And the 21-year-old from Smithton won't have to wait long to put that into practice, with coach Luke Beveridge confirming in his very first team meeting on Tuesday that Gardner would be making his AFL debut in Sunday's clash with reigning premier West Coast at Optus Stadium.

Gardner was the Bulldogs' one and only pick in Monday's pre-season rookie draft, selected with pick six, having been right under the club's nose after putting in some strong performances for its VFL side Footscray.

It's a return to an AFL list for the key-position player after an absence of about eight months, and an opportunity he wasn't confident would come around again after Geelong delisted him in September having originally been the 59th pick in the 2015 national draft.

"It has been a real whirlwind for the last 24 hours or so, but it has been great, but I am just looking forward to getting stuck into it,'' Gardner told The Examiner on Tuesday.

"It felt pretty similar to when I first got drafted, but this time around I did feel I was more of a chance, as that first time I probably had no idea what was going to happen, but it was pretty similar.

"But this time around I do know what to expect the second time around having gone through it before."

Despite the close links with the AFL side, Gardner admitted it wasn't until just before Monday night's draft that he believed he would be wearing the red, white and blue at the highest level, but acknowledged there was still those familiar nerves as "you never know until your name is called out".

It also justified the decision to continue his football journey at Footscray after the Cats cut him loose after three years on their list, a period of time which failed to deliver a senior game.

He said he chose the VFL Bulldogs as he believed they would give him the best chance to get back on an AFL list due to the "how professional their program is there".

Tuesday's confirmation of his trip to Perth on Sunday backed up Gardner's belief that he would be in Beveridge's plans for this season, with the Dogs needing another key-position player after the retirement of Tom Boyd.

While thought of mainly as a defender at Geelong, the 197cm Gardner has been "Mr Versatile" at his new home, playing forward, back and in the ruck in the VFL, and would happily do the same from Sunday.

"I feel like I have worked hard enough to play in different positions, but I know I still have some hard work ahead of me,'' he said.

Gardner was originally drafted from the Burnie Dockers, but has strong footy roots in the Circular Head region having played with Redpa before making the move to the State League.