SENIOR Coach David Teague is hoping the decision to bring the whole squad to the Gold Coast pays dividends in the coming weeks.

With the ever-changing conditions of the 2020 season, teams are having to change their routine at a moment’s notice.

It was mooted on Thursday night that a fixture cram could take place while teams are in hubs, with as many as seven games in 32 days.

Teague admitted that the Club’s football department had planned for these possibilities early and that the team was ready to adapt. 

“We understood that this [change] was a possibility, particularly in the isolation period when we were away from the club,” he said. 

“We actually designed our training program for players to be able to back up five days apart and do solid sessions.

“The energy has been quite good early in the week, our training session yesterday was probably as good as we’ve had in a fair while.”

While some AFL sides have had to make some tough decisions on who to bring into their hubs, the Carlton coach was firm that having his entire squad there was vital.

He echoed development coach Daniel O’Keefe’s sentiments yesterday surrounding the energy they were providing to one another.

“We brought our whole squad up which is more around the culture and the bond and the relationship side of things,” he said.  

“We’re quite lucky we’ve got quite a group of players playing well in our reserves games that are ready to go, and that’s what we’ve wanted all along.”

With the potential of shorter turnarounds between matches, more rotations and selection depth has been a hot topic for all clubs. 

He said the recent reserves games had provided an opportunity for non-selected players, which they’ve grabbed with both hands.

“We definitely have quite a few guys that are playing their best footy that I’ve seen them play at the football club and they haven’t been able to break into the side,” he said. 

“We said we wanted competition for spots and at the moment we’re in a really healthy position for that.

“We ask our players to be ready every week. If our players are always looking to get better, then they’ll be best prepared to go out and play if that opportunity arises.”