AFTER more than three seasons and being named as an emergency about 20 times, former North Shore and St Ignatius, Riverview player- Will Sierakowski will finally make his AFL debut for North Melbourne against Port Adelaide on Saturday.
North announced Sierakowski, 22, would play against the Power on its website on Thursday morning.
The defender, who spent 2010-11 on Hawthorn's rookie list before joining North as a senior-listed player in the 2011 trade period, admitted he had started to doubt whether he'd ever play an AFL game.
"When you've been at footy clubs for four years and haven't played a game you start to wonder if it will ever happen," Sierakowski told NMFC.com.au.
"A bit of doubt has crossed my mind once or twice."
The hard-running left-footer said the regular experience of being named in preliminary squads of 25 only to miss out when the final 22 was named had been hard to take.
"On the day the team's announced, you're more frustrated than anything," Sierakowski said.
"I kept telling myself, 'Don't worry … if it's not this week, it might be next week'.
"But after a while I had to just forget about it and focus on playing in the VFL consistently, otherwise it does your head in."
Sierakowski said his long wait now seemed worthwhile.
"It's been well worth the effort and it's more than just a childhood dream for me to be able to debut," he said.
"I've put in a lot of work, so it's all worth it for sure."
Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick
Last Modified on 02/05/2013 14:28
