The Dogs led at every change against Carlton, running away 11.11 (77) to 8.1 (59) winners after scores were level late in the game.

READ MORE SPORT:

The 22-year-old signed with the club this pre-season following great form as a key backman for Ballarat in the Ballarat Football Netball League.

Van De Heuvel told The Courier it was a nice plus to claim a win in his first game.

"It was a bit of a tight one in the end which was a bit stressful in the last quarter. I think we were up by about five goals and scores were level at about the 26-minute mark," he said.

"We ended up kicking two or three in the end to get a nice win."

Van De Heuvel played down back, picking up 11 touches and six marks.

"I thought I played my role pretty well, I was more just happy to get the win to be honest, it was more just about trying to do what I could do for the team to help them win," he said.

He has been a consistent figure in the Swans' line-up since 2016, playing 60 senior games.

He featured in their first three games of 2021, but was called up to the VFL at the weekend in place of Buku Khamis who made his AFL debut for the Bulldogs.

It's been a steady rise for the former St. Patrick's College student, the VFL the next step he didn't see coming.

"It was a big surprise, I was almost not going to answer the phone when I saw this random number come through, but it ended up being the Dogs," he said.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.

Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.