Ryan Teague has attributed Melbourne Victory's perfect start to the A-League Men season to the fierce battle for places in their starting line-up.
The likes of Jake Brimmer, Chris Ikonomidis and Ben Folami have had to bide their time for opportunities amid a fresh influx of talent at the club.
The acquisition of Teague, Daniel Arzani and Zinedine Machach has added enviable depth at the Victory, with the bench stronger than ever now.
It's a big reason why the Victory have won both of their starts, says Teague.
"It's a competitive environment," Teague said.
"Every football team has this aspect to it and I think when you have such a competitive environment, it just makes for a better team and better training and ultimately it's what makes us better on the weekend when we can go out and win.
"But in the dressing room, everyone gets along with each other. It's great vibes."
Teague played one game for Sydney FC as a teenager before heading to Portugal with Famalicao, before spending time on loan at Sporting da Covilha.
Now 21, the former Joeys (Australian U17s) captain is a crucial part of the Olyroos, and has high ambitions.
"On a club level, I want to maintain my spot in the team and I want to win this league," he said.
"We have a team this year that's incredible. We have players who have a lot of passion, a lot of quality, that we can really take it and win this league.
"Then on the international level, obviously there's the Olympics coming up for the Olyroos next year, but there's been young A-League players who have been given the chance to play in the Socceroos and I don't see why that's not in the books for me to do."
Victory take on Adelaide United at AAMI Park on Saturday and Teague is prepared to go toe-to-toe with young guns Nestor Irankunda and Jonny Yull.
He's also ready if things get heated between the arch-rivals.
"We all back our teammates, back our club, who we play for," he said.
"But at the end of the day, you've got to stay focused on what you're doing on the field and try not to get caught up in the emotions of it and just play.
"It's exciting to play against great young players, but I'll be honest I haven't thought much about Adelaide in terms of how they're going.
"I'm very focused on our team and myself and what I can do, what we can do as a team to get better and to win this game."
