The Tiger Army was eagerly awaiting the senior debut of exciting young forward Taj Hotton in the Round 18 clash with Essendon at the MCG, and he certainly didn’t disappoint.

Hotton had 10 disposals, with six contested possessions, three marks, three inside-50s, three score involvements, three intercepts, three tackles, 218 metres gained and kicked a goal, from just 56 percent of total game time.

He showcased his composure and class every time he went near the ball.

“One (game) for one (win)...I can’t believe it. It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Hotton told Fox Footy post-game.

“So grateful to be out here. Everyone down at Tigerland’s looked after me, helped me get back to the place I am now, given me confidence to come out and play.”

Hotton provided an insight into his first goal in AFL football, which occurred during the first quarter at the Punt Road end of the ground.

He took a superb mark inside the Tigers’ forward-50 area from a clever pass delivered by veteran teammate Dion Prestia and coolly converted the set shot.

“I was on the open side, and usually you get forgotten there. But luckily Dion’s a good player and he saw me,” Hotton said.

“Lined up and was pretty nervous but was able to put it through. I carried on a bit, the first time.”

Richmond coach Adem Yze was delighted with Hotton’s first-up appearance at the game’s highest level.

“Taj is obviously a super talent. The spotlight’s going to be on him because he is so good at footy, but we’ve just got to temper that,” Yze said in his post-match media conference.

“His game time was pretty low today. We’ll start to build that. He is a highly-talented kid and he does give the boys around him a bit of a spark.

“The things he does on the field are really hard to coach. It’s exciting for our footy club. The first step in hopefully a long journey.”