THERE'S a moment at the end of Nick Madden's debut announcement video at Greater Western Sydney where you can see the enormity of the achievement hitting him.
After all the usual hoopla and carry-on from teammates and a quick speech, the hulking ruck lets out a deep breath before his eyes seemingly well up, just a touch.
It is then when it all looks to have dawned on the 21-year-old.
His journey from the tiny town of Osborne in the New South Wales Riverina region as a self-proclaimed chubby kid, all the way through to the big time.
An injury to Keiren Briggs opened up a spot and after a strong season in the VFL, Madden was given his moment against Port Adelaide in Canberra.
After nearly three years of toiling away and trying to shape up – literally - as a rookie list pick, he finally had his chance.
"It was sort of 50-50 that afternoon, I didn't know if I was going to play or not but once it got read out, I was pretty proud. I got pretty emotional because it meant a fair bit," Madden told AFL.com.au this week.
"Growing up, I was sort of a chubby kid, so I had to work pretty hard to get into some decent shape to play. I had a couple of injuries along the way also which set me back a fair bit.
"Coming in (to the AFL system), I thought I'll look a bit similar (fitness wise). But to be honest, I was not in any way.
"That first pre-season was a lot of hard work, and it was good to figure out what hard work actually was. I've come a long way with the help of Mel our dietitian. I've sent her a lot of photos of my food. It's been good getting my head around all that stuff."
Crucially, when his big moment came, Madden took his chance.
The team performance in the loss to Port may have been another source of frustration this season for the Giants but their new ponytailed ruck looked the part.
He finished with 26 hitouts and 15 touches from just 60 per cent of game time and was one of the Giants' few positives from a disappointing outing.
"I definitely knew I was playing AFL and not VFL by the end of the first quarter. But I felt like I belonged, so it was good," Madden said.
"A few days on it's been good to reflect and realise how significant it is. I probably got caught up in the loss a bit and didn't enjoy it as much as I should have.
"We were level with them on clearance and stoppage so that was definitely a positive, my follow-up around the ground was pretty good. I didn't think I went too bad, but there's plenty of room to grow."
For coach Adam Kingsley, Madden has filled what he perceived in pre-season to be a hole in his side's list, the lack of a bonafide back-up ruck to Briggs.
Matt Flynn fled to West Coast at the end of 2023 for greater opportunities and while Lachie Keefe can do a job, he hadn't truly been replaced.
Madden has now stepped up to fill the void and if he continues to impress against Brisbane at the Gabba and then Gold Coast next week while Briggs is out, his coach hasn't ruled out opportunities for him as the Giants' genuine No.1.
"Depends how well he plays. You don't change a winning team as they say, and while that might not necessarily be true, what we're finding out is that maybe we've got a whole lot more than just Kieren. Hopefully as a consequence they'll all improve," Kingsley said.
There is only respect for Briggs from his protégé, who cites him as a key mentor in his development along with ruck coach Shane Mumford.
"Obviously, it's a long-term goal (to be a No.1 ruck), I know it might not be realistic this year to play the rest of the season, but for the next couple weeks I'll be trying to contribute as much as I can," he said.
"The general consensus is that it's anyone's spot but Briggsy is obviously a very good player and he's going to come back in ripping shape."
For now, Madden is simply focused on trying to counter the Lions and premiership ruck Darcy Fort as the Giants search for another big away win to stay in the top eight.
"I'm very excited. It's one of the toughest tasks in footy, going up there. I'm just keen to get there, challenge them and get a win for the team," he said.
