Ed Phillips had been to Etihad Stadium many times before, but always as a spectator, never as a player. That was until last Friday night.
This time around, the running machine parked his car under Docklands, absorbed the buzzing atmosphere and prepared for his first game in red, white and black.
While it wasn’t quite a senior game, AFLX was a step in the right direction for the 19-year-old, who was rewarded for the mountain of work he has put in over his second summer at Linen House Centre.
“It was really good. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of driving to the game, going through
“I much prefer playing than just going to watch, so it was a great experience for me.”
Having never played a game at night before, Phillips did his best to fill the hours during the day. He slept in, kept his mind off the night ahead, before finally making his way into the city.
And with one team
“I slept in a bit on Friday morning because I knew it was a pretty late game, so I tried to sleep in. I didn’t do much during the day,” he said.
“It’s a bit weird waiting around all day for a night game, so I just tried to occupy myself and not think about the game too much.
“As the game got closer the nerves started to come up a little bit, but I just tried to stay as calm as possible. The atmosphere at the ground was great and added to the experience.”
After finding a bit of the ball in AFLX, and even more in St Kilda’s extended match simulation session on Wednesday, Phillips is moving in the right direction towards a debut.
