CARLTON Head of Football Brad Lloyd is confident that the team will be up for the challenge of playing on Thursday night against St Kilda.

Initially scheduled to take on the Saints on Saturday afternoon at the MCG, the Blues had to quickly change their plans when the AFL shifted the game to Thursday night at Marvel Stadium.

The whole process was quick, according to Lloyd, with the team having to adapt to the changes quickly.

“I got the call on Sunday night, [Cain Liddle] called and we had a conference call with David Teague and Andrew Russell,” Lloyd said.

“We discussed that at 10pm on Sunday night.

“By 8:30 [Monday] morning we’d spoken to our leadership group and by 9:45am, we’d told the whole playing list the game had changed.”

Still reviewing the weekend’s win against the Bombers, the players were unaware of any movement of the game prior to being informed by the Club.

However, the news was greeted with excitement rather than trepidation, as the boys learned of their return to a prime time slot.

“They were genuinely excited,” Lloyd said.

“They just want to play at the moment.

“As soon as their minds had adjusted to when we were playing, they were ready to go. That was good to see.”

The move to a Thursday night slot is also significant for the Club, with the change meaning fans will be able to also tune in on free-to-air television.

With the Blues looking to back up what has been a positive two weeks of football, the added incentive of having more members and fans have access to the game is an importance not lost on the players.

“It’s exciting for the Club, naturally that came out in the discussion,” Lloyd said.

“Thursday night,  a prime time slot is what we want: it’s great for our members and supporters.

“The Club is constantly trying to connect with them, the members have been that good for us.

“It didn’t take much selling, the boys are in a good position.”