Dangerfield’s effort warranted selection

PATRICK Dangerfield's highly-anticipated AFL debut has come and gone and Adelaide coach Neil Craig said the 18-year-old's nine-possessions and one goal warranted his selection in the side.

"I thought he was okay; I didn't think he did anything outstanding, but he didn't look out of it," Craig said.

"It was a pretty quick game of footy. When you play at Telstra Dome with the roof on, the speed is up, but he showed some things which I think vindicated our selection.

"He's a really level-headed player and he's mature beyond his age at the moment."

Dangerfield started the game on the bench and played predominantly up forward in his debut and showed glimpses of the rare talent that saw the Crows snap him up 10th overall in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft.

Craig said the club had been acutely aware of the need to respect Dangerfield's cluttered schedule while he completed Year 12 from his home town of Moggs Creek in Victoria.

"It's been in our minds all the time and that's one of the reasons we picked him today because he was just down the road, so to speak," the coach said.

"We are conscious of that and when we drafted Patrick we always knew that Year 12 was the No.1 priority for him. Hopefully Patrick feels, and the family feels, that we've given him that respect, from our club's perspective.

"All indications are, in talking to his Dad in particular, that he's on top of his work and he's going to give it his best shot.

"It would be a completely wasted year for him and the club if we tried to bring him over [to Adelaide] and disrupt that whole process. We don't want to do that and irrespective of what happens from now until the end of the year we'll be very mindful of that because we need to be. That was the deal and so that's how it will stay."

Having had a look at Dangerfield and fellow youngster Andy Otten in the past two weeks, Craig said he would not be afraid to call on either in the club's remaining matches.

However, he added the possible availability of Chris Knights, Bernie Vince and Jason Porplyzia over the next fortnight was another factor to consider.

"There is some pressure on for those type of players who have just put their toes in the water, but we'll assess that," he said.

"I know he [Dangerfield] is pretty happy; he's been involved in some history in his first AFL game and we all remember our first game."