Northern Territory-raised duo Jess Budarick and Brodie Carroll are settling into the Victorian lifestyle after signing with Hampden league club Terang Mortlake.

Budarick, 18, and Carroll, 19, grew up in Katherine – a town with a population of 6000 – and played junior football together for Big River Hawks in the Northern Territory Football League junior competition.

They progressed, playing for NTFL senior clubs Nightcliff and Waratah respectively before opting to move south and join the Bloods during the territory off-season.

Budarick said the pair, who live together above Crawley’s Milkbar in Terang and are working in Warrnambool, made the move “for a love of footy”.

“A few of the players from Terang Mortlake played for Waratah,” he said.

“Brodie rang me up (about joining the Bloods), considering I was playing for Nightcliff, and I was keen as soon as he said it.

“It’s the best decision I’ve made. It’s definitely a lot different to living back home and I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

Budarick, who only graduated from Katherine High last year, is hosting his family at the moment.

“They came down to surprise me,” he said.

“I am enjoying every moment of it. They took me to Port Fairy, I loved that, and to Peterborough.

“I’d been to Melbourne a couple of times but hadn’t seen the countryside and it’s beautiful.”

The lifestyle differences – including the stark weather conditions – have taken him time to adjust to.

The football game plans contrast too.

“It is definitely a bit more contested, lots more tackles and up there’s it’s ‘go get the footy and just run’,” Budarick said.

“It’s a lot of speed. There is definitely a lot of skill, lots of quick little fellas.”

Budarick developed his football through Big Rivers Hawks.

He said the time commitment took its toll as travel was extensive.

“We’d go to Darwin each week,” he said.

“We’d usually wake up at 6.30am in the morning and drive to Darwin which is about three hours away to play footy and come back.”

Budarick and Carroll have made an immediate impact at Terang Mortlake, which finds itself with a 3-6 win-loss record at the midway point of the season.

They’ve consistently found themselves in the Bloods’ best playing midfield-forward roles.

The Bloods host North Warrnambool Eagles – the 2016 grand finalists they upset in round one – at Mortlake’s D.C Farran Oval on Saturday.