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Richmond star Shane Edwards' unusual preparation for the AFL finals has him ready to hit the ground running against Brisbane on Friday night.

Shane Edwards has never felt better prepared for an AFL finals series.

It's a daunting prospect for opponents, given the gun midfielder has already starred in two Richmond premierships and was an All-Australian two years ago.

It's also somewhat surprising, after he missed 11 home-and-away games to be in locked-down Melbourne for the birth of his child, rather than remaining part of the Tigers' travel bubble throughout the season.

Edwards seamlessly returned to action with 18 disposals and eight clearances in Richmond's win over Adelaide in round 18, which served as a perfect warm-up for Friday night's qualifying final against Brisbane.

"I'm mentally as fresh as I've ever been and physically I'm cherry ripe," Edwards said.

"Given the situation we were in, I had to try to make the most of it and see it as an opportunity.

"When I came back I was clear, it wasn't like I was really stressing over everything for a few months."

Edwards' partner Samantha gave birth to daughter Mya in August before the Tigers star returned to Queensland.

He served the mandatory two weeks in hotel quarantine, where he was allowed to train alongside Geelong champion Gary Ablett and St Kilda's Dan Hannebery.

The sessions were limited by the size of the grassed area they were able to use - about the size of a regular football field's centre square.

But Edwards' training program was tailored so he would have the bulk of his fitness workload completed before quarantine and could then focus on his skills.

"It was good being in that little confined area to just work on some touch because I feel like that's one of the hardest things to get right when you come back (from an extended break)," Edwards said.

"I was really grateful for that and training with two legends like Dan Hannebery and Gaz, you're more inclined to not fumble.

"You don't want to stand out as ruining a drill because you're fumbling.

"That tiny bit of added pressure might have helped me."

There will be far more pressure when the ball is bounced at the Gabba on Friday night.

Edwards is respectful of a deep-batting Lions midfield led by Brownlow Medal favourite Lachie Neale.

However, he is confident Richmond can get the job done to advance directly to a fourth consecutive preliminary final.

"They're a really well-rounded side and they've dominated all year," Edwards said of the Lions.

"They can really hurt you on the scoreboard and there's arguably no greater challenge than playing Brisbane at the Gabba.

"But that's what you're going to have to do if you want to get there in the end.

"We'll take them head on and hope our game stacks up against theirs."