ALTHOUGH finals campaigns are a regular feature for Adelaide's Marijana Rajcic, this one is special.

Rajcic's partner, Crows' captain Chelsea Randall, missed last year's Grand Final after sustaining a concussion during the preliminary final, and Rajcic is excited at the prospect of running out alongside Randall this time.

"To not have her there last year was tough and that was probably part of the week being so emotional, it took a lot out of everyone, outside of the process of what we needed to do game-wise," Rajcic said.

"She is the heart of this football club, you can see the calibre of player that she is and the quality that she brings in and the way she plays the game, there's no one that plays like that."

Despite being Randall's partner, Rajcic is adamant she remains unbiased.

"You can ask anyone, you definitely want to be playing alongside her and you'd rather have Chelsea in your team any day of the week," she said.

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Rajcic and Randall's love story is a testament to their go-getter personalities, the then best-friends entering the reality TV-Show The Amazing Race together and soon after becoming a couple. 

"We loved it, just to experience that with your best friend was awesome - it was also a bit of a disconnect from the world because we didn't have our phones for four weeks and it was just us, we could just learn about each other on a deeper level, because all you had was conversation," Rajcic said.

When asked if she can draw any parallels between the TV competition and the AFLW finals race, Rajcic concedes she's far more confident heading into Saturday's Grand Final.

"I was so nervous every race day, because I just didn't know what to expect whereas when it comes to footy we've been preparing for this for a year," she said.

Known as 'MJ' around West Lakes, Rajcic knows how to stay calm and collected in a sports environment, having had an elite soccer career as captain of Adelaide United before she picked up a Sherrin, something she credits to her heritage.

"It's something I grew up with being in a Croatian family, I always had a soccer ball and played in the backyard with my dad and brothers and we grew up watching the Euro championships and the World Cups, it's in my blood," she said.

Rajcic and her three older brothers grew up in Windsor Gardens, a suburb in the north-eastern suburbs of Adelaide, but their first language was Croatian.

Rajcic fondly remembers growing up in the Croatian community learning Croatian dancing, going to Croatian school each week and being named 'Miss Croatia Adelaide' in 2015.

"People automatically just think it's a beauty pageant but it was the way for each Croatian soccer club in Australia to represent the women and what they do for the club," she said.

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"What it meant was I was supporting our soccer club, and I was helping raise money for it, it's about your community involvement so you're going to all the games on the weekends, cooking, making coffees and selling raffle tickets.

"It was definitely an honour of mine because I grew up going to the club and that was my childhood, every weekend when there was a concert or something, my parents would go and then I'd be out there kicking a soccer ball with the boys until midnight, so it was really nice to be able to give back to the Croatian community here in Adelaide."

Despite her love for soccer, her round ball career was riddled with the frustration of injury.

"I came back from my third ACL when I was in the United squad, the coach and I there didn’t see eye-to-eye and there was just lots of things that kind of went wrong," she said.

"That season the AFLW was starting and I thought, why not? If I don't go now, I'll probably miss my chance, and I did and it really ignited that passion for me and gave me the challenge of a new sport.

"I grew up watching footy but not once did I ever play it, the biggest thing I love is the culture and just how much you rely on the team to be successful."

The Crows selected Rajcic with pick No.32 in the 2017 AFLW draft, and she made her debut in round three, 2018 and has rarely missed a game since.

As the Crows prepare to redeem their Grand Final loss from last year, Rajcic is on a mission.

"We can be consistent week in week out but now it's do or die," she said.

"We've been there before, we've tasted success and we've also been on the other side of it and that pain and hurt of not being able to get the job done.

"That’s the biggest thing this week is that hurt and pain and disappointment of last year and that's been a driving force for our squad this year.

"I think everyone's in a better better headspace this year and just focused on what the task is at hand."

On the home front, Randall and Rajcic have to walk the fine line between teammates and partners as they look to Saturday's game.

"I said to her today, there's gonna be moments this week where I've just got to let you do you and I'll do me and whatever works best for our own game days…. like, on the weekend I'm happy to listen to some music and pump myself up and Chelsea wanted to meditate and have some quiet time so we actually drove separately to Adelaide Oval," she said.

Once they arrive at Adelaide Oval it'll be game faces on, but there's no doubt it will be a cherished moment when the duo run out side by side.