STAR Brisbane Lions forward Daniel Bradshaw was grateful for the noise of the Gabba faithful last Friday night when he successfully ran down Collingwood opponent Tyson Goldsack.

Bradshaw’s chase, which earned a “holding-the-ball” decision and set up his second goal of the second quarter, was greeted with a roar of delight by Lions fans – happy to see the two-time leading goal-kicker back in full flight after a year out with a knee reconstruction.

In fact, Bradshaw believes the electric atmosphere during the fiercely-contested blockbuster may well have been a factor in his crowd-pleasing effort.

"Being a key forward, you don’t get too many opportunities to chase a guy down like that, so it was great," Bradshaw said.

"One thing we try and do as forwards is push up the ground a bit when the ball is going the other way and I was just making my way up to the midfield when it happened.

"I don’t think the other Collingwood player that handballed it to Goldsack realised I was there and I don’t think he heard me either - even though I was only a few metres away - the crowd was pretty loud.

"Luckily I was able to sneak up and pin his arms and then managed to kick the goal."

Bradshaw’s three goals – all kicked in the first half – helped the Lions to a thrilling two-point win over the Magpies.

Having also kicked three goals in the third quarter of the round-one clash with West Coast, Bradshaw has certainly had an impact in his return from a year on the sideline.

He hopes that impact will become more sustained and consistent as he gains match fitness.

"I’ve been feeling pretty good out there but so far I’ve really only been getting involved in small patches – one or two quarters," he said.

"I think it’s just a matter of getting games under my belt and building a bit of consistency into my play over four quarters.

"The more times I can get my hands on the footy, the more comfortable I’m going to feel and the more confident I’m going to become."

While he’s aiming for more consistent contributions to the Lions’ cause, the 29-year-old says his body has coped well with his three games back from injury.

"I’ve actually been pulling up really well," Bradshaw said.

"Obviously there was a fair bit of rehab involved in the injury and on the way back I did heaps and heaps of work involving turning – which I how I did the knee in the first place.

"Before the first game back (against Sydney) in the pre-season, I spoke to my doctor and he said that once you are able to do that kind of turning work, it means you are pretty much right to go.

"The knee has felt really strong and hasn’t really played on my mind at all."