It was five years later than he hoped, but Shane Kersten has returned once again to Fremantle Oval.
As a junior in the WAFL, Kersten made an impressive showing on the ground shared by South Fremantle and the Fremantle Dockers.
In 2010 at the age of 17, the tall young forward from Kwinana made his WAFL league debut, kicking eight goals from his first four appearances.
In 2011 Kersten spent the majority of his time in the colts, and he dominated - kicking 26 goals from just seven games.
It was enough to get the attention of Geelong who picked up the then 18-year-old with pick 36 in the 2011 National Draft.
Kersten made 37 appearances from his five years with the Cats, with 17 of those coming in 2016. After playing the bulk of the season, Kersten found himself out of the side and watching Geelong’s finals campaign from the grandstand.
At the end of the season, the 23-year-old requested a trade back home.
“It’s a decision I didn’t take lightly,” Kersten said.
“I really enjoyed my time back in Melbourne, but I think about my friends and family. I didn’t get to see my little brother grow up and play football, so I’ve missed a lot of things like that.
“I didn’t get the chance to play with Freo earlier on in my career which I thought might have happened, but I’m glad to be here now and there are a few new guys coming in as well. It’s exciting and I’m sure it’s going to be a good time.”
One of those new players is another West Aussie from Geelong’s draft class of 2011.
Kersten and fellow Freo recruit Joel Hamling spent three years together at the Cats until Hamling departed to the Western Bulldogs, playing an important role as a defender in their 2016 premiership side.
You only need a glimpse of Kersten’s twitter feed to get an idea of the close bond between the pair. Alongside one tweet cheering on South Fremantle in the WAFL finals, there are three from Kersten showing support for his “brother” in the AFL finals.
Ever since they were taken within four picks of each other in the 2011 National Draft, Kersten and Hamling have been hard to separate.
Their trades to Fremantle happened within days of each other, and it’s only fitting that they were on holiday together to enjoy the experience.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” said Kersten about being traded to Freo.
“We both found out the news when we were in Bali. It’s pretty exciting that we get the chance to come back and play football together.”
But after sitting out of Geelong’s finals side, Kersten understands he has a big pre-season ahead of him.
“There’s a lot of hard work to be done,” Kersten said.
“I’m just after earning the respect from the playing group and getting in and putting my best foot forward and doing the hard work, and if that time comes early on in the year that will be good.
“There’s a lot of quality players here and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
If Kersten can break into the side for round one at Domain Stadium, he’ll find himself up against some familiar faces with Fremantle taking on Geelong in their traditional Starlight Purple Haze season opener.
“That sounds about right. If there’s one game I want to play it’s that game,” Kersten said.
“I’ll be doing everything in my power to make sure my body’s in the right shape and make sure I’m playing some good footy.”
