DARCY Lang emerged unscathed from his first game of 2018 yesterday afternoon.
The new Carlton recruit featured for the Northern Blues on Saturday, collecting 17 disposals in a loss to Port Melbourne.
It was Lang’s return match after missing the opening of the season due to an ankle injury.
Speaking post-match, Lang said he was pleased to get through the game from an individual perspective.
“It was good to have a run around — clearly it was a disappointing result, but to get through four quarters and get a few kicks was nice,” Lang said.
“The ankle’s fine, I got through with no worries so happy days there.”
Darcy Lang in action during his return. (Photo: Ashley Perez)
Josh Fraser paid credit to Lang, with the VFL senior coach saying the new recruit had made an impact throughout the match despite the lengthy injury layoff.
“Having had an interrupted preparation leading in, it was fantastic to see Darcy back in the fold," Fraser said.
“He competed well and ran really hard over the course of the day, and he’ll keep getting better from here.
“It’s a testament to the high performance team at Carlton that he was fit and firing and ready to go after a fair amount of time out.”
Lang spent the majority of the game in the midfield and played his role in the early going, as the Blues took the game to the reigning premiers before Port kicked away.
After ticking the first game off for the year, Lang said he was focused on getting some continuity and consistency into his game.
“I was in and out of the game a little bit, I would’ve liked to have had a bit more of an impact,” Lang said.
“For my first game back after a little while, it was a starting point but I’m looking to build from here.
“It always takes a little bit of time to get to know how everyone plays, we showed some positive signs in the second quarter.”
The 22-year-old has his eyes on a Carlton debut whenever that comes, with his last AFL game coming in the 2017 Preliminary Final with Geelong over seven months ago.
“Things depend on selection next week — from my end, it’s just about playing to the system and building some form from here,” Lang said.
“Also building my match fitness: obviously that’s a little down after a bit of time out, so it’s something to keep building on.”
The Northern Blues take on Frankston next weekend from SkyBus Stadium (Frankston Oval) on Saturday from 2pm.
