BACK IN the AFL fold this weekend, Carlton ruckman Marc Pittonet has been tracking along nicely since returning from injury through the VFL.

Pittonet ruptured his PCL against Fremantle in Round 6 of the AFL during a collision in a ruck contest.

However, the Blues’ No.27 was feeling positive about how his body held up on the weekend in his second consecutive VFL match, despite the harsh weather conditions.

“I don’t mind the rain: there were a nice amount of opportunities for a bit of physicality, to hit some bodies. [It was] all good fun,” he said.

“It was nice for the run, I just had so much fun out there and the body felt good.”

Over the past fortnight Pittonet has averaged 29 hitouts and seven clearances in back-to-back wins for the Carlton Reserves who continue to push for a place in the VFL finals series.

Linking up with the VFL side for the first time throughout the last fortnight, the 26-year-old was impressed with how the reserves side stuck to the task in their 37-point win over GWS on Saturday night.

“It was a really good win for the boys, and important obviously coming into the back-end of the year,” he said.

“It was a grind of a game early. Overall, the boys just did a good job of really digging in especially as the second half opened up and we really showed our ascension.”

As for his own performance, the 104kg ruckman had a clear focus on throwing his weight around.

Marc Pittonet loved the chance to fly the flag for his teammates at VFL level.

“I wanted to hit lots of bodies … just crashing contests, big fists, hitting everything with power and being a presence,” he said.

Having been on the sidelines for close to three months, Pittonet had unsurprisingly been keeping a keen eye on the Blues’ AFL and VFL programs.

As someone who has previously spoken about his love for being out there playing football each week, his response about how he has dealt with being on the sidelines wouldn’t surprise many.

02:31

VFL R17 | McGovern and Pittonet return

Watch some of the best highlights from Mitch McGovern and Marc Pittonet in both their return to action.

“It’s been killing me!

“As anyone would say, I love football so I’ve just loved being back out there. Even coming back at VFL level, you see some of the guys I’ve been watching more and more.”

Tarquin Oakley is a student at La Trobe University, undergoing his Bachelor of Media and Communications (Sports Journalism). He is currently undertaking an internship at the Carlton Football Club as part of its partnership with La Trobe University.