IF KEY forward Cam Mooney's late withdrawal was the cloud hanging over Geelong last night at Telstra Dome, the silver lining was surely the return of Tom Lonergan.

Mooney pulled out of the match against Carlton due to a sore shoulder, opening a spot in the forward line for Lonergan to play his first match since round 21, 2006, when a heavy collision cost him a kidney.

Far from a certainty to play football again, 24-year-old Lonergan was part of Geelong's VFL premiership last year, but last night, he returned to AFL football in winning style in front of more than 46,000 people.

Lonergan finished with seven kicks, three marks and a goal, which came late in the third quarter after some inaccuracy in the opening term when he kicked three behinds.

Geelong coach Mark Thompson said it was great to see Lonergan back in the side.

"He was fantastic," he said.

"He was probably nervous at the start and if he had of kicked straight, he would have ended up four four (goals)."

Thompson spoke about Lonergan's courage in overcoming a shocking injury, coming back to the club that recruited him in 2002 and how respected he was among the players.

"He's a really likeable person around Geelong footy club and around the town, it's a great story and he'll certainly play again next week."

The coach was pleased with the way his side responded after last week's 86-point loss to Collingwood. "If we had of kicked better, we would have had a bigger lead at half-time, but overall, we played much better than we have for a long time."

When the Cats got on top in the second term, with two goals to Mathew Stokes and singles to Steve Johnson, Max Rooke and Darren Milburn, the Blues slowed the tempo of the game by holding the ball up in defence. The tactic didn't please the crowd, but quickly put the brakes on Geelong's momentum and helped the Blues reach the half-time break only 13 points behind.

After ending up on the wrong end of an 85-49 tackle count against the Magpies in round nine, Thompson said he was pleased with the Cats' ability to apply pressure on the Blues and finish the night with 81 tackles.

He said the return of ruckman Brad Ottens, back from a torn plantar fascia ligament in his foot, was also a big positive for the side.

"He probably didn't have the greatest influence on the game, but just his presence and the fact he was so excited about playing again gave us a big boost," Thompson said.

What began as a promising night for Carlton ended badly, with defender Paul Bower injuring his shoulder after he was crunched by two Geelong players and driven into the Telstra Dome surface.

The full extent of the injury will not be known until he has scans, but Blues coach Brett Ratten said he would miss next week.

While rueing the loss of another defender, Ratten was pleased with the debut of 21-year-old West Australian Dennis Armfield, who had 12 touches to half-time and finished the game with 23 disposals and four marks.

But Ratten said his side was "smashed" by the Cats after half-time.

"What Collingwood did to them last week, they did the flipside to us," he said.

"They hunted us up and that's why they're a good team."