“IT felt bloody great.”

One of four new Blues to run out under Friday night lights, it was a fairytale debut for Vaomua Laloifi.

The No.52 selection in the 2019 NAB AFL Women’s Draft formed an integral part of Carlton’s backline structure in the 34-point win over Richmond

“It felt awesome, knowing that we did the work,” Laloifi said.

“I was quite pleased with our summer, so once you got out there the crowd and just the nerves kick in.”

“But you’ve got your teammates around you, so it felt bloody great.”

It was a nervous wait for the Laloifi, with the courageous defender finding out the news of her debut a week in advance.

“I found out that I was suiting up on Friday, so that night I didn’t really get much sleep,” she said.

“Throughout the week it wasn’t too bad and then obviously last night that’s when it started to really kick in.

“Just to walk in here and then just seeing the ground and seeing the fans rock up [was incredible].”

Holding down the fort in the backline, Laloifi was impactful in her first hitout with four disposals and two tackles.

It was all about structure for the young Blue, crediting an established team defence as the key behind Richmond’s inability to penetrate inside 50.

“We had a structure coming into the game and we wanted to execute it and I felt like we did that today,” she said.

“Our defensive coach ‘Sal’ [Steven Salopek], he’s really got us into a funnel. “So it’s just playing your role and trusting the process.”