Brendon Goddard has challenged his teammates to stand up and lead in the absence of captain Jobe Watson.

Goddard was last week named stand in captain for Watson who will miss the next eight to ten weeks after surgery on a ruptured tendon in his hip.

“It is everyone’s responsibility whether Jobe is here or not to lead and steer the ship,” Goddard said.

“With me holding the title of captaincy my role is not changing from what I do week to week or how I approach the game.”

“For other guys in the team it is a chance for them to stand up and be heard. It really is everyone’s responsibility to stand up and be a leader.”

Goddard said he was pleased with the way the team had trained throughout the week in preparation for Saturday night’s match against Adelaide.

“Our main session was really positive after we had a good review and we implemented that at training,” he said.

The stand in captain said the playing group was fully focused on their preparations for the Crows despite ongoing conjecture about the ASADA investigation.

“The group has been really good and we really don’t talk about it unless there is something worth talking about,” Goddard said.

“People would probably expect that we talk about it more than we do but we actually don’t.”

“It is important for the guys to focus on what we can control and I know we talk about it all the time but it is really important that we do that.”

“Our preparation is the most important thing and then our footy reflects our preparation on the weekends.”