CARLTON players have banded together to harden up.

According to a report in The Age, players and officials, including coach Brett Ratten, are made to wear a wristband with the words “Harden the F--- Up” written on it if they are thought to need toughening up.

Ratten told The Age that the idea came from high-performance coach Justin Cordy. “We had been thinking of things to make sure the players were pushing each other to always do the utmost and Justin thought of the band. It has grown from there.

Captain Chris Judd was awarded the band after calling a chauffeur driver service to get himself to training when his car was broken into and the front window smashed. That Judd had tried calling teammates and taxis without avail counted for nothing.

Ratten had to wear a band for a week after contracting gastroenteritis on Carlton’s South Africa trip and missing an Australian High Commission function. Weights coach Stuart Livingston was hit for refusing to wear a too-small top in the gym.

Football manager Steven Icke was seen icing sore muscles after a golf day; Ryan Jackson shaved his armpit hair. Cain Ackland spend 16 weeks on the sideline with an AC strain. All were made to join the band-wearers.

“We weren’t saying they were soft, but it is saying ‘no short-cuts’, everyone is accountable for their actions,” Ratten said.

“It is more about saying, ‘Don’t whinge, do the work, get it done’. No short-cuts. It is meant to kick everyone in and cow prod them and it creates a bit of banter and fun.”