Carlton’s first-year players were pushed to their breaking point during their two-day camp in Tasmania – but they didn’t crack.

Kayaking, mountain bike riding and swimming through icy cold water were just a few of the challenges the boys completed on their trip to Bruny Island.

“We did a 10km bike ride and young Charlie Curnow couldn’t be broken, he kept attacking the hill pretty hard, so if that’s any indication to our members and supporters it will be exciting,” Bolton told SEN on Friday morning.

The coach, who also jumped into the icy waters, said the camp was all about building strong relationship and testing the boys’ mental and physical strength.

“It was a real opportunity for the first-years to unite as a group and also for Mathew Capuano, who heads up our academy, and myself to unite with the group – and usually you do that through adversity and challenge.

“We took them to Tasmania and they were put in some very adverse situations – let me tell you the water wasn’t quite tropical!

“There was a bit of sleep deprivation and some really challenging physical activities.”

With all the hype surrounding Carlton’s position in the draft (acquiring four players in the top 20), Bolton wanted to instill the players with a key ethos.

“We talked about entitlement, you’re not entitled to anything – you need to earn it, so we had all these very honest conversations.

“Often the way we think determines what happens, so they need to put a bar really high and chase – put no ceiling on it.”

And what did Bolton learn from the two-day camp?

“One thing I do know, they’re only young and raw, but they don’t give up.”