Ciaran Byrne is looking to build some consistency after making a successful return from injury on Saturday for the Northern Blues.

Missing the last three months of football with a troublesome hamstring, it was a welcome return for Byrne who returned for his first game since his AFL debut in Round 3.

It was one of the shining lights for the Blues on an otherwise difficult day, going down by 24 points to Richmond at Preston City Oval in torrid conditions.

Byrne said while the result was disappointing, his return to football was a welcome relief after an unfortunate past couple of months.

“It was really good just to get out there with the boys and get a bit of a run - I played about 65 per cent game time so hopefully we can push that up a bit next week against Casey,” Byrne said.

“I think I went alright: there were probably a few defensive things I could’ve done better but I think going forward I used my legs as much as I could.”

Having been rewarded for a year’s worth of consistent performances in the VFL, Byrne’s injury came at the worst possible time - the week after his Carlton debut.

Byrne admitted that his time on the sidelines was made all the more difficult given he was constantly receiving bad news as a week-by-week proposition.

“It was disappointing, I had a few setbacks: I could’ve been back three weeks ago then pulled up sore,” Byrne said.

Making his return in the most trying of conditions on Saturday afternoon, Byrne would go on to accumulate 21 disposals in managed game time off half-back.

With his typical run and carry on full display at times in a tough, contested slog, Byrne said that his return from injury in a personal sense was a success.

“I’ve pulled up pretty good, it was good just to finally get out there after doing my hamstring in my AFL debut against Essendon in Round 3,” Byrne said.

“It was so good just to be back and get a taste of it.”

After making his long-awaited return from injury, Byrne will be looking to increase his workload in the coming weeks with a potential AFL recall in the offing.

“For me it’s just about being consistent now in the VFL which hopefully gets me a game in the AFL,” Byrne said.

“It could hopefully get me a couple of games in the back-end of the year, but for now I’m just concentrating on my VFL footy.”

Byrne’s next test will come at the weekend against the Casey Scorpions, with the Blues hoping to rebound from consecutive disappointing defeats.

“[This weekend] against Casey, we need to get the simple things right: look to switch the ball and basically go back to our basic skills and see how that works for us,” Byrne said.

The Blues will return to Ikon Park on Saturday, playing host to Casey from 2pm.