Carlton’s leadership group hasn’t announced any penalty for Fevola’s latest off-field indiscretion, but Wallace said he would make no changes to his team if the Blues forward missed round one.
“I think as a match committee and as coaches you always plan for the best side to be out in the market place,” he said.
“Clearly Carlton have got some decisions of their own that they have to make over the next 48 hours but it doesn’t change any of our planning.”
Wallace said Will Thursfield would line up at full-back on Thursday night regardless of whether Fevola was his opponent.
He would not comment on what action he would take if he were coaching Fevola, but used the opportunity to praise his players for their off-field conduct.
“It would disappoint me, [but] we’ve got to understand that there’s 44 individuals running around at each of the clubs,” Wallace said.
“We’ve had a pretty frustrating time in the last 12 months and it would be easy for one of our blokes to go off the rails, have a bender and do whatever young blokes do. I think our guys have understood they have a fair responsibility to turn this club around.
“One thing I’m confident of at the moment is we have a fantastic leadership group. The way they’ve handled our players off the field is outstanding.”
Wallace said he believed player empowerment was important to help the playing list mature and be accountable for their own actions, and that the leadership group and coaching staff would work together if a player transgressed.
“We all try to work our disciplines as well as we can. As a coach you never know what’s around the corner.”
