THE build-up to Friday night football always seems slightly more intense than it does for other games.

Although it shouldn't enter into your thoughts, I think players are always aware that they're the only ones playing that night and, as such, have a much wider audience scrutinising their every move.

The build-up to Carlton's game against West Coast in Perth two weeks ago was particularly intense for me.

Given the increased tension, the need to travel to Perth — a state in which we haven't won a match for a long time — and also being a young side, the result was very satisfying.

West Coast has copped a fair bit of criticism this year, has suffered from high expectations and is now in unfamiliar territory for many of its players, fans and people associated with the club.

The team has been crippled by injuries this season and I think has demonstrated the compound effect such injuries can have on a club.

Let's say that a team loses five players of similar ability through injuries. The first of these players will be replaced by a player who can produce 95% of the same output, the second may be replaced by someone who can give 90% and so it goes on, down the list, until the fifth, sixth and seventh players needing to be replaced are done so by someone without much experience, who can manage only 60% of the output compared to the player he is replacing. The effect injured players have on a club is often less about the player missing, and more about the replacement player.

It can be very handy when the club with many injuries has a couple of older players on whom to call. These players may have become slightly out of favour with the match committee, but who have nevertheless played 50-plus AFL games.

You can predict what you're going to get with such players. They've played sufficient senior games to understand both what is expected of them and their role in the team. While in the long term they may never play as well as the first- and second-year players against whom they are competing for spots in the team, with a short-term, week-by-week view, they can be very valuable for a club with a lot of senior players missing.

If confidence is the memory of past success, then after seven rounds, Carlton had enjoyed its third successful memory for the year with victory over the Eagles. It is these memories that can be recalled when times get tough.

West Coast challenged us in the third quarter and for us to be able to steady the ship, and again kick away to a good lead, should bring confidence to our young group.

For me, the game was more than just a normal home-and-away game, as I was playing against players whom I'd never faced before in 140 games of AFL football — a side that I'd represented for the vast majority of those 140 games.

Other than the four points, which were of most importance for everyone at the club, I think I walked away with a couple of extra things. The first was that I walked away a Carlton player and not a Carlton player who used to play for West Coast, or a new Carlton player.

For a footballer who has switched clubs, nothing is as effective for rewiring his brain as competing against his old teammates, and having his new ones helping out and competing with him for the same thing. I felt this strongly throughout the game on May 2.

On a personal level, the other thing that the match did was put an end to the circus.

I'd class a circus-type event as one where you're followed by numerous journalists, and have more media requests than you could possibly fulfil, even if you dedicated your entire week to participating in media engagements. A grand final is a circus-type event for the players, as is when a player gets arrested, or any extraordinary act, such as Barry Hall's punch on Brent Staker a few weeks ago.

Events such as these can result in a player surrounded by a circus-like atmosphere, and I've felt like I've had a few such circus experiences since changing clubs: my first training session, my first match for Carlton, and now my first match against the old club.

I've now run out of "firsts" and feel that I'll be able to dedicate all my energies to the games ahead with fewer outside distractions.

This is a very welcome fact for me, as we've got a big month to look forward to and, along with a cluster of other teams, remain in the hunt for a finals spot.