LACHIE Whitfield's pre-season was hardly ideal, but it was planned to perfection, helping the Greater Western Sydney wingman make a stunning return from his AFL-imposed ban.

Whitfield, the number one pick at the 2012 NAB AFL Draft, was handed a six-month suspension at the end of last season for breaching League rules after he allegedly attempted to evade a drug test.

The 23-year-old missed the first seven rounds of the season and was forbidden from attending the footy club and mixing with the tight-knit playing group at GWS until two months before the ban ended in May, and he told AFL.com.au that at times his long summer was a struggle.

"It was hard, and the hardest part was being away from my mates, easily, but I was welcomed back with open arms," he said.

"The only nerves I had came from walking in and having Brett Deledio as my locker buddy; I'd never met him and he's a great of the game.

"Surprisingly I wasn't nervous for my first game either, I knew that I didn't have to set the world on fire and if I played my role I'd do enough to keep my spot in the team."

Whitfield enlisted the help of former Collingwood midfielder Adam Iacobucci to get him in shape while he was suspended, and while many may have viewed his exile as a negative, the Giant isn't one of them.

He did a power of work in Melbourne so that when he returned to GWS the already gifted athlete made a seamless transition back into the AFL system, then starred in his first game back with 25 touches against the Magpies at Spotless Stadium in round eight.

The highly skilled midfielder averaged 24.7 possessions and kicked 10 goals in his 15 games this year, forming a star-studded trio of running machines on the wing with teammates Josh Kelly and Tom Scully.

"Training-wise it was good because I was able to concentrate on the types of training that I thought would benefit me, instead of doing the program that everyone else abides by," he said.

"I concentrated on gaining (muscle) mass, and working on my speed, because they're the areas I was lacking in.

"The three-month program was tailored right, it was fun, and it was a good building block to prepare me to smash out some stuff here before I was ready to play.

"By the time round eight came around I was pretty much ready to go, and due to a couple of injuries I was pushed into the team straight away.

"At quarter-time I was thinking to myself, 'My god I don't know if picking me was the right decision', because I'd blown up quite a bit.

"But I got a second wind and from then on I've probably had my most consistent year."

This week's general bye ahead of the finals is just another delay for Whitfield to deal with, and he's understandably itching to run out against Adelaide on the road on Thursday week.

Taking on the minor premiers will be a massive task for the Giants, but if Whitfield's mindset is anything to go by, the visitors hold no fears about heading into Crows territory and coming away victorious.

"Personally I'd play tomorrow, I just want to get under those lights at Adelaide Oval," he said.

"For such a big final I don't know if I'll be able to hear myself think, but we love going in against a heavily favoured side.

"We'll go there and try and shut them up by playing good footy."