After six months on the sidelines, just running out onto the field was a huge step for Oscar Junker.

The rookie-listed midfielder lined up for Werribee’s Development League team on Saturday, having broken his tibia in February.

“It was a difficult time but I’ve pushed through it,” Junker said of his extended stint in rehab.

“I did have a couple of setbacks due to the nature of my injury. We were really conservative with it all.”

The 19-year-old couldn’t contain his delight in being able to pick up a football again in some much-needed game time.

He lined up in the forward line, playing around 50 per cent of the match and gathering a handful of possessions.

“Just being out there on the field, running around with a few mates, it was just great to get back out there,” he said.

Junker knows that there is still plenty of work to do.

“I was a little bit rusty with my skills.  I probably didn’t get as much of the ball as I wanted, due to the limited game time that I had. It was a little bit difficult to get into the game,” he said.

Having already re-signed with North until the end of 2018, the 193cm midfielder is raring to get stuck into the pre-season, hoping to impress the coaches and extend his time at the club.

“I’ll be set for a big pre-season and hopefully I can use that to ramp up my game and get into playing fully-fit.”