MATTHEW Kreuzer wasn't among the best players in Carlton's easy win over the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

But the 22-year-old, who hadn't played an AFL game since seriously injuring his knee in round 13 last year, was the talk of the change room afterwards.

"We knew he was going to be a little bit underdone," defender Jordan Russell said.

"But if anyone was going to come straight in and have an impact it's Kreuze.

"We're just very excited to have him out there. His second and third efforts are phenomenal. It doesn't matter whether he's been out of the game for a year or a week."

Kreuzer began the match at full-forward and spent some time in the ruck, ending the contest with 13 disposals, 12 hit-outs and three marks to his name.

"He's had three VFL games with the Northern Bullants, so we knew he was ready to come in and have a good crack at it," Russell added. "But it was still great to see him get through unscathed."

Blues coach Brett Ratten was full of praise for the returning big man.

"I thought he was a little bit slow at the start," Ratten said. "But he's a real grinder and he wills himself to the contest, so he's just going to get better."

Ratten was keen to point out that he saw Kreuzer do many things that failed to show up on the stats sheet.

"He'd hit five bodies, knock the ball out … but not get a possession. From that point of view, we're really pleased with how he went."

Carlton's coaching and fitness staff will now manage Kreuzer's workload throughout the remainder of the season.

"I think in the first week [in the VFL], we had to monitor it so that we didn’t blow him up and make it hard for him to get up the next week," Ratten said.

"We'll probably have to look at it through the journey to make sure we don't put too much pressure on him.

"But I think he's just a player that needs to play and be out there, so we'll try and play him as long as we can."