During an early season VFL match against Collingwood at Victoria Park, Toby McLean showed glimpses of what he was capable of when he calmly slotted an impossible goal directly in front of a packed Bob Rose Stand at a crucial point in the game.

The goal immediately changed the tone of the match and kick-started a pulsating Footscray comeback that fell just short, but it was a moment that Bulldogs fans would have marked in their calendar as the day they began to take notice of the game-breaking abilities of the former Oakleigh Charger.

By round 10, McLean was in the senior side after a string of impressive VFL performances, the fourth of eight debutants for the season.

“The week before we played Frankston in the VFL and I played ok.  The following Thursday Bevo took me into his office and told me I was playing.  I called Mum straight away and she was over the moon”, McLean said.

“It was a long build up, I think it was a seven o’clock game, so it was a long wait. 

“I was the sub as well, so it was an even longer wait, and I didn’t get on until three quarter time, but when I did it was awesome.”

While the scouting report on McLean was that he was crafty around goal and possessed an exceptional leap and marking abilities for his size, the defensive side of his game was equally impressive, if overshadowed by the highlight reel plays.

According to statistics collated by Champion Data for the 2016 AFL: Prospectus, the 20-year-old McLean rated elite (top 10% in his position) for not just marks and score assists inside the forward 50, but for forward 50 tackles as well.

McLean said that continuing to work hard on the other side of the ball is what Bulldogs football is all about.

“As a forward group we all pride ourselves on our defensive game,” he said.

“The more pressure we have inside our forward 50, the more likeliness of us scoring a goal.”

A serious shoulder injury suffered against Carlton in his fourth game sidelined him until late in the season, but McLean was philosophical about how his first season of League football panned out.

“It was a little bit frustrating, but I was more happy than sad because I’d had my four games not knowing if I’d play even one, so I looked at it as a positive rather than a negative.”

“All in all I was happy with my first year.  To play four AFL games, I was quite happy with the way I went.”