YOU would have been hard pressed to find anyone at Alberton last week that wasn’t excited to hear the news that Sam Hayes would be making his AFL debut against Carlton.

A popular figure around the club, with a resilient story of fighting back from a major knee injury in his first year on the list, social media lit up over the weekend with teammates sharing the news on their own channels as Hayes’ inclusion brought a silver lining to the body blow of losing Scott Lycett (shoulder) and Ollie Wines (illness) at the selection table.

His first game at the top level won’t be one he forgets anytime soon either.

Port Adelaide limped out of the blocks before storming home from a 50-point first-half deficit to fall agonisingly short of claiming its first win of 2022, going down 13.13 (91) to 14.10 (94) at the MCG.

A pragmatic Hayes left Melbourne with mixed emotions. The big man didn’t shy away from the disappointment of defeat, but couldn’t help but be pleased to crack a game in the seniors.

“It was awesome to get out there with the boys and finally debut,” Hayes told portadelaidefc.com.au in the rooms post-game. “Really good despite the loss.”

“I soaked up every minute and I really enjoyed running out there with the boys.

“I’m going to learn a lot and watch some vision this week with Matthew Lobbe and keep learning and growing.”

Carlton burst out of the blocks, booting six goals to two in each of the first two quarters, setting up a serious deficit for the Power to chase down in the second half.

That is where the major disappointment lay in the immediate aftermath of the game according to Hayes, with Port left to lament what could have been with a better start. Even more frustrating for the players and coaches was knowing the level they were capable of reaching in the second half.

“We spoke about our first half (in the post-match team meeting),” Hayes explained.

“We let them get a real head start there and you don’t want to be playing catch up.

“You saw from the second half that we had, we really went out there and stuck it to them and played a lot better than them.

“You saw in the second half the side that we can be.”

Much of the Blues’ early dominance came from the midfield, with Sam Walsh (38 disposals), George Hewett (33) and Adam Cerra (32) providing plenty of headaches around the stoppages.

Carlton won the clearances 38-33 (17-11 from centre) overall and were clearly the better team in the first half. According to Hayes, a greater focus on hunt and desire was key to turning the tide after halftime.

To his credit, Hayes was heavily involved in this improvement, registering 20 hit-outs in his debut and directing 11 of them to advantage as he shouldered the brunt of the work at the stoppages for Port.

“In the first half their mids were just outrunning us and getting on the outside,” he explained.

“We came together as the midfield group at halftime and said ‘I’m going get my hands on the ball and we’re just going to fight’.

“I thought we did that really well and it showed on the scoreboard and we were able to come back.

“It was just that first half. We want to put a four-quarter game together to give ourselves the best chance (of winning).”

All attention must now turn to Port’s clash with West Coast next Saturday at Adelaide Oval.

ANZAC Round is a time that holds much significance to the entire Port Adelaide community given the club’s strong links to the defence force, and Hayes says the playing group and coaches are determined to return to winning ways and get their season back on track.

“We’re just going to be keeping the training standards high and (focus on) recovering really well for the short turnaround,” he said.

“(We will be) training really well and getting ready for a big clash against West Coast.”