NAKIA Cockatoo has a lot to learn.

He knows it. And Geelong knows it.

But Cats coach Chris Scott urged fans to stay the course with the 18-year-old first round draft pick, who made some crucial errors early in defence and was eventually subbed out of the game with just 10 disposals, including a couple that sailed out on the full.

“He’s going to be a special player but he has got a lot to learn,” Scott said of the supremely talented Cockatoo, who was taken with pick 10 by the Cats despite missing a lot of football in his previous two years in the Northern Territory.

“He has no fear, he’s fantastic in a contest for a first-year player and he is going to do some things that surprise us all, good and bad.

“We’re confident on the path that Nakia is on and we’d ask our supporters to be a little bit patient with guys who haven’t played much footy. Not only has he not played much AFL footy but in the two years prior to coming into the system he hardly played any footy either, so he is a work in progress but one that our supporters should be excited about.”

Cockatoo played just his sixth AFL game on Saturday night and lined up in defence, where he played a lot of his junior footy up north.

But the Swans worked the youngster over in the first term, successfully isolating him twice, which resulted in goals to Brandon Jack and Isaac Heeney, firstly when Cockatoo went to ground too easily, allowing Jack to run into an open goal, and secondly when Heeney outpointed him in a marking contest.

At quarter-time, Mathew Stokes offered some calming words of advice to his young team mate, who listened intently.

Ask anyone at Geelong and the message about Cockatoo is consistent: He listens and learns.

“I’ll give you a little bit of insight into our training,” Scott said. “We do a bit of one-on-one stuff and few players can beat him (Cockatoo) and for a first-year player that is a big wrap. I mean only a handful of players, he beats them consistently.

“If you’ve got that attribute as a defender generally you are going to be pretty safe.”

While Scott’s faith in Cockatoo as a long-term player for the Cats is steadfast, the coach did move the youngster away from the last line of defence after quarter-time.

He produced one electrifying run and bounce through the middle that ignited the Simonds Stadium crowd and gave a glimpse of what the club expects to see from him for many years to come.