Crows ruckman Sam Jacobs last played in a final against Sydney only two years ago. He remembers the game well, but for all the wrong reasons.

In what was to be his last match as a Blue, the former Carlton rookie watched as his side fought back from 27 points down only to squander numerous scoring opportunities in the final term, including a Jarrad Waite-miss from 20m out directly in front, to fall one agonising goal short of a famous Elimination Final win.

In a bitter-sweet touch, Jacobs played - to that point - the best game of his career, amassing 15 possessions and 44 hit-outs to dominate the ruck and no doubt increase his value when he was traded to Adelaide a few weeks later.

Next weekend, the in-form big man will take on the Swans in September action once again, but this time as a Crow in a Qualifying Final at AAMI Stadium.

“We (Carlton) had so many chances to win that final in 2010, but we lost by five points,” Jacobs told afc.com.au.

“It was a hard time. I probably knew I was leaving and to lose a final by such a small margin was tough. It’ll be round two (against Sydney) this week and, hopefully, we can get up in this one.”

The Crows secured second spot on the AFL ladder and a home Qualifying Final after they beat Gold Coast, and Geelong beat Sydney on Saturday afternoon. If the Swans had beaten the Cats, Adelaide would’ve travelled to ANZ Stadium to play Sydney next weekend.

Scores from the match at Skilled Stadium, which started 30 minutes before the game between Adelaide and Gold Coast, flashed up on the AAMI Stadium scoreboard throughout the afternoon.

Jacobs said it had been tough to avoid seeing the score, particularly in the second half as the Crows kicked away to a 91-point win.

“We were just focused on making sure we got over the top of Gold Coast,” he said.

“We tried not to look at the scoreboard (for the score from the Geelong/Sydney game) during the game, but when the crowd started cheering really loud at random times, you knew something was up.”

Carlton’s 2010 Elimination Final loss to Sydney was Jacobs’ first and only taste of AFL finals. He said he was rapt Adelaide was returning to finals action after two years in the bottom eight.

“It’s exciting for us to finish top-two and a great reward for our year,” he said.

“Now is probably the only time we’ve been able to say, ‘let’s look at finals’ because we’ve been so focused on making sure we finished off the year. It’s great to be playing finals this year. We’ll go in confident next week and I think everyone in Adelaide should be excited.

“Really, the season starts now because ultimately this (finals) is what we’ll be judged on.”

In the absence of leading goalkicker Taylor Walker and half-forward Bernie Vince, the Crows had 12 different goalkickers on Saturday, including impressive young full-back Daniel Talia.

Talia slipped forward in the first half, intercepting a mark and converting from a tight angle close to the 50m arc to score his first AFL goal. The NAB Rising Star favourite was substituted late in the third quarter after Gold Coast opted to sub a key-position player.

“It was good for ‘Talz’ that we were able to sub him out,” Jacobs said.

“He’s only in his second full year of footy and he’s played every game. I guess when he kicked that goal, he thought he’d done enough and said, ‘give me the red vest and I’ll rest up for next week’.

“We had plenty of goalkickers today, but I think we’ll be happy to have big Tex (Walker) back next week.”

Walker and Vince are both expected to be fit for the clash with Sydney, which will be Adelaide’s first home final since the Elimination Final win over Essendon in 2009.

Jacobs said it was a huge bonus for the Club to be playing in front of its home crowd.

“It’s really important for us. The crowd was amazing day and the boys can’t say enough, how much we love our members and supporters coming out, cheering and being really loud,” he said.

“We’ve got two finals here regardless of what happens, so it would be great to get as many people here as we can.”