Saturday night’s match will be the 41^st meeting between Adelaide and North Melbourne. The Kangaroos hold a narrow overall advantage, with 21 wins.

The Crows and Roos have already played twice this season. North Melbourne came from behind to record a 10-point win at Etihad Stadium in Round One, while Adelaide emerged victorious by 33-points in the Round 14 rematch.

The Roos are searching for their first win at Adelaide Oval. North Melbourne has played two games at the venue (both against the Crows) for two losses.

The knockout clash this weekend will be the Crows’ first-ever final at Adelaide Oval.

The Crows and Kangaroos have only met once in a final – the 1998 Grand Final when Adelaide stormed home to claim a 35-point win and back-to-back flags.

On that day, 94,431 fans packed the MCG – the biggest-ever crowd for a game featuring these sides.

The Crows have played in 31 finals for 15 wins and 16 losses – a winning percentage of 48 per cent.

Of Adelaide’s selected team, only three players – Brad Crouch, Jake Lever and Mitch McGovern – are yet to experience AFL finals footy. Four Kangaroos, Jed Anderson, Aaron Mullett, Majak Daw and Trent Dumont, will also play on the September stage for the first time this weekend. 

Experienced midfielder Scott Thompson has played in more finals (10) than any other Crow.

Former captain Simon Goodwin holds the record for most finals played by a Crow (23), while Andrew McLeod kicked 23 finals goals – a Club best.

McLeod also holds the Club record for most goals in a single final, booting seven in the 1998 Preliminary Final win over the Western Bulldogs.

The seasoned Kangaroos have contested the past two Preliminary Finals, while Adelaide reached the Semi-Final in an emotion-charged 2015 season. The Roos reached the final four last year after finishing eighth at the end of the minor round - the same position they occupy in 2016.

Crows defender Kyle Hartigan will play his 50^th AFL game on Saturday night.

North Melbourne leads the competition in contested marks inside forward 50m. Tall forward Ben Brown has taken 47 contested marks this season – ranked equal-fifth in the competition.

Brown also leads his club’s goalkicking this season with 41 goals from 21 games.

Two-time Crows All Australian Eddie Betts starred with five goals in his team’s thrilling Elimination Final win over the Bulldogs last season. Key forward Josh Jenkins booted four in the Club’s Semi-Final loss to Hawthorn.

Roos ruckman Todd Goldstein is averaging 36.7 hit-outs per game – ranked second in the AFL.

Jack Ziebell is top 10 in the League for long kicks (113). The strong-bodied midfielder also ranks equal-11^th for inside 50ms and 12^th for total metres gained.

Roos skipper Andrew Swallow laid 158 tackles in the home and away season, second only to West Coast star Matt Priddis (180). Crow Rory Sloane was third with 151 tackles.

The Crows and Roos are third and fourth in the competition for points scored from centre bounce.

All-Australian nominee Robbie Tarrant is equal-seventh in the League for rebound 50ms (91).

Despite only playing 17 home and away games, the dangerous Daniel Wells finished seventh in the AFL for score assists (35). Crows pair Taylor Walker and Tom Lynch were equal-third with 37. AFL games record holder Brent Harvey and Adelaide star Rory Sloane shared eighth spot (33).

Wells was among the players missing when these two teams last met in Round 14.

Harvey is set to play his 50^th consecutive game this weekend. The AFL games record holder has played 49 straight games since the 2014 Semi-Final.

The Crows and Kangaroos both head into Saturday night’s Elimination Final coming off losses in Round 23. The Roos have dropped their past four matches (all against top-eight teams), while Adelaide has won four of its last five games.