Willie Rioli says he’s been ‘through hell and back’ ahead of return to West Coast

Embattled West Coast star Willie Rioli has penned an emotional message to his “sons” on social media, just a week out from his return to the Eagles.

The banned forward, who is serving the final week of his two-year suspension from the AFL, returned from the Tiwi Islands last month and is preparing to rejoin the club on June 20.

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Alongside a video of him doing kicking drills, lifting weights and working on his goal kicking, Rioli revealed he had been “through hell and back” in an Instagram post overnight.

“When ya hit ya darkest days and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, then you can say I’ve made it through hell and back!,” Rioli said.

“This isn’t for you’s, but for my sons to show them we can get out of the darkness.”

The 26-year-old is now back in Perth ahead of his return to the club on June 20 - exactly a week from today.

He will be available for AFL selection from August 20.

It comes after West Coast coach Adam Simpson last month revealed he had spoken face-to-face with Rioli for the first time since his suspension was handed down earlier this year.

“I caught up with him the other day,” Simpson said at the time.

“Obviously there’s a lot of nerves. The re-introduction to the club and our players is going to take time because there’s another 20-30 days before he can actually be here.

“Getting him settled and going through all the right processes that we’ve been working on is the next step.

“Then the players - it’s great to see a few of them interact already and catch up. There’s probably 10 or 15 players on our list who weren’t even here when he was here. That’ll take time.

“To be honest, having a 12-week build to when he possibly may be available, we’ll see a lot of Willie and where he’s at, the trust he needs to re-build, his form and his training.”