HAVING suffered two serious injury setbacks since he was drafted in 2007, Port Adelaide ruckman Matthew Lobbe has the right to feel frustrated.

Lobbe (a No.16 draft pick) has managed just 14 games out of a possible 54 since he he made his debut in round five, 2010 against St Kilda.

Pre-season injuries to his shoulder and hip have seen Lobbe miss the first 13 rounds of both of the past two seasons.

But the 23-year-old said the frustration wore off quickly and that he had learned a lot in his time on the sidelines.

"It was most frustrating in the first couple of weeks, knowing it'd be a while to come back," Lobbe told portadelaidefc.com.au.

"As soon as that's over then you work out what you can do to get back as quick as possible and be effective.

"Anyone that's had long-term injuries tell you that you do learn a lot off the field about parts of your game that you need to get back into form straight away.

"For me it was about getting my competitiveness and hunt for the ball stuff straight away."

It seems that learning has paid off.

On his return to AFL football last weekend, Lobbe was a standout for the Power in their loss to Geelong at Simonds Stadium.

After seven games in the SANFL, Lobbe appeared to slot back into the top flight with ease, booting two goals and racking up 32 hit-outs.

Lobbe said having several talls at the Power all in good touch, as well as experienced ruckmen as coaches in Matthew Primus and Shaun Rehn, ensured his game progressed even when he was unable to take the field.

"Learning things from last year, you can use that this time coming back from injury and also I think having ruckmen that are up and about and playing well helps a lot," he said.

"Having (Brent) Renouf and (Jarrad) Redden in good form means that at training we're competing lots and we're sort of learning off each other as well."

Lobbe also praised the development the Power's young midfielders.

Players such as 21-year-old Matthew Broadbent and Andrew Moore, 22-year-old Brad Ebert have taken their games to another level in 2012 and have helped the Power become one of the best clearance sides in the League.

Lobbe said it was encouraging his young teammates were starting to deliver on their potential, but maintained winning was all that would make him happy.

"The last few weeks have been a good chance for the young blokes to get a bit more game time…'Moorey, Matt Broadbent, Ebo and those sorts of guys, it's been great for them," Lobbe said.

"It's exciting knowing there are young players who have got big roles in front of them, but at the same time we don't just want to be a competitive side at the moment.

"We're sick of just getting close and being competitive - we don't want to be known for that."

Harry Thring covers Port Adelaide news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.