DANIEL Rich regrets the push on St Kilda's Clint Jones that prompted a two-match suspension, and is now itching to return against Richmond on Saturday night.
The Brisbane Lions midfielder was charged with rough conduct for the round 16 shove that saw Jones catapult into the boundary fence at the Gabba, and an early guilty plea saw him miss two weeks.
Rich had to watch his teammates split the two matches in his absence, with a narrow win over Gold Coast coming before a mauling at the hands of West Coast last Sunday.
The 2009 NAB Rising Star winner said he owed his teammates a strong finish to the season.
"I did regret what happened and do regret not being able to play my role for the team and be out there doing what I can to help get us wins," Rich said.
"It's something you regret and it's a spur of the moment kind of thing. It's obviously something I wasn't intentionally trying to do.
"It's almost three weeks ago now, so that's the past.
"I'm just excited about getting back and doing what I can."
Rich has been one of the Lions' best and most consistent players this season despite often coping with an opposition tag.
He said it was difficult watching from the sidelines without being injured.
"It's hard doing all the training during the week and not being able to play on the weekend, but [I'm] really looking forward to getting back on the field and hopefully we can have a win," he said.
"Last year I missed a few games with injury (foot), so you know you can't be out there no matter what, but hopefully I'm never in that situation again."
Rich was full of praise for the Tigers, and said their young midfield including Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin would need particular attention.
He reiterated comments from coach Michael Voss on Tuesday the Lions needed to finish the season strongly despite being out of the finals picture.
"[Richmond coach] Damien Hardwick has said some similar things to 'Vossy' (that) they want to finish the season strong, so we'll expect them to come out like they're expecting to play finals and play like a team who's preparing for finals," Rich said.
"They've been playing some good footy, they just can't get the wins on the board the last few weeks, [they've had] some close losses.
"We'll just be focusing on how we want to play as a team and finish the season strong."
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Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
