Goosebumps for Eagles first-gamer Murray Newman

THOUGH he missed out on joining an exclusive Eagles club, there was plenty to like about Murray Newman’s debut.

Murray Newman

THOUGH he missed out on joining an exclusive Eagles club, there was plenty to like about Murray Newman's debut last weekend.

Just six men have booted three or more goals on their AFL debut with the club, with the most recent being Daniel Metropolis’s six-goal haul in 1992.

Newman had his chances to notch a hat-trick of goals, but still showed plenty of promise in snaring 2.2 from 13 touches during West Coast’s 126-point drubbing of Gold Coast.

Speaking after his impressive debut, the 18-year-old said he was just relieved to slot his first major from 40m on an angle following a pair of misses from a similar position just minutes earlier.

“I missed my first two, so for the third I was a bit nervous, but luckily I got it through,” Newman said.

“I got goosebumps actually - it was a really good feeling,”

The speedy Swan Districts product may have had more nerves than usual for his first game in the blue and gold after being forced to wait until halfway through the third term to shake off the green substitute’s vest and step onto the Patersons Stadium turf.

“I had no idea (when I was going to come on),” he said.

“After halftime, my line coach came up to me and said I’d probably come on at the 10-minute mark, so I was getting prepared and nerves were building up.

“It’s definitely a lot quicker - the ball moves up the ground a lot faster, so that took a while to get used to.”

With established defenders Adam Selwood and Will Schofield expected to push for a return to senior action this weekend against North Melbourne, Newman may find himself squeezed out of the 22.

But the small forward remained upbeat about his future prospects.

“I’ve just got to keep playing good footy, wherever I play. I’ve just got to keep my form up,” he said.

Follow Chris Robinson on Twitter: @CJKRobinson