ADELAIDE midfielder Nathan van Berlo believes the club's clash against Geelong on Saturday will impact its finals campaign regardless of whether a home final is on the line.
If North Melbourne beats Richmond on Friday night then victory for the Crows would secure an elimination final at Adelaide Oval, but with the Kangaroos resting a host of players the Tigers are heavily favoured to prevail.
Regardless of whether they play home or away next week, van Berlo said the most important thing was for the Crows to carry their momentum into a finals campaign.
"One thing that we are able to control at the moment is the momentum we've created," van Berlo said.
"With momentum comes confidence, so at the moment the group is feeling really good about our team structure, our team strategies and our tactics and the way that we execute our game plan
"That is a really important thing going into September footy … this week is a really important game for us to continue that form."
Van Berlo will play his 200th game on Saturday against the Cats, a significant milestone made more impressive given the injury he's recently overcome.
The 29-year-old ruptured his Achilles last year, which sidelined him for the season.
He's managed 17 games this year despite being dropped to the SANFL to find form and thanked the Crows for giving him his start.
"It's been an awesome journey and I guess when I was first drafted into the AFL to the Adelaide Crows in particular, to tell me that I would still be here 11 years later and to be lucky enough to play 200 games would be beyond my wildest dreams," he said.
"I'm certainly very fortunate and grateful to the footy club for the opportunity they gave me."
Crows need to build momentum against Cats: Van Berlo
Nathan van Berlo says Adelaide can build important form ahead of the finals