For many young players, their debut game can be the most nerve-racking day of their lives.

But for Alex Morgan, a calm and collected approach allowed him to slot straight into the Roos’ back six.

“I thought I was going to be more nervous than I was,” Morgan told North Media.

“I think I held my own out there.”

Morgan had 18 disposals and took nine marks in his first outing in the royal blue and white, a solid first-up display, and is now keen for more opportunities.

“There were a couple of things defensively that didn’t go my way late,” he admitted.

“I was probably a bit tough on myself to single out one or two things.

“Looking back, I probably did play on the side of caution, as I think most people would.

“My main objective going into the game was to defend well and if I got the ball to use it like I know I could from there.”

Having honed his craft in the Roos’ VFL side, Morgan credits that structure for his smooth his transition to AFL level.

“We’re playing the same system in both teams,” he said.

“There was nothing new, nothing that I wasn’t expecting and the message was pretty similar. The focus on playing your role for the team is the same and holding your own in the back six.

“Everything is really similar and I think that definitely helped my transition on the weekend.

“Now that you’ve got North VFL as well, it really helps in training. Come the Captain’s Run the day before the game, you can talk about how you want to move the ball and how you want to defend.

“It helps with continuity. If someone gets injured like Cam Zurhaar did a couple of weeks ago, it helps for someone like me to come in because of the way the program is set out.”

Morgan has quickly shifted his attention to cementing his place in a competitive senior side, with spots coming at an absolute premium.

“A focus from here on in will definitely be backing myself with the football,” he added.

“In addition to that, just reaffirming things I know already like my one-on-one defending and trying to play to our structure.

“Going on from here, my focus will be on using my attributes like speed and my ball use. I want to take a couple more aggressive kicks than I normally would.

“The main thing for me is using the ball and playing to my strengths.”