After 407 days between senior appearances, Nathan Kreuger didn't wait long to put his stamp on Collingwood's convincing King's Birthday win over Melbourne in front of over 80,000 fans on Monday.

The Ngarrindjeri and Noongar man kicked three majors in his first taste of AFL football since round seven of 2023 - and 10th career match overall, slotting into the defending premiers' forward line as cover for a growing injury list.

Kreuger got on the scoreboard early, converting from an inch-perfect inbound pass from Bobby Hill late in the opening term leading to a three goal to zip Pies lead heading into the first change.

The 24-year-old had a second before half time, and let his emotions run clear on kicking his third to cap off a strong performance over an inaccurate Dees outfit falling to their third loss in four weeks.

Collingwood ran out 14.5 (89) - 6.15 (51) winners to surge back into the top eight and one game off second-placed Carlton.

Speaking to club media post match, Kreuger was still coming to grips with the occasion.

"(I'm feeling) anxious, nervous, a bit of everything at the moment," the 24-year-old said.

"407 days is a long time. I didn't even know it was that long to be honest, but I was just so happy to come out and play on such a special day and to do it with guys I've been playing with for a while now, which makes it even better."

After an injury-interrupted start to 2024, Kreuger backed his resilience in overcoming moments of "woes" throughout his still young career.

His coach was also full of praise for his efforts on a successful day for the club.

"It was a really big game for him...He hasn't played much footy. He's been in and out - no continuity, and I know one thing you're gonna get from (Kreuger) is effort. We were really pleased with that," Collingwood coach Craig McRae said.

"Kreugs played his role really well."

Bobby Hill had an impact going forward despite not hitting the scoresheet.

Hill added plenty through defensive pressure in his side's ascendency, and before assisting Kreuger's start in the first term he played a role in the Magpies' opening goal with a big fend off to Kozzy Pickett.

The Bobby Hill fend off and the Hoskin-Elliott finish 💪#AFLPiesDees pic.twitter.com/Dgr5bpsjOF

— AFL (@AFL) June 10, 2024

Pickett himself was wayward in front of goal kicking 2.4 for the match.

His second, coming too late for the Dees, came with a silky dribble around the corner once the heat had gone out of the game.

During the his post-match press conference, Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin conceded his side "didn't deal with their pressure very well", but remains positive-minded heading into the second half of the year and following their two lowest scores for the campaign across consecutive games.

"We're optimistic, but incredibly disappointed," Goodwin said.

"You can't score if you're not getting (forward) entry. So that was the first thing we needed to tidy up. And once again, today, that was better. But clearance became an issue in the third quarter for us and obviously our efficiency and getting high quality entries and being able to maximise and finish those entries is something we're continually working on."

Collingwood face another opportunity to build past an awkward period against North Melbourne on Sunday.