Collingwood have been on the road for 18 days and counting, since the AFL exodus from Melbourne.
Vice-captain Taylor Adams says positive performances while in the hubs has made the situation far more enjoyable, especially when away from family and loved ones.
“We’ve settled in really well. Obviously, the game on Thursday night was really positive for us. Coming off a short break, 6 days and a flight from Sydney was probably not ideal preparation,” Adams told the RSN Breakfast Club.
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“Geelong were in a similar position, so to go out there an perform in that way on Thursday night was really positive for us. It certainly makes the hub life a lot more enjoyable.
“The boys are up and about for the weekend and we’re looking forward to the game this week against West Coast.”
The AFL is preparing to play 33 matches across 20 straight days as part of the next fixture block that was released on Tuesday.
Adapting to the ever-changing environment and the wider community is imperative for all clubs’ success in 2020.
“It’s probably the new normal. You just sort of forget about what it used to be and you deal with what the circumstances are and what we’re facing. I think everybody in every industry is facing a different look at what their job now looks like,” Adams said.
“We’ve got our heads around it with the schedule coming out. It gives us an opportunity to plan forward. I think we’ve handled it really well."
With the new-look fixture, the Pies may see debutants thrown into the mix, with a strong mindset amongst the playing group.
“There’s going to be a high rotation of players… We’re going to have to have a squad mentality,” Adams said.
“We’re going to have to have guys come in, guys go out when they’re not right to play.”
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High praise across the competition has come for the Magpies back six with their ability to hold teams to such low scores, but the teams ethos from to top down is what makes this possible.
“We saw the stats that of our points against in the review this week… it’s obviously something we pride ourselves on,” Adams said.
“We’re certainly a defence first team and we know we that we have points in the shed, we can score off the back of that and I think we’ve played a little more offensively in the last month.
“Everyone is chipping in and everyone buys into it, from Pendles down. There’s no one that gets a free ride.
“That’s one reason why we’re able to keep teams to such a low score.”
