The Northern Blues Round 17 clash with Sandringham was a big match for the Blues, but an even bigger one for David Ellard. 

The 24-year-old played his first game since suffering a calf injury in May. 

It was a mighty comeback, Ellard amassed 29 touches and was named the Best On Ground. 

The showing was testament to the Western Australian's impressive work ethic – a level of dedication, which is admired by his teammates. 

The challenge now for Ellard is a return to Carlton's senior side.

We caught up with David Ellard, to ask him about his comeback. 

After a tough few months sidelined with injury, how does it feel to be back? 
After 13 weeks, it's great to be back playing – I felt pretty good on the weekend. You do come back with a few little doubts, on whether you can keep up with the speed of the game.  Fortunately for me, I was able to pick it up pretty early on and it was great getting a few touches. But I guess I wasn't too concerned about my fitness, because I knew that I had done the work.

Earlier in the week, your teammate Andrew Walker was on radio and said that he was inspired by your determination to get back on the footy field. How does it feel to hear that from one of Carlton's senior players?
It's great to hear that from your teammates, especially when you're out of the game for a long stint due to injury. To have a bit of reinforcement from the group in recognising how hard injured players work – it's a great feeling. It's a hard industry to stay in and I think that everyone puts in a lot of hard work, to make sure they give themselves the best chance. 

It's been a long road to get to where you are, talk us through it ...  
At the end of 2008, my rookie spot was still up in the air. I was given another chance to prove myself and I made the most of it. In 2009, I played every game with the Bullants (Carlton's former VFL affiliate). I didn't miss any games through injury or anything else. It was a pretty good year for me and I ended up winning the Bullants Best and Fairest. From there, it was really about continuing to believe in myself and believe that I could play. I've never stopped enjoying playing the game, which I think is a really big thing. I also tried not to worry about what I couldn't control and instead focused on making sure that I was doing the right thing - preparing well, playing well, and doing everything possible.  

You have an incredible attitude. Do you think that at times attitude is half the battle, when it comes to footy?
It's a big battle. I was fortunate enough that I worked as a carpenter for a good 18 months before I started playing. That was great life experience for me, to see how the real world works. Footy is a very demanding and mentally challenging game. But to train and play with a great bunch of blokes each week – it's a good spot to be in. 

I believe that you and your girlfriend have a business. Can you tell us a bit about that?
We do – it's called No Hassle Health. It's where you can order healthy lunch meals, like salads and soups. You order them online and we deliver them to your home or office. It's been great over the past few weeks while I've been injured – it's given me something other than footy to focus on. The business is also a great hobby on the side.

How important do you think it is to have a life off the footy field?
I think it's really important. Footy can take over your life so you need a release. I still continue to do a bit of carpentry work with Sammy Rowe – we're currently doing a bit of work at the home of one of our fitness coaches. Whenever I'm using the tools or doing something for the business, I don't think about footy. I find it really important to have that ability to switch off and focus on something else for a while.