“We’re so rapt he got the gig.”
David Teague will have the full support of the playing group when he officially walks into the MCG as Senior Coach of Carlton this Saturday to face St Kilda.
Blues co-captains Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty gave the interim-turned-Senior Coach a glowing endorsement when speaking to media on Thursday morning.
“I think you’ve seen by the reaction in there that the players are pretty happy with it,” Docherty said.
The pride of his wife, the support from the football club, the realisation of a dream.
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) August 15, 2019
Here's what David Teague had to say after being unveiled as our newest Senior Coach.#BoundByBlue
Teague walked into his appointment press conference to rapturous applause, with the entire playing group making their approval known.
“Everyone loves him and I think you could see by his humour in the press conference, he’s so likeable,” Cripps said.
“But what we love about him is he’s got a really strong personality. He’ll have a laugh and then he’s really strong with his messaging when it’s time to be serious.”
Docherty gave an insight into what we can expect from Carlton’s newest coach, having spent time with him in a coaching capacity over the last two months.
According to Docherty, the playing group is set to continue to benefit from his calm approach to coaching and boldness in game style.
“He’s very calm. He’s very measured in what he does and he’s very clear in the way he wants us to play our footy,” Docherty said.
“From my point downstairs, it’s pretty good that once the message comes through it’s been well thought out and it’s pretty easy to act upon.”
“He’s obviously been doing a really good job and the boys are loving exactly what he’s bringing, so it’s been great.”
"Once we came to the decision … we didn't see any need to wait."#BoundByBlue
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) August 15, 2019
Teague’s appointment marks the end of what has been a significant growth period for the Blues.
Cripps is eager for the stability that lies ahead in having the new Senior Coach locked away from three years.
“We feel like we’re building something special and we’re only going to keep getting better the more we play with each other,” he said.
“So to have ‘Teaguey’ on board and have some real stability is pretty exciting.”