THERE is something incongruous about interviewing a player after they have performed well in their first game and hearing them mention that they hope to add some leadership to a young group.  

Such are the different circumstances surrounding Adelaide's Ian Callinan, who played his first AFL game on Sunday against Geelong as a 28-year-old.

He didn't look out of place on the big stage either, winning 21 possessions, two centre clearances, kicking a goal and being genuinely competitive around the ball whenever it was in his vicinity.

But it was when the performance was matched with the path that the story of his day became something special.

"It is something I have dreamed about my whole life," said Callinan.

The winding path for the mature aged rookie who supported Geelong as a youngster included trying out with Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond and North Melbourne, winning the 2005 J.J.Liston Trophy playing for Tasmania in the VFL and then last season winning the Jack Oatey Medal for best afield in the 2010 SANFL Grand Final playing for Central District.

As if to underline the years it has taken him to get to this point, Callinan recalled he had previously played against Geelong's Paul Chapman in the VFL before Chapman became a household name.

Callinan was placed on Adelaide's rookie list at the end of 2010 and his hope was alive again. But just when the dream appeared about to become a reality, he tore a biceps tendon in a NAB Challenge match in the pre-season and was sidelined when the season began.

But he kept persisting and Neil Craig gave him his chance. The coach was pleased he did too, describing his effort on debut as very, very good.

"He hasn't made it yet. It's his first game. I really enjoyed what I saw," Craig said.

Callinan's debut does not make him the oldest player to debut for Adelaide. David Marshall played in Adelaide's first game in round one, 1991, aged 30 years and 264 days. He went on to play 26 games.

The Cats' own late bloomer, James Podsiadly, played his first senior game last season as a 28-year-old, after treading a path similar to the number 37 for the Crows.

Everyone admires Callinan because it takes a real footballer to stick at it when the knockbacks keep coming. And that is what Callinan appears to be, picking up the tempo of the game quickly to gather seven disposals in the first quarter when Geelong was all over Adelaide.

He was thrown in the middle, moving into the centre square for bounces more often than he expected and was one of the reasons the Crows figures in that area were good.

"He (Neil Craig) said I may get some time in there (and) it was good to get the opportunity in there," Callinan said.

He was in a tough position after the game, happy with his own performance but knowing that the team had performed poorly.

There's not a lot to say in those circumstances but his smile was genuine and his responses earthy and considered. It was a bright light for all in an otherwise gloomy day for Crows' fans.

The goal in the last quarter just topped it off, a set shot that surely will sit in the memory bank for a long time to come.

But Callinan was not getting carried away. He is a footballer's footballer after all.

"(It's) good to kick a goal but when you are 10 goals down it doesn't really mean much," he said.