Charlie Comben has been something of a mystery in his time at North Melbourne, with the 200-centimetre forward spending the bulk of his two years on the list on the sidelines.

Various stress fractures had ruled Comben out of competitive action for almost two full seasons, but that made his return in Saturday’s scratch match all the more satisfying.

With North’s unselected players combining with Essendon for the game, Comben booted four goals in just a half of football, with the big forward on minutes restrictions to ease him back into match action.

In all, he had seven shots on goal.

After so long on the sidelines, Comben says he’s pleased to have finally been able to run out onto the park.

“I was pretty nervous coming into that one, [I had] butterflies. [I was] excited, but nervous,” he told North Media.

“After so long out it’s just good to get back on the park and get through that one.

“I blew up early in the first quarter … [I’m] unfit as anything but I feel that good.”

An athletic marking target up forward, Comben’s goals didn’t fit the traditional mould of a key forward, with his first major coming courtesy of a holding the ball tackle on Brisbane livewire Callum Ah Chee.

With a successful half of football now in the books, the North number 30 says his mind is firmly focused on the next stage of his recovery.

“Getting that one early was a big weight off my shoulders … to get one early really set me up for the rest of the day, and it gave me a lot of confidence going into the second quarter,” he said.

“Game fitness will come. I’ve got a good base which I can just keep building on now. Nothing prepares you for a game but I’ll get there.

“I’m looking for a full game next week. I feel great so … hopefully a few games in the VFL so I can put my hand up to play seniors later in the year.”