As a child, Ivan Maric loved watching Essendon smash Adelaide in Melbourne. As an adult his views have changed dramatically.
The 22-year-old ruckman is keen to shake the Bombers' 17-year hold over the Crows who have never beaten their Victorian rival away from AAMI Stadium.
Maric said he's 'always looking for a challenge' and believes the hoodoo can be broken if Adelaide is hungry enough for success.
"We spoke a bit about the history of that. It doesn't mean we can't beat them, we can if we want to and as I said before if we've got more desire and determination than them hopefully we come away with the win," he said.
"As an Essendon supporter growing up I used to enjoy it but last year we didn't play too good over there and I suppose they wanted it more."
"Their contested ball and their tackling was better than ours and they moved it better but this season is a different season."
If the former Victorian is to play his part, he'll have beat or at least compete with David Hille who is in career-best form for the Bombers.
Maric admitted he and Brad Moran would have their hands full competing with the Bombers' tall.
"He's a big guy and he's been playing really well and us four young ruckman this year have been really good at looking forward to contests like that and that's the attitude we are going in with - to learn from those experiences," he said.
"If we get beaten, learn from it and if we beat him learn from it as well."
The Crows will be without the hamstrung Bernie Vince but will have their chances boosted by experienced onballer Brent Reilly. He's overcome a knee injury and played well for Sturt in the SANFL last weekend. Maric is optimistic he'll get a recall.
"I expect him to but I'm not the coach so we'll see what happens. I hope he plays, he's been training really well and is looking fit," he said.
"I think he's looking forward to playing footy again. He really enjoyed playing in the SANFL … it's been a frustrating year for him with injuries."
Meanwhile Maric is trying to make the most of every game after spending the first half of the season in the local league. He's been an impressive conclusion to the side since injuries and poor form saw Kurt Tippett and Jonathon Griffin dropped.
"I suppose it was important for my future that I stepped up and started playing consistent footy. I really wanted to be a big part of this team," he said.
"It was a goal of mine I didn't know if it was going to happen or not and I feel like a strong member of this team and hopefully it can stay that way."
"Earlier in the year when we were both sitting in the stands and watching Kurt and Johnny Griffin that makes you more determined to train harder and when you get the opportunity it makes you value your position in the side a lot more."
"Since we've come in we've made sure the opportunity hasn't slipped."