Carr is now a veteran at the Dockers, meaning he had the choice to travel to Albany instead of South Africa, but preparation for round one against Collingwood begins with training next week.
"We are going into more of an in-season training program now, especially when the guys get back from South Africa. We have an internal trial game and then the [NAB Cup] game against the West Coast Eagles," Carr said.
"We start moving into serious game time and the guys are hanging out to playing football as you get sick of running around the park after a while."
With a host of new faces in the coaching department, Carr can see some changes that he hopes will help the Dockers get back into the finals.
"It has been an enjoyable pre-season with a lot of fresh faces in the coaching staff and some players. It has been good and the guys have worked hard, now we just want to start playing football," he said.
"There have been a few little changes here and there. Mark [Harvey] doesn’t want to come in and make sweeping changes straight away to upset the team, but Mark has put his stamp on the team with his discipline and hardness."
While Fremantle certainly wouldn’t complain about having a successful NAB Cup, its entire focus is on the season proper and Carr is feeling ready to go in body and mind.
"My body is feeling good and has been for a few years, so hopefully that stays the same. I've got through the pre-season well and I'm looking forward to the year," he said.
"I suppose I'll play the NAB Cup. Mark hasn’t spoken to any of the playing group about that yet. I'd say that if you are fit, you'll play, but if you have any troubles at all I don’t think he'll risk you. Whatever Mark says, we'll do.
"Our focus is round one. That's the main thing and we will use the pre-season competition for what it is. It gives you the opportunity to work on what you've talked about in the pre-season and be ready as a team for round one."
As for what the Dockers need to do differently to improve on an 11th-place finish in 2007, Carr believes it starts with having the best players available.
"The most important thing is to have everyone out there," he said.
"Early on last year we didn’t through injuries, suspensions and everything like that. A few little changes to the way we play will hopefully help us win more games."
