Paul Hunter reckons his maiden AFL appearance was everything he imagined and more.

The 28-year-old made his long-awaited debut in the 2021 season opener as the Saints (13.8-86) overcame GWS (11.12-78) by eight points in a see-sawing encounter at a rain-soaked Giants Stadium on Sunday.

"It was a really good experience," Hunter told the Newcastle Herald on Monday.

"I've worked hard at trying to get it for a long time, so it was probably a bit of relief but also a lot of excitement as well. We've got a really good group of guys at St Kilda. It was a very good day and I was just happy we got the win, that was the main thing."

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Hunter admitted to being "pretty sore" and "pretty cooked" in the wake of his first outing in the country's top Aussie rules competition.

"I'm pretty sore. I got a few knocks and a good one early, but I suppose that's to be expected from your first AFL game and especially in those conditions," he said.

"They've got some tough inside mids so it was a good battle. It was a close one.

"We flew home [to Melbourne] last night and usually after a game I don't sleep too well because of the adrenaline and everything else, so I'm pretty cooked today to be honest."

Hunter said it was "really special" to have his parents and three siblings in the dressing sheds as he received his playing strip from Saints skipper Jarryn Geary.

There was more support in the stands, including former Warners Bay coach John Deitz who gave Hunter his Black Diamond Cup debut out of under 18s.

"We got 40 tickets but there was a bunch of other Warners Bay boys there as well all wearing Bulldogs jerseys," Hunter said.

"An aunty and uncle came down from Cairns, there was a family friend from South Australia, someone else flew up from Melbourne and then quite a few from Newcastle or further up. I'm very lucky to have had all of that support over the years."

On the field Hunter feels like he's got some room for improvement: "I didn't play my best game. I felt like I was impacting quite a few areas early, but I had a bit of a down day in the centre bounce."

It wrapped up a "whirlwind" period for Hunter, who only joined the Saints last month after he was delisted by the Adelaide Crows at the end of 2019.

The recent absence of Rowan Marshall (injury) and Paddy Ryder (personal leave) saw Hunter quickly become the No.1 ruck option for St Kilda.

"It's all just been a bit of a whirlwind. How quick this sort of happened, only being at the club for six weeks," he said.

St Kilda meets the Demons in round two.

Meanwhile, Maitland-born Isaac Heeney returned from a long injury lay-off with three goals in a 31-point victory for the Sydney Swans over the Lions in Brisbane on Saturday night.

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