'Super proud of him': Dream senior football debut for teenager

The 16-year-old, who captains the club's under 18 team, played his role expertly in a heart-stopping 9.8 (62) to 8.9 (57) win against Merrivale on Saturday, April 27.

The victory was the Cats' first against Merrivale since 2016 and sees them sitting at the top of the table, undefeated from four Warrnambool and District league rounds.

Cats coach Tim Nowell liked what he saw from the debutant, who played on the wing and in the forward line.

"He's only 16 years of age, first senior game and to come in and make some pretty pivotal decisions and take some good marks and hit those contests as hard as he did for a 16-year-old, (I'm) super proud of him," he told The Standard.

Van Rooy, fresh from being showered with drink-bottle water by his teammates and belting out the Cats' song, said he was "pumped" with the result and was happy with his performance.

"That last quarter was electric," he said.

"I got told what to do and I tried to execute that as well as I could. I reckon I did pretty well."

Van Rooy's early-season senior debut follows a successful 2023 campaign where he co-captained the Cats' under 15 outfit to a grand final.

The teenager relished being part of the senior environment.

"There are mentors everywhere, everyone gets around you when you do something wrong, everyone gets around you when you do something right," he said.

"It's constructive criticism everywhere, it's a really good place to be."