Tom Papley celebrates a goal with his Big V teammates in the State of Origin game. Picture: AFL Photos

COMBATIVE Sydney forward Tom Papley was anxious heading to Melbourne to link up with his Victoria teammates for last week's State of Origin for Bushfire Relief match against the All-Stars.

Papley wasn't overawed by the prospect of playing with and against the League's biggest names, nor did he lack confidence that he belonged on the field on such a massive occasion.

The 23-year-old, coming of a career-best 37-goal season in 2019, was more nervous about how he'd be welcomed in the Vics' camp.

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His energy and intensity make him the Swans' barometer on match day and you'll often see the small forward in the face of the opposition.

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Papley told AFL.com.au it's that part of his game that made him nervous in the lead-up to the one-off fixture.

"I'm usually a bit of an annoying little pr**k on the field so I wasn't too sure how the other players would treat me, but the guys were great," he said with a grin.

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"That's the big thing I got out of it, was getting to meet new players and I really enjoyed it.

"It was good to find out what they do outside of footy, how they warm up and just little things like that.

"Playing for the best, against the best was great fun.

"I've never pulled on the 'Big V' before, I didn't do it as a junior, so I was really grateful to get that honour, it was pretty cool.

"I'd definitely encourage the AFL to do it again."

Papley found himself inside the Vics' forward arc alongside stars such as Dustin Martin, Marcus Bontempelli, Toby Greene and Jeremy Cameron, and produced an outstanding individual effort.

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The speedster finished with a game-high five goals and got the home side going after the All-Stars threatened to blow the game open in the first term.

"Playing next to Dusty was an unreal experience, every time he went near the ball the crowd roared," he said.

"It wasn't only him though, there were so many stars on the field.

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"You just knew if you led for the footy it was going to get put right in front of your eyes.

"The half backs were pretty attacking which was nice, usually I have a defender up my backside most of the game.

"It was good to kick straight and get a few goals and go into the game on Monday with some real confidence, then take that in to round one."

Sydney badly missed Papley's influence – and that of injured goalkickers Lance Franklin, Isaac Heeney and Sam Reid, plus gun defenders Jake Lloyd (Victoria) and Callum Mills (All-Stars) – in last week's shock 94-point drubbing at the hands of the Giants, and he'll be a huge inclusion for the club's second match of the Marsh Community Series.

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The Swans take on North Melbourne in Hobart on Monday and after giving up 15 consecutive goals against Greater Western Sydney after quarter-time, Papley promised a response.

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"The Giants are a very good side and we just weren't up to it, but I have no doubt the boys will bounce back," he said.

"We need to get better and we will get better.

"It's better it happened now before the season starts so we can learn from it and fix it."