Nathan van Berlo admits to suffering a bout of pre-game nerves ahead of his long-awaited comeback in Adelaide’s NAB Challenge game against North Melbourne on Sunday.

The pre-season hit-out in Port Lincoln was van Berlo’s first match at any level since rupturing his Achilles tendon at training last January. The 28-year-old said he was just thrilled to be alongside his teammates again.

“I was nervous today. I was probably a bit toey all week, but I’ve managed to get one game under the belt,” van Berlo said.

“It was great being out there again. I’ve trained with the boys for the full pre-season. We all just couldn’t wait to go out and play footy together. The boys really enjoyed the challenge today and got the result, which was nice.”

After a 547-day wait between games, van Berlo was understandably rusty in the opening term, prompting a quiet word from coach Phil Walsh.

“I spoke to ‘VB’ at quarter-time. I thought he was trying a bit too hard,” Walsh said

“He gave away three free kicks (because he was overzealous) but it was really encouraging. I’m sure all our fans were rapt to see how he went today. I was really happy with VB’s performance. He’s trained really well all pre-season, so I expected something like that.

“He’s a good player. He’s been the captain of our Club and is a leader around the Club. He wants people to follow him in the direction we want to go, so it’s great to see him back up and about.”

The West Australian ran out the game strongly, finishing with 13 possessions, five inside 50ms and two clearances. Van Berlo said his workload was carefully managed in his first game back.

 “I started off on the bench each quarter, so I got to come in when the sting was out of it a bit. I had a couple of breaks too,” van Berlo said.

“I think I’ve pulled up pretty well, but I’ll let you know tomorrow when I’m probably a bit sore! I’ll recover from this game and, hopefully, look forward to a couple more before the season starts.”

Van Berlo also proved he’s lost no strength in his legs, kicking the only ‘super-goal’ of the game on the run from 60m out in the third quarter.

Adelaide players came from everywhere to celebrate with the popular and highly-respected Crow.

“It was pretty windy today, so I got a bit lucky I think,” a modest van Berlo said of his nine-pointer.

Van Berlo was one of a number of positives from Adelaide’s 10-point win over the Kangaroos.

Local lad Eddie Betts wowed his home crowd with four goals, while fellow Port Lincoln product Keenan Ramsey kicked a goal on debut.

Another first-gamer, Reilly O’Brien held his own in the ruck against Daniel Currie and Majak Daw, and first-gamers Jake Kelly, Sam Siggins and Harrison Wigg also showed glimpses.

“For those guys to get an opportunity to play at this level is real reward for effort for them. They’ve all had really good aspects at training and been itching for a chance,” van Berlo said.

“It was great for someone like Sam Siggins, who has been with us for a couple of years, to get his first crack and Jake Kelly as well. Keenan, Harrison Wigg and Reilly O’Brien came in and it was great to see them running around.

“You certainly remember your first game. I remember playing one of my first games for the Club here in Port Lincoln against Geelong many years ago now, so it brings back some good memories.”

The Crows led by seven goals in the third quarter, but North Melbourne finished strongly to be within 10 points when the final siren sounded.

Van Berlo said there were positives and negatives to take out of Phil Walsh’s first game as coach.

“I thought were some very encouraging signs from the boys today. They were really tough conditions out there. It was windy and a smaller ground to what we’re used to.

“I thought our defensive intensity around the contest was pretty good for most of the day. We wanted to try and bring the heat and we certainly did that in parts.”

“We’ll have a look at some vision, review what we did well and what we can improve on.”