A do-or-die elimination final, in front of a sell-out crowd at The Gabba against Richmond – who have won three of the last five premierships.

Brisbane Lions youngster Darcy Wilmot understands that’s the scenario in which he will make his AFL debut on Thursday night. Is he overwhelmed? Not if you ask him.

“It’s a huge chance,” Wilmot said as he embraces the occasion.

“Always stay ready, as you just never know when you’ll get your chance.

“I just knew that when an opportunity came, I was definitely ready for it and would grab it.

“I thought I had opportunities throughout the season but coming to the end of it and our team being pretty healthy, I was pretty happy to accept that it might not happen. Though I would keep working hard just in case that one per cent turned my way – which it did.”

Wilmot, the club’s first pick in the 2021 draft, potentially would have made his debut earlier had it not been for suspension and COVID-19.

Though when senior coach Chris Fagan called the 18-year-old at the end of last week to tell him that his wait was over, the young Lion still experienced a rollercoaster of emotions.

“A lot of relief, a lot of excitement and nerves all in the one moment… bit of butterflies in the stomach. But more just excited that I was getting an opportunity,” Wilson said.

“I think I preferred when they told me.

“It just gives you a little bit longer and lets it sink in and I can get more prepared mentally and also physically. Just not worrying about if I am going to play or not.”

The next phone call was always going to be the hardest for Wilmot – calling his mum.

When recounting the call to tell his family his childhood dream would now be a reality, even the promising defender himself appeared to get emotional.

“Oh gee, mum and my sisters were all crying and really happy for me,” he said.

“As soon as I told mum she just started crying and screaming on the phone.

“They are rapt for me and means a lot to them and my girlfriend and all my mates and family because they know what I have sacrificed and gone through and what they have gone through.

“Just to finally get that reward for what I have dreamed of.”

It’s a phone call and moment that’s hard to plan for – and in many ways it didn’t go the way Wilmot had envisioned.

“At first mum was shocking with it, I tried to be like ‘oh what are you doing next Thursday?’ and she’s like oh hang on I’ve got to pull up my calendar and she’s going through what she’s actually doing,” the debutant laughed.

“I was like ‘oh don’t worry you’ve just ruined the moment’.”

With the formalities out the way and most of his training completed, it’s now time for the line-breaking and naturally courageous half-back to take the field.

“Not a lot has been said, we have just gone through meetings and tried to approach it like that,” Wilmot explained.

“I am sure I will have a more personal talk in the lead up to the game, but at the moment it has just been team meetings and what we are trying to get out of it, our structures and how we play.”

Wilmot was taken with pick 16 in the 2021 National Draft having played his junior football at Montmorency, Hazel Glen College and Northern Knights under-18s.