Stepien was the hard-hitting keeper-batsman with all the shots, while Crone was the tall fast bowler with a great action who could jag the ball around.

They clearly had the makings of being first XI Premier Cricket players for a long time, but did they have that bit extra in them to go to the next level?

"There were big wraps on them because they had plenty of skill, but skill only takes you so far,'' Gulbis said of Crone and Stepien.

"What I've really been impressed with is the work ethic they've shown in the three years I've been with them at Carlton."

Gulbis, 33, has played first-class cricket for Tasmania and Victoria and Big Bash League for the Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Stars.

You could mount a good argument that he still should, at the very least, have a BBL contract.

The bottom line is the Carlton captain-coach knows what it takes to get to the next level.

"When you go to the next level and you enter a professional environment you need to be at your best every day,'' Gulbis said.

"That's the big difference with guys coming from country cricket, or even just grade cricket in Melbourne, where you only need to perform on the weekend. The rest of the week you can get away with everything.

"When you enter a professional organisation or environment everyone you're with is your mate, but they are also trying to take your job.

"They are trying to take your position in the team and you need to be at your best everyday. Everyday matters, every training session matters.

"Learning that professionalism really sets people apart."

That work ethic and professional attitude is paying dividends for 22-year-old housemates Crone and Stepien.

Crone made his debut for Victoria in one-day cricket earlier this summer and just this week represented the Cricket Australia XI against the England Lions.

Stepien played two Big Bash League games for the Melbourne Renegades last month.

"It's taken Steppo a couple of years, but he's starting to get to that level now,'' Gulbis said.

"If you look at his face at the moment you can see how much work he's put in in terms of his body composition and his skill.

"It's always easy to train your skill, but it's hard to become professional in other ares of your life. Steppo has been fantastic with that, especially this season.

"It comes on the back of winning a premiership last year and being one of our better batters.

"Getting an opportunity in the Futures League where he got 90 and kept really well.

"He's proving to everyone he's a serious cricketer and not just a bloke that's got pure skill. The sky is the limit with him."

Gulbis said the secret to Crone's success was pure hard work.

"Croney can bowl his sixth, seventh and eighth over of a spell the same as his third or fourth over,'' he said.

"A lot of the guys coming through can bowl a good spell, but the rest of the day they're running on three cylinders.

"The fact he can give you the same output at any time of the day or back-to-back days is the big thing. If you're going to play Shield cricket or Test cricket you need to be able to run in and get the job done no matter what the conditions are.

"Croney has always been able to swing the ball and he's always been a good new-ball bowler, but he now has the work behind him that he can charge in all day and that adds another string to his bow."

Crone and Stepien return to Premier Cricket action this weekend.

Second-placed Carlton plays sixth-placed Melbourne at The Albert Ground in a Saturday-Sunday encounter.

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