It will be an evening of firsts when Richmond hosts West Coast on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium.

Jade Rawlings' first match as Richmond coach.

Ben Cousins' first encounter against the team he rose so high with. Before falling even further.

And the first game at the highest level for the best two ruck-forward prospects from the 2008 national draft - Nic Naitanui and Ty Vickery.

Expectations are always massive for first-round draftees at clubs at the foot of the ladder.

Especially when they're 200cm tall - as is the case with both Naitanui and Vickery, who have been squaring off against each other throughout their stellar junior careers.

Both are likely to spend much of their time up forward on Saturday night.

But there's every chance the pair will cross paths in the ruck at some stage.

The 19-year-old Vickery looked composed speaking to the media on Thursday, a couple of days before his AFL debut.

He will benefit from playing his first senior match under the tutelage of Rawlings, who has been his coach at VFL level for the first half of 2009.

And if he needs any further advice he can always turn to father John, a former Collingwood player who is now the strength and conditioning coach at Punt Rd.

"I've played consistent football in the last month for Coburg, the gap between my best and my worst has been much less and hopefully I can continue that at the higher level," said Vickery.

"Jade has been really good at Coburg with me and the younger guys over the first half of the year.

"For him to be now coaching at AFL level and me playing will make it pretty easy.

"I know what he expects, I know how he coaches.

"He's got a very good temperament, he handles crises well, he keeps a clear head."

The only previous time Vickery and Naitanui squared off at Etihad Stadium was in last year's national Under-18 championships, when Vickery played a key role in Vic Metro's win over Western Australia.

Naitanui was also impressive on that occasion, helping prompt the Eagles to select him at No.2 in the national draft, six picks before Richmond snared Vickery.

The big Tiger lists decision-making among his playing attributes.

"When I've got the ball I pride myself on not turning it over," he said.

"Also my athleticism, for my height I'm able to match it in speed and agility with players much smaller than me."

The dreadlocked Vickery's inclusion for Saturday's match was part of a clear changing of the guard under caretaker coach Rawlings.

Also into the side were four other players aged 22 or under - Shane Edwards, Robin Nahas, Angus Graham and Tom Hislop.

The five omissions were all much older players, including 30-somethings Troy Simmonds and Joel Bowden.

Mark Coughlan, Jordan McMahon and Kayne Pettifer were also omitted.

The Eagles recalled Daniel Kerr from suspension, along with David Wirrpanda and Naitanui.

Andrew Embley and Adam Hunter were both unavailable due to injury, while young forward Ben McKinley was omitted.

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