IN HIS first game of the 2025 campaign, Marc Pittonet and the Carlton Reserves were unfortunately on the end of a two-point defeat to North Melbourne.

But on the whole, the returning ruckman couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face in a solid individual return from a calf injury.

Named in the coaches’ best players come the end of the game, Pittonet had 17 disposals and a game-high six clearances, throwing his weight around and supporting his younger teammates.

Speaking post-match, Pittonet was delighted to get through unscathed following a frustrating run.

“So much fun. It was so nice to play football, to be honest,” Pittonet said.

“I was flat because I was ready to go last week, but we had the VFL bye which killed me. I wanted to play local but they wouldn’t let me, couldn’t work out why!

“I’ve been good to go for a couple of weeks, so it’s been good to get the legs under me. I had a full pre-season before I unfortunately did the calf, which was the first time I had done a full pre-season up to that point for a couple of years.”

Pittonet admitted that he worked into the game, standing up late as the game started to get away from the Blues before falling just short despite having the breeze at their backs in the final term.

For Pittonet personally, the opportunity to get through four quarters and continue to build back up was a welcome sight - but attention soon turns to a VFL/AFL double against the Cats this Sunday.

“I feel like I worked into the game: the difference from start to finish were worlds apart for me.

“I feel really good - strong and fit. I’ve just got to get that four-quarter intensity behind me now and keep trying to build that fitness… I was cramping in the last quarter - 30 degrees didn’t help!

“I’ll just keep building out the rest of my game and building the layers. As the game went, the ruck work started to get going, clearance work started to get going and the aerial stuff started to improve.”