The 17-year-old made his first grade debut in a 10.11 (71) to 7.8 (50) win over the Dubbo Demons.

He admitted there were a few nerves before the first bounce.

"Me being so young and being given the opportunity to rise up through the ranks feels great," McFarlane, who has been at the club for the past nine years said.

"At the moment I'm still finding my exact position. I've been doing pretty well up in the forward pockets to get the crumbs off everyone and just snap it in. I'm not the biggest of people but [coach Dean Price] felt I was good enough."

Although he kicked three behinds and didn't manage to bag that maiden goal, McFarlane was pleased with his performance.

"I'm still settling into the team and I got heaps of experience on the weekend," he said.

"I think I meshed with everyone by the end and started playing a bit better."

The win marked the second for the Tigers on the season, both against the Demons.

Fair to say that McFarlane believes it will only get better from here.

"It's probably going to be one of the best seasons ever," he said.

"This year has been a lot more inclusive of everyone and we've joined everyone together.

"I hope to continue playing for firsts and even if I don't play for firsts I'm really happy to play ressies and continue to grow with everyone."

Coach Price said it was the teenager's dedication to training that earned him the call-up.

"Rowan came to me at the start of the year and said he just wanted to play ressies, was fresh out of juniors and didn't quite know what seniors was all about," Price said.

"He was definitely a guy that was just sitting there, just out of the team and that was purely because his preference was to play ressies.

"Once I had a chat to him and said he has been putting in the hard yards and committing, I asked if he would like his chance and his eyes really lit up and was excited.

"I'm all about promoting a guy that has put in the hard yards to earn a spot in my ones squad. He's going to be someone that's in my top 22 going forward."

McFarlane wasn't the only Tiger to debut on Saturday either. Elliot Tom was listed as the emergency reserve, but a couple of late drop outs saw Price hand the youngster his first game as well.

The second grade Tigers side wasn't so fortunate in Dubbo, falling to the Demons 8.13 (61) to 5.8 (38).

The women also lost to a score of 15.11 (101) to 0.1 (1).

The first grade and women will host the Bathurst Giants this Saturday, with seconds hosting the Bushrangers.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: