A HUMID hitout got the ball rolling on the first day of Carlton’s pre-season camp.

For third-year Blue Lochie O’Brien, a tough first session in Maroochydore quelled any 'Mondayitis' the group had ahead of this week’s training block.

With intensity and conditioning the key takeaways, O’Brien wrapped up the first day of what will be a week of grit and grind on the Sunshine Coast.

“In terms of the session, today was probably the hardest I’ve had,” O’Brien said.

“The boys are feeling it. It’s a credit to us that we got out of it pretty quickly: by the end of the session, everything was in full flow.”

From the get-go the focus was on the contest, with the humid conditions testing the group’s staying power over the session.

“Today we were straight into it: it was pretty hot out here. I think it was 30 degrees, the humidity was pretty high and from the start, the drills were at a high intensity,” O’Brien said.

“The [drills] were one-on-one compete kind of stuff and you found yourself in a hole pretty quickly.

“To get yourself out of that, it was pretty hard work that’s for sure.”

Midway through the first pre-season with David Teague at the helm, the focus remains on intensity in the contest.

With off-season recruits hitting their stride in Navy Blue, day one was also about building synergy across the group through the contest.

Both personally and across the board, O’Brien has noticed a shift in mindset this summer compared to previous.

“We’ve been working on it a fair bit, the way we compete and making sure we can compete for longer,” he said.

“I was writing them down with [midfield coach Brent Stanton] before… I’m putting a big emphasis on my ability to compete because I know that’s something I need to keep working on.

“We’ve been doing a lot of one-on-one stuff, whether that’s in the air, on the ground or mixing and matching different opponents to make sure that you find your way whether you small or a tall and what best suits you.

“The way that the boys have ingrained that into the way they prepare for sessions in terms of making sure they’re their best, it’s going to help us in the long run.”

In terms of a standout teammate, O’Brien couldn’t separate the two Blues that impressed him on the track on day one.

He was also under no illusions that pre-season camp is just getting started.

“I thought Zac Fisher was great in terms of his midfield work. H’s been trying to nail in and make sure that he calls an inside mid position his own,” he said.

“I also thought that Matthew Kennedy today… he’s obviously moved up forward and take it in his stride.

“I don’t think it’s going to get any easier from here, that’s for sure.”