Sydney captain Callum Mills wouldn't want to do another long stint on the sidelines with injury, but he admits he found "gold" along the way to his AFL return.
Eight months after undergoing surgery for a shoulder injury, Mills crossed the white line against North Melbourne for his first AFL game of the season at the SCG on Saturday.
The one-time All-Australian midfielder had 12 touches and kicked a goal as the Swans handed the Kangaroos a 79-point clobbering.
He admits the road to Saturday's return had been long and, at times, bleak.
Told he would miss at least half of the AFL season after damaging the rotator cuff in his left shoulder in September, Mills' return was set back further when he injured his calf in April.
"I was pretty low, very low," Mills said of the initial prognosis.
"I just thought that I'm going to somehow find gold in it and try my best to get whatever I can out of it.
"It's been a long journey, but the footy club has been super supportive and that's been amazing for me personally."
Asked about the "gold'' he found, Mills said: "You just see things from a different perspective.
"You can get caught up in the hustle and bustle of footy pretty easily.
"To be able to help younger guys and help develop that next group has been something that I've really enjoyed ... just adding different tools to my kit bag with leadership and even footy-wise."
Saturday's match was also the first time Mills has led his club on-field as captain.
After co-leading with Luke Parker last season, the 27-year-old was made the sole captain in February - the first since Josh Kennedy in 2018.
Parker also made his return to the AFL from injury alongside Mills, kicking two goals.
"It was a big week, bit of emotions leading up to the game, a bit of back and forth between physios, coaches and whether I'd play in the ones (AFL) or twos (VFL)," Mills said.
"I managed to scrape through to the ones, which is nice.
"I kind of wanted to just get this game over and done with and get it under my belt, as weird as that sounds, but I was able to soak it up running out, and that was really special.
"After that it was like, 'Right, OK, let's get this game done, let's play how we want to play', and I was just relieved when the siren went."
