The former Melbourne Victory defender has been sidelined ever since signing for Fulham in August 2007 with only reserve team appearances to his name after 18 months in the UK.

He was loaned to relegation-threatened Norwich City earlier this year but again had to bide his time until he found himself on the bench for the home clash with Cardiff City.

An injury to a defensive colleague saw Leijer enter the fray at the start of the second half and Cardiff were unable to find a way through.

David Carney came off the bench with five minutes remaining and helped seal the points as Norwich grabbed a second to complete a 2-0 win.

Manager Bryan Gunn told BBC Sport: "We have got to maintain that level of commitment and performance for the rest of the season, starting with another very important game against Plymouth on Saturday, and if we do that we'll have a chance.

"It was a great win and we'll all enjoy it but it will soon be a question of getting everyone's feet back on the ground again and start preparing for the next game."

Another Australian in Championship action was Mile Sterjovski. He played 63 minutes of Derby's 1-1 draw at Southampton.