Harley Bennell makes his return to football on Saturday for the first time since playing for Peel in round 1 of the 2016 WAFL season.

Bennell will play limited minutes for the Thunder when they take on East Perth at Leederville Oval.

Fremantle senior coach Ross Lyon is looking forward to the occasion.  

“I can’t wait to get there and watch him,” Lyon said.

“We’re not setting the bar high, (we’re) just really pleased for him, with his resilience.

“He’s such a gifted player. If we all go and have a look at the tapes, just to see him train, he’s pretty special at what he does, and he hasn’t been able to get on to what’s his domain, which is the footy field and do what he does best in life. 

“He gets that opportunity this weekend.

“We just want him to get through unscathed that would be a big win for us.

“If we can build that and he can play some senior footy and some Peel finals and come to pre-season, we will be a lot better midfield next year with him fully fit.”

Peel Thunder take on East Perth this Saturday at Leederville Oval at 2.15pm.