HE WAS the passionate fan with the poster on the wall to prove it and Greater Western Sydney speedster Darcy Jones admits coming up against his boyhood love of West Coast will be a 'surreal' experience.
Sunday's clash will be the first time that the West Australian product has faced the Eagles in his 17-game career and while the team he once adored is a very different proposition now to the one he grew up following, it's an occasion not lost on him.
"It's massive, it's a pretty surreal moment really because there's still a lot of guys in the team that I idolised in the past, so it'll be a bit weird, that's for sure," Jones told AFL.com.au.
"Jeremy McGovern, it would have been pretty crazy to play against him.
"I had a Nic Naitanui picture framed with his arms out, holding the footy and it was signed by him as well, that might still be hanging up on my wall in my room back at home in Perth."
Jones, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Thursday, revealed that West Coast had several meetings with him ahead of the 2022 AFL Draft and showed plenty of interest in keeping the Swans Districts junior in Perth.
Had he not been snapped up at pick 21 by the Giants, he may well have been taken by the club he supported with their next pick at 23, which they ended up using on ruck prospect Harry Barnett.
Well settled in Sydney, it's not a situation that Jones laments one bit.
And despite the adoration that he once had for West Coast, his focus ahead of Sunday is solely on elevating his performance rather than the team in the other guernsey.
It may only be four games into his second season but 'the kid with the lid' has already produced a series of captivating moments in his promising career.
And he's hoping to recapture that against the club he once followed.
While Jones kicked two majors in the Opening Round win over Collingwood, he hasn't managed a score since and has been slightly down on the disposal and tackling numbers he set in an exciting debut season.
"I'm definitely nowhere near my best. I haven't had a game yet where I felt 100 per cent," Jones said.
"I rolled my ankle before the first game and it's been giving me a bit of grief ever since. I reckon this is the week that it finally settles down a bit. I've been strapping it pretty heavily and it's been affecting me a little bit.
"It's no excuse but it's just a little thing that plays a part mentally and physically. I think my best footy is coming that's for sure."
With the Giants likely to have large parts of the contest on their own terms against the 0-3 Eagles, Jones may well have the chance to put together the game he craves in the early stages of the season.
And there'll be others of the same mindset in this revamped star-laden GWS forward line that includes current Coleman medallist Jesse Hogan, an All-Australian captain in Toby Greene, star recruit Jake Stringer, a No.1 draft pick in Aaron Cadman and one of the best small forwards in the League in Brent Daniels.
There is an abundance of talent in attack at GWS but the group chemistry may take some time to peak.
Regardless of the big personalities and individual game-winning ability, Jones is adamant there's no danger of anyone getting in the way of someone else.
"I don't think so. Every forward in the team has their own role and their part of the ground to cover. It's not challenging or a thing. If you play your role, you'll get the ball. That's what [coach] Adam Kingsley always says, so it's fine on that front," he said.
"There are stars everywhere. I'm lucky to be surrounded by that, I've got so many good players to learn off. It gives me a bit of confidence knowing I've got them on my side.
"It was a pretty dangerous look I thought on the weekend. We've got a good mix of everything, so it's very exciting."