MELBOURNE’s newest Irish recruit Aimee Mackin finally got her chance to debut on the AFL Women’s stage over the weekend, and certainly made an impact in the Dees’ win over the Hawks.

Speaking post-match, Mackin was happy she had finally made her debut, and did so in a win.

“I think once you get the first one you’re sort of going in knowing what it’s going to be like, so it’s good to get a feel for it and I enjoyed being out there with the girls” Mackin said.

“Especially coming over and training with them for the last few weeks, I knew the quality that they had so be out amongst it was brilliant and I enjoyed every minute.”

Although she was happy with her performance, she did admit she had some nerves pre-match.

“Yeah a wee bit nervous, it’s the same at home,” she said.

“You have good nerves, it’s just about controlling it. The most important thing for me today was to just enjoy it all. It’s over now in a flash, it’s onto the next one already so yeah I just enjoyed it all.”

She is not the first Mackin to grace the AFLW stage, with sister Blaithin in her second season at the club. Mackin said that having her sister out there on the field definitely helped her in her debut.

“She’s always someone I can bounce off,” she said.

“Obviously coming over, new sport, new surroundings, so she’s always there to have my back and any questions I have she’s always got an answer for them, so it’s great. She’s been here, experienced it all last year so she knows a lot more than me, so I’m just learning as much off her, and off the rest of the girls.”

Mackin almost had an even more memorable debut with a goal attempt that cruelly bounced before the line that was ultimately picked up by her sister and slotted through the middle.

Ever the team player, the first gamer Mackin was not annoyed that her initial attempt did not go over the line.

“I was just glad it over the line” she said.

“I think Blaithin actually said to me she was cheering thinking it was going over when I kicked it and then she had to realise ‘oh no, I have to get it!’. It was a quick turnaround for her, I think in her mind she was near celebrating. I was just glad it got over the line and got a score on the board so that was the most important thing.”

Playing across both the midfield and forward line in her debut, Mackin said that she preferred to play in the forwardline.

“I think being in a forward role is more natural because at home that’s the position I play,” she said. “But mid’s good too because you can get on the ball and you have it all in front of you. I’ve done a bit of both in the scrimmage games so either or, I’m happy enough to play wherever I’m asked.”

It has been a whirlwind few months for the newest Dee, with there only being a month or two between her arrival in Australia and her debut. Like any new recruit to the game, there are areas of the game that came more and less naturally to her.

“I think there’s a few similarities to home. In terms of running and carrying the ball we sort of do that at home, so that came a wee bit naturally. But then you have to be aware of tackles coming around you.

“Tackles is definitely a lot to learn from, we can’t tackle as much back at home, but I think that adjustment with knowing when you can run with it and then using your speed and just adapting to that because at home you can kick the ball and run long, you’re not going to have someone chasing you down from behind.

“I think the tackling and the shape of the ball’s obviously a lot different, so we have to kick it a bit different, but once you repeat it a few times it comes a bit more natural.”