IT  TOOK less than an hour for Fremantle fans to remember how much they'd missed  Chris Mayne.

Three first-half goals revived memories of Mayne's outstanding debut season where he impressed in most of his 17 games.

He finally got to play his 18th match on Saturday against the Western Bulldogs after copping a stress fracture in his shin in the pre-season.

Mayne had played the previous three matches in the WAFL reserves for Perth but said he'd had his eye on regaining his spot in the Fremantle line-up for some time.

"It's been such a long wait with just being in rehab and watching the boys play, so it's such a good feeling to get out there again with them and start playing with them again," he said after the 31-point loss to the Bulldogs.

"It's been as tough as anything could be really. You're sitting there every day watching the boys train and watching them play on the weekend … and you're working hard in the gym and working hard in the pool and getting no reward for it on the weekend.

"You just seem to be doing the same thing over and over and over, but with such great teammates and club … they keep you ticking along and they keep you excited, so with them behind me, I could do anything. That's why I was able to play today."

Mayne said kicking three first-half majors was just the boost he needed upon his return.

"It was, I probably should've kicked another one, but I can't believe I missed it, so we'll put that back in the memory bank for next time," he said.

"I was just trying to do my part and do my thing for the team and that's all I ever do."

His stress fracture in his right shin occurred post-Christmas in the pre-season and initially he was aiming for a round six return. But he acknowledged his "body wasn't saying that".

"It was tough thinking: 'Next week I'm going to be a chance or the week after or the week after'. I had a bit of tightness through my calves and found out I had a stress fracture," Mayne said.

"After Christmas, things started to get sore, so it was a stress fracture of the shin, which was unfortunate and I just tried to come back and it wasn't healing as best as the club and myself were expecting, so that was one of the hardest things to keep ticking over with."

"Now they're great and the body is feeling good and I'm just looking forward to next week."