Emily Bennett says her debut was a ‘literal dream come true’ after growing up supporting the West Coast Eagles.

The defender was pick 47 in the national draft – and pick nine in the WA State draft pool – and is a reliable rebound defender with a strong overhead mark.

After performing consistently across the summer and mid-season training, senior coach Michael Prior had seen enough from the classy defender to announce her debut at a team meeting on Thursday afternoon, before Saturday’s round seven clash against Richmond.

 “It was a huge surprise, was really not expecting it at all, I was so excited,” she said.

“It’s like a literal dream come true, growing up watching West Coast, I never thought I’d actually be able to be a part of a team that I’ve always supported, so it was a dream.

“My parents have always fully supported West Coast as well so it was an amazing experience for them as well.

“It was so awesome running out with the Eagles, my sister and a few mates made posters and everyone could hear them cheering, it was so surreal, it was really great being supported by everyone.”

Bennett performed well across the day with five disposals, six tackles and two intercepts and was influential in West Coast’s defensive 50.

Crediting informal leader Evie Gooch and a number of other defenders for their support on the day, Bennett said she felt ‘comfortable’ with the pace and tempo of an AFLW match, in comparison to playing WAFLW for the Claremont Tigers.

“I thought I played alright, I felt pretty comfortable which is kind of surprising, but I felt like I held my own and did a few good things and I was really, really supported by everyone around me,” she said.

“I definitely felt so supported by the girls in the backline, including ‘Goochie’ (Evie Gooch), ‘B’ (Smith), ‘Hilly’ (Ashton Hill) and ‘Stubbs’ (Courtney Guard).

“They held me up and everything I did on the field I always got a cheer, so it was really good.

“It was also kind of crazy standing next to ‘Swanny’ (Emma Swanson) and running out alongside her.

“Also playing with all of the girls, that I’ve always seen on TV or seen as so much above me, it’s crazy.”

Bennett also played alongside her high school teacher in senior leader Parris Laurie.

“I was always told to learn from Evie Gooch when I was in the State team and used to be compared to her," she said.

“But also ‘Paz’ was my teacher at the end of high school so I definitely looked up to her.

“I was also really happy about all the supporters who came on the day, a lot of the people there had an influence on my career.

“I’m so happy I could prove to them that their time helping me has paid off.”