Carlton midfielder Dale Thomas was regarded as an ‘old-head’ in a young team when he spoke to 3AW on Sunday, in the wake of Carlton’s come-from-behind win over the Eagles.

Thomas was lauded for his ability to stand up when it was most needed.

In his interview, Thomas said he felt that it was important not to panic when the match was tight.

“It’s important when you have older blokes in a mix with a younger group … that when you get your chances that you control the play and setup, take that breath as such and try and get the whole group just to relax a little bit,” Thomas said.

When asked whether there had been any distinct changes to the game-plan over the course of the past few weeks, Thomas said that it was essential to have belief in the strategy originally set out by coach Mick Malthouse.

“When you’re four or so goals down its easy just to chuck in the towel … but the boys have a great deal of belief, we keep chipping away, we have great belief in the game-plan that Mick has put in place,” he said.

‘Daisy’ praised the influence of small forward Jeff Garlett and super sub Troy Menzel on the contest, as well as the team’s ability to kick goals in quick succession.

“When you’ve got blokes like Jeffy Garlett buzzing around the forward line, young Menzel when he came on last night from the sub … our ability to score quickly, we’re never really out of the contest which is fantastic to know going into the last quarter,” he said.

The Blues come up against archenemies Collingwood this Friday and will take the winning experiences of the last two weeks into the big clash.

Thomas, who will be facing his former team for the first time, says he feels it’s an important game for the club and an important game for him.

“There’s no doubt that this week is going to be a big game. The Pies are in some red hot form … we’re going to have to certainly be on our game but Friday night at the G (MCG) against my old mob, doesn’t get much better than that,” Thomas said.