It was a positive return for Jed Anderson on Saturday, impressing in a VFL practice match on the comeback trail from thumb surgery.

“It was really good to be back out there, and to be playing with the boys is great,” Anderson told North Media.

“There’s a lot of energy coming out of the club at the moment and to get out there with the 26 other boys was really fun and exciting.”

Anderson was among the best players in the hit-out, providing strength in the contest and bringing a hard-nosed approach to the game.

“Being fairly strong over the ball, hitting the contest hard and getting on the move is what I base my game around, and it’s working out,” Anderson said.

“I’m getting the ball and getting it forward which is good.”

Spending much of the day in the midfield, Anderson rarely slowed down, and ran the game out well in the hot Melbourne sun.

“I worked a lot on my endurance in rehab, before Christmas in Utah and then continued to build into the back-end of pre-season and I’ve been working hard in the last few weeks,” he said.

As for his thumb, there’s no issue there.

“The thumb’s feeling fine,” Anderson said.  

“I gave it a few more extra weeks just to make sure it was all good to go.

“I take a fair bit of confidence out of that and I can’t wait to get into next week.”

The 24-year-old is now looking forward to the remainder of North’s VFL practice matches, and is ready to make it back to the AFL arena.

“I’ll just keep building over the next few weeks and get the call-up whenever Scotty’s ready, but I feel as though I’m playing good footy at the moment and training well.”