KEPLER Bradley had a long wait to make his Fremantle debut, but certainly made a big impact when he did. The former Essendon big man had 10 first-quarter possessions in Fremantle's narrow loss to the Western Bulldogs on Sunday, the perfect start to life with his second AFL club.

Bradley played just four of his 49 games for Essendon in 2007, and his career threatened to be over before Fremantle threw him a lifeline. After a tough start to the year with two concussions, Bradley regained form with WAFL club West Perth, and relieved Aaron Sandilands in the ruck on Sunday against the Bulldogs with aplomb.

The 22-year-old had a goal in the first quarter and finished the match with 21 disposals in his long-awaited 50th game.

"(The ball) seemed to follow me around a bit in the first quarter, and it was good to get a few kicks to repay the coaches for picking me. Hopefully now I can keep doing it for the rest of the year," Bradley said.

"I got knocked out twice and had to miss two weeks through that, and then had five OK games in the WAFL and got my chance here. I would have liked to play two or three weeks earlier, but now that I'm here I just want to consolidate my spot in the team and repay Fremantle for picking me.

"I relieved Aaron Sandilands in the ruck and played on Ben Hudson. I don’t know if he couldn’t go with me or just wanted to do his own thing, but it was good to be able to get a few touches and to make him more accountable."

Bradley admitted to being tense before his first game in purple, but soon settled, with his impressive first term assuring him that he could still play at the top level.

"I haven’t played for a while now and only played four games last year, so I was as nervous as all hell before the game. You do doubt yourself a bit, and to come back to get a few kicks was good, but in the big picture it's just one game and we had a loss," he said.

"All I want to do is play good consistent footy, and I know I can do that. I never knew how much I missed it until I got back out there, and when we came back in so upbeat at half time, those are the times you really miss."

Bradley played good football throughout the last month at centre half-forward with West Perth, helping to get his confidence back. He worked well in tandem with Adam Campbell with the Falcons, and would like to work with him in Fremantle's forward line before long.

"I got my confidence gradually back at West Perth in my five games, and when I got out on Subi I felt fit enough and ready to do well at AFL level," he said.

"To come home with family and friends around me and to play back at West Perth, who I played in a premiership with … there's no better place to go back to when I'm not in the Fremantle side.

"I've worked closely with 'Kiwi' (Campbell) in the forward line there and he kicked 10 goals last week and another two on the weekend, so he would be nudging for a game as well. We could play well together for Fremantle. We obviously have 'Pav' (Matthew Pavlich) down there, but I wouldn’t see a problem with us all in the one forward line."