ESSENDON on-baller Adam Ramanauskas could return to the AFL as soon as midway through this season after showing good signs of recovery from his battle with cancer in his comeback game for Essendon's VFL affiliate, Bendigo Bombers, at Windy Hill yesterday.

Bendigo coach Matthew Knights said Ramanauskas showed excellent form in his return and he would not be surprised to see him back in the Essendon team later this year.

"(He's a) very realistic chance to play this year, very realistic. No doubt about that," Knights said. "He'll be a pretty dangerous player coming in fresh, mid-year, he could be a very dangerous player for the Essendon footy club."

More than 1000 of the Essendon faithful, along with all of the senior playing list and club officials, watched Ramanauskas play his first game since he went down with a knee injury in round three, 2005. That stint on the sidelines was extended when the cancer he had been diagnosed with and treated for two years earlier re-emerged.

Yesterday Rama was back, sporting No. 18 and inspiring fans and teammates with his on-field composure against Sandringham as well as his unwavering will.

While Bendigo went down to last year's premier by seven points (14.11.95 to 15.12.102), Ramanauskas turned in a solid performance, collecting 12 possessions, laying four effective tackles and spending almost 80 minutes on the ground rotating through the wing and defence. After starting on the bench, Ramanauskas came on midway through the first quarter to loud applause from the crowd. He soon got his first touch, marking on the wing and kicking with composure.

Knights said he was pleasantly surprised by the progress shown by Ramanauskas. "The way he played today suggests that he's probably a little bit more forward than we thought," he said. "The biggest scenario he was going to face was the tackling, and the bumps and the hits, and he didn't even blink an eye, so that's probably the most pleasing aspect out of it."

While Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy made it clear that he did not want to place any pressure on Ramanauskas, he said he would come under careful consideration for elevation from the rookie list in the place of Jay Neagle, who is out for up to 10 weeks with a stress fracture of the ankle.

"We won't rush into it, we'll just see how he goes," Sheedy said, indicating that a decision would be made over the next two to three weeks. "We really don't want to put him under any sort of pressure. There are other boys on the list who we will consider but at the moment he's the most experienced player that we could bring on to the list."

Essendon captain Matthew Lloyd said watching Ramanauskas' struggle with cancer had helped put a lot of things in perspective for him and his team.

"Often we probably take this game too serious and it's not life or death like his cancer was, so I think sometimes you just go back and play football like when you were a kid," Lloyd said.

Knights also emphasised the extent of Ramanuskas' positive effect on his teammates. "For the whole list to see him play today would give the other 43 players an enormous amount of drive. To show them that you can deal with hardship and move forward, and players on the list that have injury and players that have illness, just to see what he's come through and come through the other side, it puts it all in perspective. We at the Essendon Football Club are very lucky to have Adam Ramanauskas."