STRENGTH in numbers in something which has defined David Teague’s Carlton in the last three games.

That was evident on the weekend, with a range of Blues playing multiple roles in a famous win in Perth.

From the outset, Teague has mentioned his desire to have his players embrace their roles and play to their strengths.

Speaking to 3AW Sportsday on Tuesday night, Teague was understandably thrilled with the application of his players in trying circumstances.

“It’s always good to have a couple of plans if something isn’t working,” Teague said.

“They don’t always work, you make the change and that doesn’t always work, but what I’ve loved is that we have changed it, the players have accepted the role and tried their best to execute it.

While Jack Silvagni drew praise for his lockdown performance on Nat Fyfe, Teague also highlighted the work of Zac Fisher who transitioned to a small forward role and produced a match-winning assist.

The coach also revealed that the Blues had a contingency plan of defender Caleb Marchbank spending time on the Fremantle skipper if he continued to pose an aerial threat.

In the absence of Patrick Cripps, Sam Docherty, Harry McKay and then Charlie Curnow, Teague said the four-point win was crucial for the belief of the playing group.

“I think the players are now starting to believe it — the good thing is the media talked up Patrick Cripps and they talk about Harry McKay and Charlie,” he said.

“Now, our players know they can do it without them.

“It was perfect proof… if we have 22 buy into their roles, we’re going to be pretty tough to defeat.”

Teague also outlined the shift in Carlton’s game style in recent weeks, with the interim coach mentioning a desire to play the game in the Blues’ forward half.

Since Round 12, the Blues rank second in the competition for forward half intercepts, as well as first for points scored from forward half intercepts and chains.

“I’m pretty aggressive in the way we play and the way we want to attack and defend,” he said.

“We want our players to play well and we think that we’ve got a fair bit of attacking flair in us… we were mainly keen on getting the game played in our half.

“We’re also keen to defend strongly and so far the balance has been pretty good: we’ll continue to get better.”

The news you want, straight to your inbox. Subscribe today to the official Carlton Football Club messenger bot.