The AFL barred the former Melbourne coach from speaking directly to Crows players during their first 16 matches this season for his involvement in the 2009 Melbourne tanking scandal.
The Demons were fined $500,000 and their former football manager Chris Connolly was suspended for 11 months.
Bailey's ban felt like an "eternity" to Adelaide players, midfielder Bernie Vince said.
His influence on match days and his opposition analysis work was significant in Adelaide's sensational 2012 season and his absence from such duties this year has been obvious.
Bailey's first "hands-on" interaction with players, Vince said, would be in Tuesday's review of the club's remarkable two-point victory over Geelong on Sunday.
Vince, who kicked a brilliant left-foot goal that kick-started his side's last-quarter fight back said he was excited to have Bailey back on board.
"We have a fair bit to do with him as a playing group and to miss him for 16 weeks, we’ve noticed all 16 weeks – seems like an eternity," Vince said.
"He did a lot of opposition analysis stuff and set plays for us as well … he did a lot of that behind the scenes work that other people didn't have to worry about.
"He's going to come back and do all that stuff again and get us up to scratch there again."
Vince never sensed frustration from Bailey during the suspension, but said he knew it would have been hard for him to accept.
He described his mentor as a great teacher of the game and one whose succinct messages drew great respect from the playing group.
"He's a football lover … who loves teaching as well – all the young guys. It would have hurt him to miss all that," Vince said.
"At half-time and breaks if we ever need a rev-up he's the first one to give it to us.
"The way he gives us the message is really clear as well, he doesn't rant and rave like some coaches can.
"If we're struggling in an area he'll give us an action plan to go about it."
Youngster Mitch Grigg, who made his AFL debut for the Crows on Sunday, described Bailey as the type of coach a player could "feed off".
"He's just such a wealth of knowledge…guys like him you can just learn [from] really quickly.
"If you've ever got a question that you ever need to get answered, maybe not from the coaching staff … he'll openly answer it for you."
Meanwhile, midfielder Patrick Dangerfield joined in kicking drills at training on Monday morning, with his injured shoulder strapped.
Harry Thring is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.
Harry Thring is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.
