BACK to business. 

Even though Melbourne is abuzz with Carlton playing its first preliminary final since 2000, the focus inside the four walls at IKON Park is very much the same. 

As the Blues prepare to fly to Brisbane to take on the Lions on Saturday night, midfielder Adam Cerra said to the media that while the vibe was high, the team was treating this week like any other during the season.

“There’s definitely a buzz and excitement around the Club – we had the fans down for training this morning which is always a lot of fun, seeing the excitement, energy and impact that we have on them,” Cerra said. 

“Internally, it’s the same week as always, it’s normal. We focus on our process, we’re not done yet: it’s not time to reflect, we’re just trying to get better as though it’s a normal week and play some Carlton footy on Saturday.”

Cerra admitted that the pressure of finals footy is something that can cause turnovers, as has been evident in the last fortnight. However, what's been crucial is Carlton's capacity to fight through that and get the job done, remaining confident that it can stand up against the best teams in the competition.

With the group playing in their first final series together, there has been a lot of to take away from the month so far, but the Blues have their eyes strictly ahead. 

“The Lions are one of the best teams in the competition, they’ve got a good home record and it’s going to be a tough game,” he said.

“We believe our style of footy stacks up against the best and in finals, it’s going to be tough. But we’re going to go up there with everything we’ve got and play some Blues footy and that’s all we can ask of ourselves.”

One thing that Carlton has embraced and fed off is the sheer noise that Bluebaggers have brought to the MCG over the last two weeks.

With two games in front of sell-out crowds, Cerra admits it’s something that gets the team amped up – especially when the game is on the line. 

“Back-to-back weeks playing in front of 90,000 crowds, that’s what you dream of as a kid and the energy last Friday was incredible,” he said. 

“It’s definitely played a part in us being able to wheel ourselves back into the game in the last five minutes and we definitely don’t take it for granted and it definitely gives us a buzz in those tight games.”

One thing the Blues do have in their pocket to deal with the pressure is the situational training that they put themselves through in the pre-season, not being burdened by the disappointment of late last year but rather growing from it.

Cerra said even though the last two weeks were stressful for all, the team felt confident that their training would hold them in good stead when it came down to those final minutes with everything on the line.

“We’re on our own journey. We look at our past 24 months, especially last year we had so much disappointment in those close games and not being able to finish, that’s an area we really targeted this year over the pre-season,” he said. 

“The positive is that in the last two weeks, we’ve been able to practice it and the hard work has paid off. 

“We feel really comfortable in those situations where we can get our jobs done and finish games – I think that’s just been the experiences from our journey that led to that.”