The clash between the Power and Magpies will be held two days before the first anniversary of McCarthy's tragic death in Las Vegas while holidaying with his Power teammates.
Ebert was a close friend of the former Collingwood and Port midfielder during his season at Alberton and said he had thought about him before every game this season.
He said "little things" continued to pop up reminding him of his mate, the most obvious being the margin by which the Power beat McCarthy's first AFL side in round 14 – 35 points – the number he wore at Alberton.
While he couldn't speak for his teammates and insisted it hadn't been discussed between the players, Ebert said the memory of McCarthy continued to motivate him on the field and would do so again on Saturday night.
"There have been a lot of things like that that just keep popping up that remind you of him," Ebert said.
"Personally I've been thinking about him a lot … it's an emotional time for everyone and I'm sure that he'll be out there with us on the weekend.
"I think about him before every game and going out there running around he's always in the back of my mind."
The Power will enter the elimination final as heavy underdogs and with a side vastly less experienced than Collingwood.
Although finals experience is invaluable, favouritism also heaps pressure on the Magpies to advance to the semi-finals.
Ebert said playing free of that expectation was fine with him.
"We don't mind that underdog tag; we've been able to play with it all year," he said.
"That drives you a little bit, so this week we'll go in as underdogs as well and it'll be a good opportunity for us."
The 23-year-old said the club was keen to avoid the type of late fadeout that saw Carlton storm home and kick 10 of the last 14 goals to win last week.
Under the leadership of high performance manager Darren Burgess, the Power have proven to be the AFL's second best final-term performers in 2013 behind Hawthorn.
Ebert said the players were confident they could continue their fourth-quarter dominance against the Magpies and that it would undoubtedly be a talking point at the final change.
Twitter: @AFL_Harry
