WHEN Tom Jonas was told on Thursday night he would be making his AFL debut two days later on the MCG against Hawthorn, he was naturally excited.

However, in the same conversation with the coaching staff, he was told his role for the day would be to follow triple All Australian and Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge around all afternoon.

The 20-year-old elevated rookie, who made his SANFL debut for Norwood only last year, said the magnitude of the task was instantly daunting.

"I was pretty nervous but the coaches gave me the run down and said there wasn't going to be any tricks; he's just a good, solid player so it put my mind at ease a little bit," he said, after the game.

"I did a bit of work, a bit of preparation, and my game was alright.

"I thought he went off injured at some stage and I was sort of cheering but then he came back on.

"I was able to get a bit of it but in a game like that, it's obviously pretty tough to contain anyone and it's more of a learning experience than anything."

From the game as a whole there weren't many positives for the Power, which slumped to a 165-point loss that eclipsed last week's 138-point thumping by Collingwood and became the club's biggest-ever defeat.

Coach Matthew Primus outlined Jonas' performance, which restricted Hodge to 19 possessions - the least he's had since he had 15 against Geelong in round 12 - was one of a very few positives of the afternoon, along with the debut of forward John Butcher.

"Jonas showed us a little bit. He played on Hodge most of the day and he did a good job, and apart from that, that was about it," Primus said.

"I was really pleased with the way they went about it and they've got a long way to go but that was the start of a long career for us.

"I thought Butcher competed well on the ground as well but they showed a fair bit that they've got enough to survive at AFL level and prosper."

Jonas said it hadn't been the "best debut" and the afternoon had been pretty tough to stomach, as his side was held goalless in the first and last quarters and offered only a slight yelp in the third when the players were directed to simply stem the flow.

He admitted the post-match meeting, which locked supporters and media out of the rooms for a short period, had been "pretty solemn" and hadn't contained a whole lot of words.

"It was about when are we going to choose to do what we've been talking about, and when are we going to be committed to each other and the club," he said.

"We're on a bit of a journey and we didn't think it would be this hard but you're going to have those days.

"It was a bit of an onslaught and we couldn't really stop it.

"We didn't stick to our structures and that obviously cost us as it has in past weeks so we'll try and work on that throughout the week."

After picking up from Hodge the importance of reading the ball, as well as seeing how a player of his calibre knows where to run and learning how not to be reactive, Jonas says he hopes he can work on those traits over the final three weeks.

Still, he says any experience this year is a bonus having come to the club as recently as last December's NAB AFL Rookie Draft.

"Personally, I just hope I get a reasonable review from today's game and try and get a couple more games for the Power under my belt before the end of the year and then launch into a big pre-season," he said.

"I pinch myself sometimes. I've come from a fair way back; I just made my league debut for Norwood last year and I've been lucky enough to play here today.

"I've got to put my eyes ahead now and try and work on my own performance for the good of the team."