A SIMPLE handshake between coach and player on Thursday morning was the first real indication young defender Paul O'Shea would get his first crack at senior football this weekend.
The second was the round of applause from the playing group that echoed around Whitten Oval minutes before the Bulldogs' final training session before Friday night's clash with the Bombers.
"I've been pretty excited this week, so hopefully I can go alright tomorrow night," O'Shea told westernbulldogs.com.au.
"If I perform then, they'll know I can perform at this level. If I have a bit of a shocker, they can look at it in different ways for the rest of the year.
"Hopefully I can go alright and show them that I've got what it takes."
The 18-year-old spent last year playing in the Dogs' then-VFL affiliate, after being drafted with selection No.76 as a "development player".
"It was good to get the feel of things at Werribee," he said.
"I'd never really played the standard of Werribee football before, playing against the VFL types of teams.
"Then at the end of the season I played four games for the seniors down there, so that was a really big help."
After a tough pre-season, O'Shea has improved his fitness to the point where Rodney Eade considered him worthy enough for a NAB Cup run.
The offer of such an opportunity came as a surprise to the young Queenslander, who had earmarked 2009 as the year for his debut.
"I honestly didn't really expect to play this year, at the moment," he said.
"I'd sort of been told I was a development player only a few weeks ago when I had a meeting with Rocket.
"He said I should be looking at next year and to just keep developing.
"So I'm just happy to get a game this week."
O'Shea is set to slide into the Dogs' backline, alongside the likes of
"Dale has been a big help, he's always told me to believe in myself and he's always been a good help around training as well," he said.
"Rocket, when I had the chat to him the other day, said I had a chance and to just go out there and do my best, and that my defensive efforts are what's going to have an impact."
With his family residing in the
Until then, he'll focus on keeping his feet on the ground and avoiding pre-match nerves.
"I've tried not to think about it, because I wasn't really sure even until this morning, so it's been a bit sudden," he said.
"Friends have been texting me and I didn't want to text back, because I didn't know and I didn't want to get ahead of myself and think about it too much.
"I haven't replied to anyone yet because we've just come out onto the track and we had a meeting and I got told then.
"I'll have to get back to them all this afternoon and let my parents know.
"It will be pretty tough for them to get down, but I have my girlfriend here at the moment so she'll be there.
"I'm just hoping I can make an impact and do what I need to do without getting too nervous."
See Paul O'Shea talk about his impending debut by clicking on http://bigpondvideo.com/afl/43704.
