When Rory Laird walked off the ground after West Adelaide’s big win over South Adelaide last Friday night, he never dreamed he’d be making his AFL debut just nine days later.

Laird, 19, was in excellent form for the Bloods, averaging 28 possessions in the first three rounds, but he was still listed as a rookie at Adelaide and, therefore, ineligible for AFL selection.

That all changed on Thursday morning when he was upgraded to the primary list as a replacement for unlucky defender Sam Shaw, who was placed on the long-term injury list the week prior. By Thursday afternoon, Laird was named in the squad of 25 to play the Western Bulldogs and on Friday it was confirmed he would pull on the Crows guernsey for the first time at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.

“It’s been a whirlwind. I had no idea I’d be playing AFL this week,” Laird said.

“It’s all pretty surreal and it’s only really sinking in now. I was still in shock yesterday.

“I lost a few hours sleep thinking about it.”

Laird avoided the substitute vest on Sunday, starting the match on a half-back flank.

But any hopes of settling his nervous with a couple of clean, early touches were dashed when the heavens opened only a few minutes into the game.

“The conditions didn’t really help my nerves,” he said.

“I think I fumbled the ball the first couple of times. It was very quick out there and I was a bit nervous. I think at first I just wanted to get the ball away from me.”

But as the game wore on and other more experienced players were still struggling to control the slippery Sherrin, Laird displayed a clean pair of hands.

“Lairdy was just clean around the ball. He looked like a 100-game player, not a first-game player,” said coach Brenton Sanderson, who also praised the contribution of inexperienced players Sam Kerridge and Tom Lynch.

Laird finished the game with a modest eight possessions (seven contested) and five tackles. More importantly, he worked with fellow young defender Luke Brown and the in-form Andy Otten to keep dangerous small forwards Luke Dalhaus, Daniel Giansiracusa and Jason Tutt goalless.

“Luke Dalhaus was tough. He almost kicked a goal on me but hit the post, which was lucky,” Laird said.

“They’re pretty good players and it was tough to keep up with them, but it was a great experience and good for my game.”

A midfielder at SANFL level, Laird hopes to join Adelaide’s onball brigade in the future.

The 178cm,76kg, teenager knows he has a lot of work to do to achieve that goal, but he made significant inroads during his second pre-season at West Lakes.

“I wanted to increase my fitness over the summer. I even struggled with my running at SANFL level last year, so I knew I had to get fitter,” he said.

“I also wanted put on a few kilograms and get a bit bigger, so I could play out there (at AFL level). I was able to achieve both of those goals over the pre-season and it’s helped my game heaps.

“Sando and the coaches have told me they want to eventually develop me into a midfielder, but right now I’m playing as a small backman and learning the ropes there.”

Laird was presented his Crows guernsey by his parents and step-parents, while namesake Rory Sloane said a few words on behalf of the team.

“I’m pretty sure mum had a few tears in her eyes. She was pretty happy,” Laird said.

The extended Laird family clan was in the rooms again post-match, celebrating Adelaide’s gutsy 52-point win.

“It was just good to be out there. It was fun. I really enjoyed it, but it was awesome to get the win,” he said.

“We copped a bit of flak from the coaches for our performance last week, but to come out today and respond like that – keeping them to four goals and running away with the game was really good.

“It was a great team effort.”