Forced to wait 343 days between AFL games, young midfielder Aidan Riley made the most of his long-awaited Crows call-up at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.

Riley, who played five matches after being promoted to the senior list in the middle of last season, played the best game of his short career against Essendon.

The hard-nosed 20-year-old collected 17 possessions (eclipsing his previous-best of 10 touches against the Brisbane Lions last year). He also amassed five marks, four tackles, three inside 50ms, two clearances and kicked his second AFL goal.

Renowned for his toughness more so than his finesse (hence his nicknames ‘Pig dog’ and the ‘Garbage man’ from commentator Brian Taylor), Riley thrived in the trying conditions. He operated at a disposal efficiency rate of 71 per cent and displayed clean hands around the stoppages.

Riley said he was pleased he was able to carry his good SANFL form into the Bombers clash.

“I’ve waited awhile (to receive an AFL recall). I was just biding my time in the SANFL and trying to play as well as I could,” Riley told afc.com.au.

“It was pretty unfortunate that I broke my hand (in May) because I was coming into some good form. It was a setback, but I saw it as an opportunity to work on my conditioning because I’m probably not the best runner going around. I think that held me in good stead coming back through the SANFL and then playing today as well.

“When ‘Sando’ called me during the week to say I was playing, I was over the moon. I had some mates coming over for the weekend, so they were happy they got to see me play as well. Nothing beats the feeling of running out onto AAMI and roar of the home crowd. It’s a surreal feeling.

“It’s probably the best time of year to be in the side, coming into finals. I’ll just try to play some consistent footy, which I think I did tonight.”

Riley will be hoping his performance against the Bombers is enough to retain his place in the team to play Fremantle on Saturday. The Crows could regain David Mackay (toe) and Kurt Tippett (concussion) for the important clash with the Dockers.

Adelaide showed fight to come back from 28 points down and beat the Bombers on Sunday night. But Riley said his side couldn’t afford to give the in-form Dockers a similar head start.

“We can’t (afford to) … not after the way Freo played against West Coast on Saturday,” he said.

“They showed how damaging they can be. Their midfield is pretty strong and big ‘Pav’ (Matthew Pavlich) up forward is in good form. He’ll be a tough match-up for Daniel Talia or Ben Rutten.

“We’re going to have to start strong and fast against them to give ourselves the best chance of winning.”