MIDFIELDER Ed Curnow believes that the time away from the Club has only fuelled the team even further to raise the bar in 2020.

With motivation already running high after the team’s impressive finish to the 2019 season, the Blues entered the pre-season full of excitement as to what the new year could hold under Senior Coach David Teague. 

Despite the interruption, Curnow is confident that the belief among the group is as strong as it’s ever been, with the team keen to turn the page on years gone by. 

“There’s a lot of optimism and enthusiasm, that’s for sure,” Curnow said. 

“We’re all pretty keen to get back into games and we really think we’re a red-hot chance at winning most games and we want to give it a solid crack.

“It’s hard not to think that, with the way we played through the back-end of last year and I suppose the competitive individuals we’ve got at the footy club at a young age that are driving the training on the track.”

The Blues returned to training on Monday, able to complete their first new-look session under the guidelines imposed by the AFL. 

While grateful to be back training with his teammates at Ikon Park, Curnow also believes that the time in isolation would have done many players the world of good.

“I really enjoyed the time away from the Club to almost tweak your program and make it suit your own life and how you feel day-to-day,” he said.

“Having the flexibility to train when it suits you and what you’ve got going on in the world, because everyone has different things on at the moment – more so than ever. 

“But then also being able to mix up locations and go to an athletics track, or go to a different footy ground, or just running in the bush or along the creek, it’s been quite enjoyable.”