Aiden Bonar's first taste of AFL was decidedly old school, but the GWS young gun had form when it came to exerting himself without the intervention of an interchange bench.
Bonar debuted on Sunday, when he kicked two goals as the Giants smacked Carlton by 105 points at Etihad Stadium.
The victory propelled GWS into the top four but came at a major cost, with Brett Deledio (calf), Dawson Simpson (ankle), Toby Greene (hamstring) and Sam Taylor (hamstring) all hurt.
It meant the Giants were down to 16 men on the field at times during the last quarter, with coach Leon Cameron trying to maintain calm amid the chaos.
"I came off late and was a bit tired. I was cramping," Bonar said.
"Leon just said take your time, there's only a couple of minutes left so don't burn yourself out.
"I had the pickle juice, Hydralyte and it was all good.
"The last two weeks in the NEAFL we actually haven't had a bench at times, so I was prepared I guess. It's weird that it panned out the same."
Bonar, GWS's first selection in last year's draft, admitted it was hard to watch Deledio suffer yet another setback.
It was the second game the pair played together. Deledio made a rare appearance in the reserves prior to his AFL comeback in round 18.
"Hopefully he does return this season. He should, it'll be good to see him come back," Bonar said.
"I've got so much respect for him. He helped me out a lot in that NEAFL game, just his communication and how professional he was."
The Giants are expected to provide an update on the injured quartet on Tuesday.
19-year-old Bonar's minutes have been carefully managed throughout this season, a product of two knee reconstructions during his junior career.
"I was just hoping to play football at any level this year, because I'd missed so much when I was 16 and 17," he said.
"I feel like I've got a lot of room for improvement."
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