But he didn’t face his first examination until he crossed to South Australia and played in Showdowns against Port Adelaide.
“For me growing up, I saw the Western Derby conflict going on and the rivalry that West Coast and Fremantle had over there,” he said on Tuesday.
“Coming over to South Australia, I certainly see the same, if not a, higher intensity in the Showdowns here.
“South Australians are so passionate about their footy and it’s only natural that when you get the two teams in the one town playing against each other, you’re going to get a fierce rivalry developing.”
Balfours Showdown XXVI will be played at AAMI Stadium on Saturday night and van Berlo is expecting a close game with a dozen of the games decided by less than two goals.
“There’s a lot of emotion in the Showdown games and a lot of pride at stake,” van Berlo said.
“Naturally, neither side wants to get blown out of the water.
“There’s a lot of support there for both teams, so it’s hard for one side to get the other down and put them out.
The Crows suffered an early Showdown week defeat on Tuesday when they lost a handball competition in Rundle Mall to Port Adelaide.
