He was brought back to the seniors against the hard-running Western Bulldogs, and made an immediate impact with consecutive shut-downs of Brad Johnson and Chad Cornes, ensuring his position in the team for the rest of the year.

He played the first five games of 2008, but was struck down by injury and was unable to regain his position in the team for the rest of the year.

In 2009, Bannister was unable to break into the Carlton senior team on a regular basis, playing only two games for the year.

[5][6] In 2015, Bannister revealed during the 2007 season of how his former senior coach Denis Pagan urged him to enjoy the second half of Carlton’s Round 16 clash with Brisbane at the ‘Gabba because it would be the last of his AFL career.

[14] On 15 April 2013, Bannister's brother, Rick, was involved in a horse jumping accident which left him a quadriplegic.

[17] Across an AFL career spanning sixteen years, Bannister played and umpired a total of 164 games.