It's a popular saying, but familiarity doesn't often breed contempt in AFL football; in fact it more often elicits a level of respect outlasting reality. And the opposite of that adage? That unfamiliarity breeds scepticism.
OK, so there's the theory. Now, you want living, breathing examples of either end of that ledger? Well, Saturday night's Adelaide-Collingwood blockbuster might well be your baby.
In the "away" corner, the Magpies, four losses now from their past five games, not only their top four spot under threat, but in a worse case scenario, their top eight spot altogether. The Pies' form has got progressively worse over the past month, and their defensive structure again takes a big hit this week via the absence of concussed key defender Jeremy Howe.
Recent history also suggests that a team destined to give the flag a serious shake needs to be winning at least a decent share of its games in the lead-up to a finals campaign. There's no doubt that for the Pies, all those portents aren't good.
And yet so many of us (and I'm leading the charge here) not only think they are a serious chance on Saturday night, but refuse to give up on them as a premiership prospect.
And the opponent? Adelaide has won 10 of its last 11 games, lost only five games all season, and not one of those defeats has been by anything more than 19 points. The Crows have knocked over Brisbane, the Swans, Bulldogs, Gold Coast and Hawthorn.
On numbers, they're the best defensive outfit in the competition, and the third-most prolific offensively. They're number one for post-clearance groundball and contested ball. They create more forward half turnovers than any other team, and score more points from those intercepts than any rival. Indeed, of 32 key statistics measured by Champion Data, Adelaide rank top six in no fewer than 26.
There's five Adelaide players -- Riley Thilthorpe, Darcy Fogarty, Taylor Walker, Ben Keays, and Izak Rankine -- who have kicked 30-plus goals. Skipper Jordan Dawson is second favourite for the Brownlow Medal. Their current injury list is one of the shortest in the competition.
Just about every logical measure you can name returns (now flag favourite) Adelaide as at very worst a massive chance of taking out the whole thing.
So why the still-considerable army of doubters? Simple. Unfamiliarity. At the pointy end of the season, anyway. And perhaps there's some justification for that still, given that the contrast in terms of September experience between Adelaide and other likely big finals players is stark indeed.
Consider some of these numbers. Brisbane and Geelong are officially the two most finals-hardened lists with a total of 320 and 307 finals played respectively across their entire playing group. Collingwood is next with 274 games, then Greater Western Sydney with just under 200. Adelaide? 53 finals in total.
How many on those lists have played a part in a big AFL final? For seven of the nine remaining finals contenders, the number is somewhere between 24 and 28. For Adelaide and Gold Coast, it's just eight and three respectively.
Which is perhaps why Saturday night's effective finals dress rehearsal could prove so significant for Adelaide.
The crowd size, noise, feel, if not quite the stakes, will mirror what the Crows can expect of a home final, and their first of any description for eight years, a few weeks from now. But it's also what Collingwood brings to the table.
Call us victims of familiarity breeding too much respect, but this game has "backs-to-the-wall Pies pull one out" (again) written all over it, and yes, that's an exceedingly familiar plot, isn't it?
Want some enticing numbers to go with that? Well, there's the fact Collingwood has won its last 10 clashes with the Crows, no fewer than six of them coming at Adelaide Oval. Indeed, the revamped Test cricket venue might as well be a second home for the Pies, who have won their last 10 games there (though three have been against non-SA opposition).
So what happens if the Pies pull off another of their trademark gallant road trip performances?
Obviously, there's an immediate reassessment of Collingwood's flag chances. And Adelaide? Well, my ladder predictor scenario has given the Pies this upset yet still has the Crows finishing on top and hosting potentially two finals en route to the big one.
But would they take as much swagger into September with those few extra seeds of doubt sown by Saturday night's opposition? Debatable.
Yep, it all makes this effective finals preview a fascinating match-up indeed. And one which for both Adelaide and Collingwood, could actually be played as much between the ears as on the park.
You can read more of Rohan Connolly's work at FOOTYOLOGY.