SENIOR Coach David Teague is well aware of the importance of the midfield battle tomorrow night.

When the old enemies clash for the 259th time, it will be a welcome return to the MCG for the Carlton family, with as many as 75,000 people to pack into the home of football.

While the romance of Navy Blue crowds returning in droves hasn’t been lost on Teague, the Senior Coach has his sights firmly set on banking four points tomorrow night.

Speaking to media from IKON Park on Wednesday, Teague said Carlton’s key area of improvement from last week — winning the territory battle — has been addressed this week.

“From centre bounces, we got beat, so we need to make sure we improve in that area. We gave up too many inside 50s and it’s as simple as that,” Teague said.

“It’s not just our midfield, it’s our team defence. We need to reduce that number, int he past we’ve been quite strong in that area. We need to get back to getting the ball in our front half and defending it in our front half.”

One welcome relief for Teague will be the availability of Zac Williams and Jack Martin, who are likely to be included in tonight’s team announcement from 6:20pm.

On potential club debutant Williams, Teague said the former Giant would add a physical edge on a night where the conditions may call for such a trait.

“To have Zac in there, he’s tough. He tackles. And he’s very smart with his ball use, particularly in traffic when the heat is in the game,” he said.

“He gets to debut in front of hopefully 75,000 Carlton supporters and members. We’re excited to have him back out there, we’re excited to have our fans back as well.”

It looks to be an intriguing clash of styles at the MCG, with Carlton’s ballistic ball movement in stark contrast to Collingwood’s precise, high-possession method.

Teague expected that to be a trend throughout the course of the year, with each team having a different interpretation to the new rules implemented for the new season.

While a lot of the talk post-match was about Collingwood’s defence, Teague said his side had to be wary of their stars in the middle.

“I watched the Richmond game [against Collingwood] live in pre-season and [the Magpies] were strong defensively in that game. They get numbers back and play a bit differently to a few sides,” ohs aid.

“You need to be able to adjust to what your opponents are doing.

“Around the contest and their midfielders is probably their biggest strength. We need to make sure we compete in that area and give our forwards as much opportunity as we can.”