With his parents and wife watching on, Leigh Adams made a courageous return to football on Saturday and turned in a near best-on-ground performance.

Playing for Werribee in the VFL, Adams collected 28 possessions and took 5 marks in three and a half quarters against Sandringham.

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The small forward and midfielder has been out of the game since the pre-season with concerns over his health and well-being following one too many heavy knocks to the head.

“The nerves were pretty much under control. Since I’ve had this injury it’s been good to just enjoy my footy again without having too much pressure placed on me,” Adams told NMFC.com.au after the final siren at Trevor Barker Oval.

While the Tigers went down to the home side, Adams was relieved to have made it through unscathed, although he admits there was one nervous moment.

“I just got a hit on the back of the head and because I haven’t copped anything like that for so long, it took me by surprise in a way. I felt my head to make sure everything was in the right place but it was all-good.”

When the incident occurred, Werribee medical staff sprinted to Adams’ side fearing the worst but they were thankfully waved away.

“I was fine. The first couple of contests are always interesting but once I copped a few knocks on the head it all started to come back to me,” Adams recalled.

“I laid a few tackles and really enjoyed being back out there.”

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While he collected a team high in disposals, Adams said it took some time to get going after spending the majority of the first quarter on the bench.

“In the first half, I would have been lucky to have eight touches. I didn’t pick the pace of the game up early and was really struggling.

“I was lucky enough to be switched onto the ball in the second half and get a bit of it.

“I felt in the second half, I was able to play footy the way I used to play. I was picking up where the ball was going and reading the play pretty well so the confidence came back.”

Adams said he was surprised he was able to run out the game so well.

“There were a few efforts there where I was out on my feet but the coach was really good at rotating me when I started to get a bit tired. My fitness wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

With Majak Daw and Daniel Currie in the ruck for Werribee, Adams was able to find his groove and notch up six clearances.

“Maj was really good today up forward and in the ruck. He had a really good advantage over their ruckman and came over to me and set up a few plays and put it right down my throat a few times.

“He was outstanding and the best on ground for sure.”

Despite a standout return, Adams knows it’s still a long way back to the AFL but he’s in no rush.

“If I’m being honest with myself, I looked at the fixture a few weeks back and thought I should get a good base of about three or four games before the bye.

“If there’s a spot there for me after that, then that would be fine but I’ll need a little bit of time that’s for sure.”