A chance one-off visit to the MCG as a spectator earlier this month could be the catalyst Nic Maddinson needs for an end-of-season charge in the Big Bash League.
Maddinson provided the highlight of the Sixers' otherwise dour season on Tuesday night in Melbourne, whacking a 23-ball half-century in his team's eight-wicket flogging of the Stars.
However, the foundations of that knock, he said, were borne out of a game two weeks earlier.
And he's hoping it will continue into Thursday night's SCG clash with the Brisbane Heat, who are sweating on the fitness of Joe Burns. He fell awkwardly in training and hurt his groin.
"We had a night in Melbourne so a few of us went over and watched the Stars and the Heat," Maddinson said.
"We get supplied with a lot of footage and vision on teams and stats and stuff. But there's nothing better than watching the actual game.
"You get a bit of a feel for who is bowling at certain times and how they close out overs when they're doing well and doing poorly.
"There's stuff you pick up that you might not see if you're just watching the footage from two weeks before."
Maddinson's knock on Tuesday night ended the Stars' finals hopes, just as the Sixers' final-ball win over the Sydney Thunder three nights earlier had done to their cross-town rivals.
A win over Brisbane will all but do likewise to the Heat, and Maddinson will have already formulated plans on how to get the best of their spin-centred attack after having also watched them up close in the January 2 fixture.
Maddinson has also made no secret of the fact he is confident against legspinners, having helped the Sixers take 25 from Daniel Fallins' two overs on Tuesday before being dismissed for 62 off just 31 balls.
"I think my highest strike rate in T20 is against leg spin," he said ahead of his tussles with Mitchell Swepson and Yasir Shah.
"So I think that's a pretty good match-up."
Maddinson also appeared to take a different approach into the Stars' game.
Out five times between 24 and 31 in the first seven games of the BBL, the 26-year-old took on a more carefree approach he hoped could continue if not walking to the crease with his team in early trouble.
"I wasn't scared about getting out last night," Maddinson said.
"At times throughout the tournament, I've been second-guessing myself at times in certain overs and almost weighing up the options rather than just backing the best option at that time against that bowler."
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