Midfielder Rory Sloane had no allegiance to the Crows when they demolished the star-studded Hawks by 86 points in round one, 1991.
He had no allegiance to anyone. After all, he was only one.
But 20 years on and in his third season at West Lakes, the former devout St Kilda supporter has become entrenched at Adelaide and is proud to be celebrating one of the most significant events of his young life - his 21st Birthday - on one of the biggest night's in the club's history.
Sloane turned 21 last week, but will celebrate the milestone with a party on the weekend.
"I feel so much a part of this club that something like a 20-year anniversary has a lot of meaning for me, even though I've only been here a few years and didn’t know much about the club back then [in 1991]," Sloane told afc.com.au.
"I've got a birthday party over here this weekend and I've got tickets for about 60 mates, so they can come to the game against Hawthorn … they're going to be nice and loud."
Ironically, the last time Sloane filled requests for tickets on a grand scale was also against Hawthorn, in his debut game at the MCG in round 20, 2009.
The gritty onballer showed great defensive skills on debut, laying seven tackles but copped a ribbing from his teammates for failing to register a kick among his six disposals.
He has worked hard to develop the attacking side of his game, as evidenced by his three-goal haul against Fremantle in round two of the NAB Challenge.
"I seem to get a lot of handballs, but I've been trying to get on the end of a few kicks and a few goals as well with the new substitute rule," Sloane said.
"This season there are going to be a lot of rotations not just through the interchange bench, but also on the field.
"Midfielders are going to have to swap to a forward pocket or half-forward flank, so I've tried to add that to my game to give myself a better chance of playing every week."
Adelaide lost its opening six games last season and never fully recovered from the slow start, finishing in 11th place on the AFL ladder.
The Crows have a bye next weekend and Sloane said it was important his side went into the early break with confidence.
"I don’t think we want to be waiting until halfway through the year to bring our best game. It's not a good plan and I think we've done it the past two years, so we'll really be trying to change that," he said.
"We're going to have a big focus on coming out strong."
