Settling into a new AFL club can be tricky at the best of times.

It can be even harder during a global pandemic that has severely limited face-to-face interaction and put the competition on hold.

Such is life for Jack Newnes, who joined Carlton from St Kilda as a free agent and made his debut in navy blue before the AFL shut down last month.

“We set some targets of what we wanted to get out of the isolation period with a few of our coaches and one of mine was to keep building relationships,” Newnes said.

“You go through the pre-season with the boys and get along with them and learn a bit about them.

“But it’s when the games and the nitty-gritty starts that you’re really trying to earn respect and build those relationships.”

Newnes, who played 155 games for St Kilda, kicked one goal from 12 disposals on his Carlton debut in the round one defeat to reigning premiers Richmond.

He was lured to the Blues by football manager Brad Lloyd and former list boss Stephen Silvagni, who offered Newnes the chance to play a running role on the wing and half-back.

The 27-year-old is excited by the opportunity that awaits on the other side of the coronavirus shutdown – whenever that may be.

“I thought I fitted that mould pretty well and towards the end of my tenure at the Saints I wasn’t playing that role that I’d love to play,” Newnes said.

“I did that through the whole pre-season at Carlton and a couple of practice games and played on a wing in round one against the Tigers.

“That’s what I was after and I had a good pre-season and whatnot, but it’s kind of all fizzled out now, which is a bit of a bummer.

“I really wanted to bounce back from a pretty average few years (at St Kilda).”

Newnes has been working through a training program on his own and doing limited one-on-one work with some teammates, including Ed Curnow and Darcy Lang.

He said he would be prepared to go into a quarantine hub in order to restart the 2020 season but acknowledged that scenario would not appeal to all players.

“I really just want to play,” Newnes said.

“I don’t have kids, so it’s quite easy for me to do something like that, whereas other people might battle.”