It took a while for Rhylee West to realise he’d be making his AFL debut this week.

The cameras came in to the team meeting, and West was called up in front of the group by Luke Beveridge.

There were birds – dead or alive – and a wise ‘old’ man named Dale Morris who allegedly fluffed his lines. 

And it wasn’t until Beveridge said ‘you’re playing’ that it actually clicked for West that his lifelong ambition was coming true. 

“I had no idea what he was talking about,” West said on Wednesday afternoon. 

“I was actually running late to get to the club, so I was sort of in a rush and quickly put on my gear and went into the meeting. 

“It was all a bit of a blur, but it was pretty exciting.

“I was over the moon when I found out I was going to be playing this week. 

“Hearing the cheer from my teammates, that’s when it sort of clicked that I’ll be playing AFL footy this weekend and fulfilling the dream that I’ve had for so long.”

The 19-year-old has had to knock down the door for an AFL opportunity. 

In a team with an abundance of ball-winning midfielders – and midfielders that push forward – West has had to be patient, developing his craft for Footscray.

But he sees that period as a positive, and as an experience that gives him confidence to step up as the Dogs’ fifth debutant of 2019.

“Playing the year in the VFL has been really good for me, both physically and mentally,” West said.

“It’s been good to develop as a player and learn my strengths and my weaknesses as well. It’s been good mentally as well just to keep persisting to try to break down the door to get into the AFL squad.

“It’s come to this point now and it’s good to find out that the hard work I’ve put in in the VFL is going to let me play AFL now, and hopefully I can put some of that form in the VFL and take it up to the AFL.”

In all reality, the Bulldogs season hangs on a strong performance against Fremantle on Sunday.

A win will see them remain in the hunt, but a loss would see them likely slip two games and a percentage gap outside the top eight. 

“Obviously it’s a big game for us this weekend,” West said. 

“We’ve just got to keep winning, and go back to that form we had a couple of weeks ago where we beat the top side (Geelong) in a great game.

“If we can stick to that we can do anything with the rest of our season.

“But it’s all eyes on this week and making sure we get everything right, and having a big performance against Fremantle.”