The veteran on-baller has had an injury-interrupted year but is looming as a September wildcard for the Giants heading into the club's maiden finals campaign.

Griffen has hit form at the right time of the year. He was one of the best afield in the Giants' rout of Fremantle and also played well the week before against West Coast.

At his peak, Griffen, 30, was an explosive on-baller who could win the ball in close and cut oppositions apart with his pace away from the contest and elite kicking – traits that were on display against the Dockers.

"I feel like I've got that power back," he said. "As long as I can focus on the small things –defensive side and tackling – the rest follows. As long as I'm in a good mindset I feel like I can produce some pretty good footy.

The Giants are yet to see the best of the All Australian midfielder on a consistent basis since his dramatic recruitment at the end of 2014. He finished eighth in the Giants' best and fairest last year and has been limited to 12 games this season due to a back fracture and a hamstring strain.

The hamstring issue was particularly disappointing, Griffen said, as it came after the bye and at a time he was working back into form.

"You need continuity in footy, it takes a little while to get that form. To get injured again was frustrating but that's in the past now. I'm feeling good now and playing the footy I know I can," he said.

"I feel like I'm stating to get the fitness back and the form that I expect myself to play. It hasn't been too bad the last couple of weeks.

"The last few years have been pretty inconsistent, even last year I was pretty disappointed the way I was up and down. Hopefully I can keep producing some good footy the next few weeks."

A fit and firing Griffen would be a massive boost to the young Giants' hopes of heading deep into the finals. He adds more firepower to a midfield brigade that already boasts high-class performers Dylan Shiel, Callan Ward, Stephen Coniglio and Tom Scully – all of whom are likely to receive plenty of attention from taggers at various stages in the coming weeks.

"It doesn't affect your game if you can deal with it," Griffen said. "There's a lot of talent there. A tagger might go to Dylan Shiel then Wardy might get out and they have to go to him. You share it around a lot more in this team."

The Giants are treating their round 23 game, against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, as a final, Griffen said. While the result has no bearing on the Kangaroos' ladder position, the Giants can return to the top four if they win and at least one of Sydney, Adelaide, Geelong or Hawthorn stumble.

If they lose, they could fall as low as seventh and miss the right for a home final if West Coast and the Western Bulldogs both win.

But if all results fall the way the betting market suggests, the Giants would most likely play North again in the first week of finals back home at Spotless Stadium.

"We haven't thought about that too much, we're just thinking about this weekend," Griffen said. "We know how big a game it is this week, we've spoken about it. We have guys who want to play well in big games, we're definitely treating it like our first final."