CHARLIE Curnow emerged unscathed from his first hitout in his return from a knee injury.

Running out for the first time in over two years, Curnow got through his allotted game time in a reserves match simulation hitout at IKON Park on Sunday.

It was a step forward for Curnow, who will continue to ramp up his recovery in the coming weeks after a lengthy period away from the game.

Speaking on Sunday night, Senior Coach David Teague said it was a source of great joy for all at the Club to see Curnow back in action.

“He ran around and he was smiling: everyone was really happy to see him out there,” Teague said.

“He’ll get a lot of confidence out of it, so we’ll see how he pulls up in the recovery phase.

“It was a pleasing outing for him.”

Curnow kicked a goal from a set shot in the second term of the contest, while also flying for a mark in the final stages.

Teague maintained that it continued to be a week-by-week proposition for the forward, with game loads to continue to be built up.

“From a performance point of view, he was a little bit rusty,” he said.

“He went for one big grab late in the game: he didn’t quite mark it, but it was exciting to see him launch at the ball in the way that we know Charlie can.

“[In terms of] his work loads and what we required from a physical load, we got exactly what we wanted out of it.

“We have a lot of confidence and belief in Charlie: it’ll depend on how he pulls up from each game and we’ll take each week [as it comes].”