so long, and my dream's come true this week.
"The nerves have definitely started to kick in, but it hasn't sunk in yet. It's still surreal."
