Acting captain Drew Petrie says he hasn’t changed his ways since stepping up into the role, preferring to trust the approach that’s worked for him throughout his career.

The 30-year-old says a collaborative effort from experienced players was vital to Friday night’s win against Geelong.

“Good captains are surrounded generally by other good leaders,” he told Matt Thompson and Andrew Lowther on AFL.com.au's Exchange podcast.

“Our other leaders of the footy club, Boomer (Brent Harvey), Daniel Wells, Jack Ziebell, Scotty Thompson all performed really well. You could argue that Ziebell, Wells and Harvey were three of our best, so when there’s more than one person to share the load with, it makes it easier on yourself as captain.”

Petrie believes sticking to his normal preparation was important in making his team-mates comfortable under a new skipper.  

“I didn’t want to make myself louder within the change-rooms before the game because I’ve played for 13 seasons; why change all of a sudden when I’ve got a little c (captain) next to my name?

“I really wanted to make the emphasis on not going over the top, and not doing anything you wouldn’t normally do.”

Petrie got the perfect result in his first game as captain, thanks partly to the contribution of veteran Brent Harvey, who finished with 37 disposals.

“He just ran and ran all night. It’s just simple for him when he runs hard and uses his pace and speed. As long as he’s got that he’ll be able to play.”

And while some have questioned Harvey’s future, his great mate has no doubts he can continue to play on.

“On Friday night he just shored up things to make sure he’ll be playing next year for the Kangas,” Petrie added.

“The question I keep asking myself is – 'who is Brent Harvey keeping out of the side? Who is he preventing from playing?', and the answer is no-one. He’s dominating.

“Even if he does begin to struggle next year, we can put him on as a sub and use him in that capacity and find out how he goes there.”