After a difficult first year at Adelaide, Harry Dear was pleased to get off to a positive start in 2016.

Recruited with pick No.58 in the 2014 AFL National Draft, Dear spent most of his first season with the Crows on the sidelines. The powerfully-built forward dislocated his shoulder in the opening game of the Club’s 2015 SANFL season and required a reconstruction.

“It wasn’t very ideal. I did my shoulder in Round One, so missed out on the majority of the year,” Dear said.

“I managed to play four (SANFL) games towards the end of the year. It was tough. You just want to earn the respect of the boys and that’s pretty hard to do when you’re not out there playing games.”

Dear, 19, has performed strongly on the track this pre-season and was rewarded with his AFL Crows debut against West Coast at Unley Oval on Sunday.

The competitive, 197cm, 98kg, forward started in attack and also supported Sam Jacobs in the ruck.

He only collected a handful of possessions but presented strongly and kicked his first-ever AFL goal. Dear also made a spectacular making attempt on the wing, but a West Coast opponent was able to get hands on the ball.

The son of former premiership Hawk Paul, Dear said he was rapt to run out in his first AFL game.

“It was unreal. It was a good experience and I’ll never forget it,” he said.

“I didn’t miss one pre-season session … which was a big win for me. I felt a lot more confident going into a game today knowing that I had that behind me.

“It was good to get one game away.”

Dear has worked closely with Adelaide’s key-position players, as well as forward-turned-defensive coach James Podsiadly, to improve his game.

“Tex and ‘JJ’ (Jenkins) really help me out with the contested sort of stuff and leading patterns,” he said.

“And if you get it (the ball) to ground, you’ve got Eddie Betts there … and he makes you look good!

“‘Tals’ and ‘Harto’ and those bigger bodies really show what you need to do in games like this, so they teach you a fair bit too.”

Dear made his debut alongside good friend and housemate, Mitch McGovern.

The pair started in Adelaide’s attacking half at the opening bounce at Unley Oval.

Dear said it was nice to share the experience with McGovern, but added that he was keen to bring the third member of the household, ruckman Reilly O’Brien, into the fold.

“We didn’t get the full trio happening ... ‘Rob’ (O’Brien) unfortunately missed out,” Dear said.

“Mitch and I prepared together and drove together to the game. It was good having that bloke alongside you, feeling the same nerves ... and (having) someone to talk to.”