James Parsons has made a successful return to football after being sidelined with a broken foot.

The second-year rookie did not show any signs of soreness finishing with 16 disposals, five inside 50s and two goals.

“It’s good to be back, about eight weeks since the injury so feeling pretty confident,” Parsons said.

“(The foot) felt good. Thanks to all the physios and all the boys that have helped me out the past couple of weeks.

“It’s just good to be out there with the boys and get the win.”

The injury, suffered in early February, came at a bad time for Parsons who was feeling confident after a strong preseason.

Parsons had worked hard to increase his fitness base and his core strength before he was struck down.

“It was pretty frustrating, being at the end of a pretty hard running block for preseason,” he said.

“I had a pretty good aerobic capability but had to get stronger in the gym to compete with the bigger boys.”

Despite the setback, Parsons only missed two VFL practice matches and is looking to put it behind him as he turns his focus to playing his best football.

“It was a pretty quick recovery and its better it didn’t happen in round one, so hopefully I can get some games in and have a pretty consistent year,” Parsons said.

There is further motivation for Parsons as the possibility of playing AFL football could be sooner rather than later.

With Cory Gregson placed on the long-term injury list, there is an opportunity for a rookie to be elevated to the senior list in 2017.

Despite his strong first season at the club and a positive start to this year, the 19-year-old is not getting ahead of himself.

“There is opportunities and you have got to work hard for it but there is a few boys on the rookie list playing pretty well,” He said.

Having his name tossed up to be elevated shows how far Parsons has come since being drafted.

Parsons credits his improvement to the guidance he has received from senior AFL players such as Mitch Duncan and Steven Motlop.

“The half forwards and a few of the mids that play similar roles to me all help out,” He said.

“They have all got the mindset that if they make me better, it gets them better and gets the team wins.”

Although the carrot of playing AFL football will always be dangling in front of Parsons, he will first look to develop his game further with the VFL side.

After playing 16 games last year, Parsons believes he has enough experience to help the younger players in the Cats’ VFL system.

“The VFL boys are all pretty smart players but there are a few young boys coming into the side, they are all willing to learn so it makes it easy for us.

“We know the structures because we are here every day so (leadership) is definitely one of our roles, especially going through the midfield with some of the young boys coming out of the TAC Cup,” Parsons said.

VFL Coach Shane O’Bree has been impressed with Parsons’ consistency and believes he can play at the top level with continual improvement.

“(Parsons) is one of those guys who does a hell of a lot of work on his game whether its education or craft work,” O’Bree said.

“His preseason form was really good, he’s just got to show it on the park now in VFL games.

“He’s just got to keep putting the games together and you never know what might happen.”