The 16-match AFL suspension of Adelaide's strategy coach Dean Bailey felt like an eternity, Crows midfielder Bernie Vince says.
Bailey returned to work at Adelaide's headquarters on Monday after serving a ban for his role in Melbourne's 2009 tanking controversy.
Vince says the Crows badly missed Bailey every week of his suspension.
"It's a long time ... we have noticed all 16 weeks, it seems like an eternity," Vince told reporters.
"He's a good fella to have around, Bails. We have missed him a fair bit I reckon, just with his knowledge of the game.
"He did a lot of stuff on opposition analysis ... that has been sorely missed.
"He's pretty keen to get back and involved with us."
Bailey was Melbourne's head coach in 2009 when the club was accused of tanking to gain draft selections.
He and the Demons' then football manager Chris Connolly were found guilty by the AFL of "acting in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the competition".
Bailey was sacked by Melbourne in 2011 and joined the Crows as their strategy and innovation coach the next year, also becoming a mentor of Adelaide's second-year coach Brenton Sanderson and his assistant coaches.
"He's in the (coaches) box mainly and I know they have spoken about missing him in there," Vince said.
"And at halftime and breaks, if we ever need a rev up he's the first one to give it to us.
"He doesn't rant and rave like some coaches ... he's calming in tight situations."
Bailey will return to the coaches box in Perth on Saturday night when the Crows play Fremantle.
Adelaide upset flag contenders Geelong by two points on Sunday to rise to 11th on the ladder but Vince said their finals prospects remain tight.
"It's not something have mentioned for a while, finals," he said.
"We are going to have to pull off some pretty huge wins along the way. Until that happens we're not going to really speak about it.
"Pretty much, if we lose one more game for the rest of the year, we're gone."
