Xavier O’Halloran believes something special is being built at the GIANTS under first-year coach Adam Kingsley and says he’s excited about what the future holds in the orange and charcoal.

O’Halloran, a first-round pick in the 2018 NAB AFL Draft, returned to the GIANTS lineup on Saturday after six weeks watching from the sidelines following a dislocated thumb suffered in the round 17 win over Hawthorn.

Initially listed as the sub for the cutthroat elimination final with the Saints, the 23-year-old was elevated into the starting 22 on game day after Stephen Coniglio’s late withdrawal due to an eye injury.

Following the victory over the Saints, in what was O’Halloran’s first-ever AFL finals match, the hard-running forward said belief at the GIANTS had been high ever since the arrival of his new head coach.

“The belief has been there the whole season,” O’Halloran said.

“There was a lot of doubt around us and our performance this year and no one really gave us a chance, but you go into every season thinking that anything is possible and we are definitely living that out at the moment and the mantra of ‘why not us’.

“With ‘Kingers’ [Adam Kingsley] coming in, and to show what we’ve done so quickly, it only solidifies that belief and it’s exciting what we are building and what we’ve built already.

“To be able to do it with a group that’s so young, who knows what can happen in the years to come.”

Forced to watch on in rehab while his teammates stormed into a finals campaign on the back of a new club-record seven match winning streak, the former Vic-Metro captain said he used the team’s success as fuel to return to the field as quickly as possible.

“It’s phenomenal when the boys are going so well but you definitely want to be out of there and a part of it,” he said.

“I had a couple of injuries in my first year where I missed a similar amount of footy, if not a bit more, but it’s never fun.

“It motivates you a lot [in rehab] when the boys are going so well but at the same time you want to be out there and be part of it and contributing, so that part can be annoying.

“There’s been some long days in rehab in the rice bucket trying to get some grip strength back, but now it’s all good.

“Fortunately enough, that carrot [to play finals football] was still dangling and I’m grateful now I had the opportunity on the weekend to come back and still be a part of that. And hopefully can continue to be for the next three or four weeks.”

O’Halloran said his first taste of finals football was a whole new kettle of fish after playing in front of 68,465 fans at the MCG- the biggest crowd of his 46-game career.

“It was special. It was a little bit different to the 13 v 13 scrimmage [v the Swans] the week before,” he laughed.

“I love the roar of the crowd and all of that, but it was a bloody cool experience with our ability to silence the fans, it’s something that helps us.”

As he looks to retain his spot in a GIANTS side hoping to take down the Power in a semi-final showdown in Adelaide on Saturday, O’Halloran was grinning from ear to ear following his decision to re-sign with the club for a further two years back in July.

“I’m grateful to be able to be given an opportunity for another two years and hopefully longer.

“I’m stoked with how it’s worked out as this year has been great already and I can only imagine what the next two years are going to be like.”

“At the moment we are sort of riding that wave of emotion and happiness which is nice, and we’ll try and go out on the weekend and get the job done again.”

The GIANTS and the Power will clash at Adelaide Oval at 7:40pm Saturday night for a place in the preliminary finals.