Jack Murchie has been on the fringes of making his debut for a number of weeks now and he finally got his crack in the round 19 matchup against the Cronulla Sharks.
Murchie, a Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs junior, has been a standout in the Intrust Super Premiership for the Mounties this season and has been knocking on the door for an NRL debut for a number of weeks.
Regularly named at 18th man this season left Murchie hungry to fight that little bit harder to grab his first Raiders jersey with both hands.
"I'd been 18th man a few times leading up to it so I knew I was pretty close," Murchie said.
"It was definitely a real special moment for me when I was in there at the captain's run and Ricky announced it.
"It was awesome."
Murchie progressed through the Raiders junior systems and has been a regular starter in the back row for the Mounties when he hasn't had to travel with the NRL team.
The 21-year-old got an extended run in the second half of the Sharks clash and didn't take long to notice the difference of the NRL level.
"It was definitely really quick and I was blowing a little bit there at stages but I certainly enjoyed it out there."
A taste of NRL action has left him hungry for more and will be hoping to perform well if given another chance this season.
"It's obviously the goal to get out there and try and play regular first grade but I was happy with my first game and hopefully I can build on that in the coming weeks."
