ADELAIDE veteran Michael Doughty has backed Bernie Vince to rebound from his latest off-field indiscretion, where he stripped down to his underpants in a hotel on South Australia's Yorke Peninsular.

He said the attention Vince's actions have attracted wouldn't hamper his preparation for the NAB Cup Grand Final on Saturday night, or the opening round of the regular season on March 31.

"He's a strong person, he'll be right," Doughty said.

"We'll deal with Bernie internally in terms of improving that side of his life and he'll get better, he's a strong kid.

"He's just got to learn very quickly because you can't get away with that stuff anymore."

Despite stepping down from the leadership group for the 2012 season, Doughty acts as Vince's mentor at the club. He said he would be part of a discussion about Vince's behavior early next week.

"Its not something we're jumping up to solve right now. He's got to do some work and it's got to come from him," Doughty said.

"You get sick and tired of reading your name in the press for the wrong reasons and Bernie's certainly not happy with the press he's getting at the moment.

"He's a bit embarrassed by it, but he's just got to use it in the right way and improve in that area."

The coverage of the incident has been "disappointing" for the club, Doughty said, especially given it has come in a Grand Final week.

He said that while the club was focused on preparing for the regular season, a win on Saturday night could help propel the side towards future success, as Geelong did when it won the 2006 NAB Cup.

Geelong went on to win the 2007, 2009 and 2011 premierships, while falling short in 2008.

"For such a young group they're influenced by what happens now," Doughty, who was a member of Adelaide's successful pre-season teams in 2003 and 2008.

"(West Coast was) a top-four team last year (which) had come back from a pretty tough year the year before, and we'll be using [the NAB Cup] to start the start of [our home and away season].

"But it won't affect our preparation, it's just about improving again to be as best as we can for round one."

Harry Thring covers Adelaide news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.

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