IT’S business as usual for the Blues up north.

Making the move the Gold Coast ahead of Round 6, Carlton was quick to put a Navy Blue stamp on its home for the month ahead.

Director of High Performance Andrew Russell was eager to establish a sense of home in week one of hub life, with consistency key as training kicked off. 

“Training is very similar. We’ve really just picked up our base from Ikon and put it on the Gold Coast,” Russell said. 

“But nothing changes too much. You’re managing your players every single day, so it’s not different, we just keep doing what we’re doing just in a different spot.”

Viewing the stint in the Sunshine State as an opportunity, Russell believes the weeks ahead represent a significant bonding period for the group.

With two weeks of mandatory quarantine, the routine of training and preparation for games remains much the same.

“It’s a little bit different. The main difference is that we’re restricted in what we can do,” he said.

“We can’t go anywhere outside of training. We’re at the hotel, we leave the hotel to train and we go back to the hotel.

“It’s different but they’re getting to spend a lot of time together as well and keep building on these strong connections.”