Michael Talia scarcely had time to contemplate his AFL debut, let alone tell his family, revealing to westernbulldogs.com.au a call from Coach Brendan McCartney enroute to the stadium confirmed he'd make his first appearance for the Western Bulldogs against North Melbourne.

Originally named as an emergency for the Saturday afternoon fixture against North Melbourne, the 19 year-old was thrust straight into action, starting on the field and kicking an early goal from an intercept.

Watch Michael Talia's exclusive post match interview with BulldogsTV on the media player above.

"I woke up to a message saying that there were going to be two late changes, and out of three [emergencies] I was going to be the first one to come in."

"I was on my way to the game, about 15 minutes away [from Etihad Stadium], and Macca called me and said 'you're playing today, so just take it all in.'"

With the obligatory pre-match jitters, Talia said the short notice was probably a benefit, helping him avoid the nerves that came with a long build-up.

"It was definitely a massive step-up from VFL level. The first ten minutes I was just blowing."

Watch vision of Michael Talia's first AFL goal here.

Some sage advice from All-Australian defenders Brian Lake and Robert Murphy saw him through the early stages, before settling into his role on Kangaroos forward Lachlan Hansen.

"Everytime I was down there Lakey was directing me where I needed to be, same with Murph, just telling me to never concede"

Talia recorded seven kicks, one goal, two rebound 50m and four one-percenters on debut in the red, white and blue.

Drafted in the second round of the 2011 AFL National Draft, Talia came to the Whitten Oval from the Calder Cannons after an impressive TAC Cup season which included Vic Metro representation at the 2011 AFL U-18 Championships and All-Australian honours.

View Michael Talia's full player profile here.

Talia's brother Daniel plays for the Adelaide Crows, while grandfather Harvey Stevens is a past-great of the Bulldogs and member of the 1954 Premiership Team.