The teenager’s work load could increase again following Nathan Sobey’s departure and Damian Gray’s ongoing injury woes.

Osborne, 19, has been averaging seven minutes across his 11 Big V games this season.

He said he was learning to “control the floor, get everyone settled and run through the plays”.

“I just like the game. I like how it’s a team game and you can get everyone involved,” Osborne said.

“It’s just good having five on the court and five on the bench and having someone control you so close to the court.”

Osborne, who is completing a 12-month traineeship at Southwest Healthcare’s warehouse, will suit up for the Seahawks’ road double-header this weekend.

“It’ll be an interesting game on Saturday night against Whittlesea,” he said.

“They’ve got a lot of small guards and shooters, so we’ll probably have to lock down on defence. Melbourne Uni, it’s always a tough game against them. You don’t know what they’ve got and who they are just because a few of them are uni students.

“We’ve dropped a few games at home early on and we’ve dropped a few games on the road so we’ve got to start stringing along a few more wins to start pushing up the ladder and make the playoffs and hopefully grab a home final or a couple of home finals.”

The Mermaids face Whittlesea and Hawthorn Magic on the road.