From country boy in Katandra to Carlton’s senior AFL coach, David Teague has grown into a leader comfortable in his own skin and prepared to do things his way.

The 38-year-old has taken the reins at Ikon Park on a full-time basis, signing a three-year deal after an impressive stint as caretaker coach.

Teague’s popularity was evident at Thursday’s media conference, where the waiting players anticipated every late arrival with the zeal of a Mexican wave before erupting into cheers when Teague finally walked through the doors.

That Teague had brought new life to the club was made equally obvious by the club’s changing on-field fortunes.

One win from the final nine games of Brendon Bolton’s doomed tenure gave rise to five victories from Teague’s first seven in charge.

His lack of senior coaching experience had always been the question mark but as Blues chief Cain Liddle noted, Teague had proven himself during apprenticeships under John Worsfold at West Coast and the late Phil Walsh at Adelaide.

Walsh was a pivotal figure in Teague again shifting his young family across the country, having been offered an assistant role with the Crows at the end of 2014.

“Originally when Adelaide asked me I said no, and my wife was the one that said ‘Why wouldn’t you go and work under Phil – he’s been as big an influence on you as anyone’,” Teague said.

“And she was willing to pick up the kids and move over there.

“You travel every second weekend as an interstate coach and it makes it quite hard on your family. When she said she was proud, that’s what choked me up out of everything.”

Teague was asked what was the biggest thing he learned under Walsh, who died in 2015.

“To be authentic, to be yourself,” he said.

“I remember a really early conversation he had at Adelaide. Someone was trying to tell him something to do and he said ‘I’ve got three years, I’m doing it my way and if you don’t like it, sack me’ sort of thing.

“I remember I went to St Kilda as a coach (in 2013) and I probably tried to coach the way I thought the coach wanted me (to) for half the year, and I wasn’t coaching well.

“And then halfway through the year I said ‘I’m doing it my way’ … I learnt then that to be a good leader, you’ve got to do it your way.”