It was, in his own words, ‘a dream come true’. For many in the AFL community it was the feel-good story of the year.

Thirteen-hundred-and-ninety-four days after he last played for Fremantle in the 2010 Semi-Final, Anthony Morabito ran out onto an AFL arena again.

Three knee surgeries had threatened to decimate his career, but his selection for Freo’s round 16 match against Melbourne at Darwin’s TIO Stadium made the countless hours of rehab worth it. 

With father Vince watching from the stands, Morabito entered the game as the sub 15 minutes into the third term and quickly made an impact.

He had the opportunity to kick an inspirational goal on the run with seconds remaining in the game, but just missed.

But that didn’t matter.

"It was a dream come true really,” Morabito said after the game. 

“It's obviously been a long time and I was just really thankful that I had the boys embrace me.”

It brought to a close one of the most emotional chapters in Fremantle Dockers history.

Senior coach Ross Lyon said after the game Morabito was now on a new course. 

"Clearly, Anthony doesn't want to be known about recos, he's on his journey now,” Lyon said.

"We're on a journey as a club, we want to win a premiership, so Anthony wants to be a part of that.

"That's his story now."