Prior to Saturday, Papenhuyzen's most recent match was against Canberra in round 18 last year, when he shattered his patella in 10 places in a collision with Canberra five-eighth Jack Wighton.
The 2020 Clive Churchill Medallist's rehabilitation included a stint in the United States with reconditioning expert Bill Knowles and after 384 days on the sidelines, he made his return with the Storm's Queensland Cup affiliate the Sunshine Coast Falcons.
Working back to match fitness, Papenhuyzen exited the game against Ipswich at half-time but not before having the chance to make his presence felt.
The Sunshine Coast crowd gave a cheer at Papenhuyzen's first involvement - a one-on-one tackle on Ipswich halfback Dray Ngatuere-Wroe that denied the Jets an early chance.
Papenhuyzen swung to the right and sent a short ball to Kane Jackson for Sunshine Coast's first try.
He almost had a four-pointer of his own shortly afterward, but was ruled to have knocked the ball on attempting to ground an offload from Jack Howarth.
Papenhuyzen's trademark speed did not appear to have been hampered by the injury and he nailed a conversion from the left touch-line to help extend the lead in the first half.
Fellow Storm players Justin Olam, Grant Anderson and Bronson Garlick returned after half-time but Papenhuyzen's absence was noticeable as the Jets cut a 22-0 deficit to a 24-10 end score.
The Storm have not yet revealed a timeline for Papenhuyzen's return to the NRL but the fullback has indicated he hopes to be available by the finals, which begin next month.
