The three new Brisbane Lions draftees have finished their first week as professional footballers - and they say it’s been ‘unbelievable’.

Sam Mayes, Marco Paparone and Michael Close arrived at the Club on Monday morning and have largely spent the week getting acquainted with their new teammates, new facilities, a new city, and the new task of being a full-time AFL player.

The three 18-year-olds have been slowly eased into training, completing a light session on Tuesday morning and some track running on Thursday, with a view to slowly ramping up their training load by Christmas.

Michael Close, from Harrow in country Victoria, said that the first week had been all about education and getting the feel of their new Club.

“We don’t do the workloads the [other] players do for a while, just to avoid injuries,” Close told APN yesterday.

“It’s just unreal being here. I can’t believe it.”

“I just want to learn as much as I can and feed off big Jono Brown. It’s pretty surreal having him as a teammate.”

Close is bunking with fellow draftee Paparone at the home of Aaron Cornelius, while Mayes has found a temporary home with Matthew Leuenberger and Jordan Lisle. The draftees will move into a permanent home when they return from their Christmas break.

Click here to read more about the new draftees.

It’s easy to forget that the young trio are just teenagers who, until a week ago, were high school students, living with Mum and Dad. It’s the job of the Club’s welfare, leadership and culture department to ensure that all draftees make a smooth transition into the everyday responsibilities of being an adult.

First-year players are put through an induction course, which includes cooking dinner, shopping, renting a house, organising a car, and paying the bills - among other things.

It can be a daunting prospect for an 18-year-old, but there is no shortage of players to call on for advice given the majority of the list made the move to Brisbane from interstate.

For now, it’s one step at a time for Mayes, Paparone and Close, and no doubt Lions fans will be looking forward to seeing their development over their first year at the Brisbane Lions.