When Adelaide defender Hugh Bond found out he was making his AFL debut, his older sister Lily was on a plane heading to Bali with her boyfriend, ready to escape SA’s winter.

But a call from her brother quickly changed her travel plans.

“My sister flew over to Bali on the Wednesday with her boyfriend and I found out on the Wednesday, so she actually flew back Friday night,” Bond said.

“She watched me play Saturday, then flew back Saturday morning to Bali.

“That was pretty special for her to do that for me, she’s one of my biggest fans, but I didn’t think she’d actually do that. 

“Her boyfriend came over as well, so it was a really good moment for me.”

Bond spoke to AFC Media this off-season, reflecting on his debut in the Round 18 win against St Kilda at Adelaide Oval.

The 20-year-old spent a year on the Crows’ list, battling a back and knee injury, before breaking into the AFL side.

“I had a bit of a rough year the year before with injuries and things like that, so I just tried to put my best foot forward in the pre-season and get my body right,” Bond said.

“Finding out I was going to make my debut was a really amazing moment, I found out in the team meeting and then was able to call my Mum and Dad and all my friends and family and tell them about it.

“To go out there that night was something I’ll never forget and to get the win as well was so surreal.”

Bond said there were times when he wasn’t sure he would make his debut but worked hard to get his body and mind right, which helped him perform strongly in the SANFL.

“Running out into the banner with the boys and taking it all in during my debut was surreal, you dream of that moment as a young boy and you never know if it will actually happen,” Bond said.

“You always hope for the best but I probably did have a patch there where I thought ‘am I good enough, am I going to make it?’

“But I just made sure I was doing the little things, like coming in for extra touch sessions and really focusing on my well-being and my health and also my recovery working with Josh Manuel in the gym.

“Our (performance) psychologist Rosie Stanimirovic has been really good, I went and saw her and that just helped me to be really consistent and string together a good bunch of games (in the SANFL).”

Bond held his spot for the remainder of Adelaide’s 2024 season, playing as a lockdown defender against some of the AFL’s most damaging small forwards.

The role wasn’t what Bond had previously been used to, having played mostly as a midfielder in his draft year.

But he flourished in the positional switch, holding the likes of Essendon veteran Zach Merrett and Geelong Premiership player Tyson Stengle to one goal.

“As a junior I got thrown around in terms of positions but then coming through the state programs I played more as a midfielder,” Bond said.

“But it’s good to play multiple positions, so I just tried to branch off that and get better and better.

“I tried to keep those small forwards to as little impact each week and nullify them to really cement that as my position.

“(Tyson) Stengle was probably the toughest opponent this year, he’s a great player and his body work around the ball got me early.”