Trent Dumont will make his AFL debut on Sunday against Geelong after impressing with his form in the VFL for North Ballarat.

Dumont arrived at the club with the 30th pick in the 2013 National Draft. The South Australian caught the attention of recruiters after an excellent first half for Norwood in the SANFL Grand Final.

He had 17 disposals to half-time, and although a badly corked thigh meant his second half was quiet, Dumont still finished third in voting for best on ground. The SANFL high performance manager Brenton Phillips was high in praise for the teenager.

“Trent had a cracking grand final,” Phillips told Adelaide Now.

“His first half was quite outstanding for an 18-year-old kid at that level.

“He’s a good runner, strong, a good overhead mark, makes really good decisions with the ball and kicks it really nicely.”

Dumont settled into life as an AFL footballer quickly, and immediately had an impact with North Ballarat in the VFL.

He started the year winning his own ball as an inside midfielder, collecting 48 disposals in his first two games for the Roosters. However, even after his second ever game at VFL level, Dumont recognised the first area of his game that needed improvement.

“My efficiency by foot was poor," Dumont told NMFC.com.au in April 2014.

“I got enough of it and I was solid inside, but the kicking is something I’ve got to keep working on during the week.

“The improvement will come through repetitive kicking. It’s just about doing it again and again until it gets better.”

Dumont improved his kicking over the following weeks and continued to notch high-possession games for the Roosters. Still playing largely inside, the midfielder and his development coaches worked on adding another string to his game.

Dumont started to spend more time in the forward line, able to showcase his excellent marking ability. In addition to spending time in attack, his outside game came into focus.

“He's going to do a little extra conditioning over the next few weeks to help work on his outside game and his spread,” Development Manager Ben Dyer told NMFC.com.au in July last season.

Dumont himself was aware of not only the need to improve his fitness, but also the mental facet of his game.

“Obviously I’m going to get fitter with the program that we’ve got in place, but also mentally you’ve just got to be ready (to spread).

“It’s about being able to make the decision as quickly as possible. It’s improving but I’ve still got a long way to go before it’s at AFL standard.”

The next three weeks saw Dumont a regular fixture on the training track, putting in the hard work in aim of a senior call-up. After missing one VFL game due to the training block, he returned after the bye and turned in a clear best-on-ground performance.

Dumont collected 35 disposals, took 10 marks, put the ball inside 50 on 10 occasions and also kicked 3 goals. It was a showcase of everything he could do. He won the ball on the inside, was a presence forward and also won his fair share of ball on the outside.

Dumont finished the year off well with a particularly noteworthy performance coming against Port Melbourne, as he collected 33 disposals and 6 clearances. Although he was close to a senior debut, the excellent form of North made it tough to break into a midfield that was performing well.

A strong off-season for Dumont led to the 19-year-old being selected for North’s first NAB Challenge game back in his home state. Understandably, he was extremely keen to pull on the blue and white for the first time.

“It’s good to be taking on some real opposition and I’m sure it’s going to be competitive,” Dumont told NMFC.com.au leading into the match.

“It (pre-season) is quite long and strenuous on the body, so it’s definitely a relief and it’s exciting going in to this game with the season also coming up shortly.”

As it turned out, it was an excellent initiation for the teenager. Adelaide has turned out to be the surprise packet of the early 2015 season, based largely off its excellent pressure through the centre of the ground.

It was that pressure Dumont felt in his 81 per cent game time in Port Lincoln.

“The opposition’s a lot quicker than the VFL and it took me a little bit to get used to that pace,” he said.

“It took me a little while to get used to it. There were pretty solid bodies in there like (Rory) Sloane, (Nathan) Van Berlo and a few young guys.

“But if you can’t adapt and don’t get the ball, or you don’t get rid of it quick enough, you’re not going to have a good game.

“The whole match was a pretty positive experience.”

Dumont headed back to the VFL and continued to rack up the possessions. In North Ballarat’s season-opener, he collected 28 disposals, 13 tackles, 5 marks and 5 clearances.

That match was played in the rain at Eureka Stadium, conditions where Dumont has excelled in his 18 months as a Kangaroo. Coincidentally there is wet conditions expected at Simonds Stadium on Sunday - it may have played a role in his selection for an AFL debut.

But regardless of whether there’s sun, rain, hail, or anything in between for Dumont’s first AFL game, the high regard he is held in by the coach indicates he has a bright future.

"He’s a natural footballer, he’s a tough inside midfielder who can win his own ball and he’s a fierce tackler,” Brad Scott said on Thursday.

"He knows how to read the play and he’s worked really hard in the pre-season to get an opportunity."