WITH one act, one of his first in a Fremantle jumper, Kepler Bradley might just have made a significant statement for his football club in 2008.

Certainly his coach Mark Harvey believes so.

Just a few days ago, Freo midfielder Paul Hasleby made mention of Harvey’s increased focus on hardness at the contest.

Hasleby said the message at Freo this year was simple. Be hard, or don’t wear the jumper.

In his first game since crossing from Essendon, Bradley showed he would be a willing participant in Fremantle’s push for September glory.

The 22-year-old paid a price for his courage, being taken away in an ambulance suffering from concussion after suffering a heavy knock early in the second quarter of Saturday night’s ARTH AFL Challenge Cup win against Carlton in South Africa.

“[It was] Kepler’s first game for Fremantle, and to see the way he went about that, I mean his teammates would gain a lot of confidence just from that,” Harvey said.

The Dockers were trailing at the time of Bradley’s injury, but rallied to lead by four points at half time.

In the change rooms at Centurion’s SuperSport Park, Harvey recognised Bradley’s efforts during the long break.

“I made mention to the playing group about courage and his act and how it happened,” Harvey said.

“You know, sometimes you’re going to lose a player or two, but if you play with the courage and conviction then more often than not you’re going to win.

“I think it’s a huge part of our game … they’re trying to take a fair bit of the physical element out of our game [but] we should never forget the courage it takes to play the game.”