THE TRANSITION from Perth to Melbourne has been a good one so far for Adam Cerra, enjoying three wins for his side in the first three weeks of the season. 

However, Cerra is firm on him or the team not getting ahead of themselves, with the Club collectively taking things one week at a time. 

Acknowledging the surreal nature of playing in front of 66,000 fans at the MCG in the early Sunday fixture, Cerra was firm on the developing nature of their game plan. 

“The passion in the fans and the whole Club and the community is massive and we’re thrilled that the fans are so excited and up and about,” Cerra said. 

“We’re not getting too ahead of ourselves, we’ve still got plenty of work to do and we’re just going to take it week by week.” 

Clinching a one-point victory over the Hawks on Sunday, Cerra credited the group for hanging on in tough circumstances, but noted that plenty of lessons will have to be taken from the second half to improve. 

“It was tight: credit to us for being able to stick it out and come out with the four points but for us, that second half gave us plenty to learn from,” he said. 

“I’m sure it was a good show for the fans of both sides but credit to the boys and we stood up there in the end and got us over the line.” 

The new-look midfield group at Carlton has been the talk of the town, with the addition of Cerra and George Hewett as well as the strong performances from Patrick Cripps, Matt Kennedy, Sam Walsh and Marc Pittonet. 

It was the first time that the midfield group has all played together in the one game, with Cerra returning from AFL Health and Safety Protocols.

Cerra was adamant that no individual credit was going to be taken for the midfield performances over the last three games, citing the connection they’ve built and their selfless attitude as the catalyst for their strong showings. 

“On the midfield as a whole, we don’t want to rely on one person, we’re not focusing on individuals in there: we just want to be better teammates to each other so each player plays their role,” he said.

“I think we’re mixing five or six of us in the midfield there and we built that really strong connection over the summer. We don’t mind who is getting the glory and the goals or whatever – we’re just keep finding ways to be better teammates and helping each other out there.” 

In terms of settling in at the Club, Cerra found the best route to go down was just be himself and allow his teammates to see him for who he is. 

Allowing himself to build genuine connections with his teammates is something that Cerra attributes to their positive performances, with the whole group developing cohesion on and off the field. 

“I just wanted to be myself, the guys at the Club are so welcoming of who you are and for me, it was just about doing what I do in terms of being professional, putting my head down and working and earning respect,” he said.   

“I think that transition has been really smooth and allowed us to come into the team and feel like we’ve been playing there for years: I think that really showed on the weekend.”