FOR MANY players the AFL's shutdown period may equate to time spent indoors twiddling thumbs.
But not for Brisbane star Hugh McCluggage, who has been put to work on his family's dairy farm since the League halted its season.
The Lions' opening round loss to Hawthorn at the MCG was taking place when AFL boss Gillon McLachlan announced the season would be paused until at least May 31 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
McCluggage flew back to Brisbane that night but then booked a return trip to Melbourne the following morning, beating the border restrictions that were starting to be enforced around the country.
He headed straight for his family's farm in Allansford, near Warrnambool in western Victoria, where he grew up and where his dad Sam has around 700 cows, with the appeal of space and keeping active.
"It was something to do. Dad keeps me busy here with odd jobs around the place, we've got plenty of room, my little brother's come home as well and my sister too. I can kick the footy around with them and keep my mind busy," the 22-year-old told AFL.com.au.
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McCluggage, who became one of the Lions' major weapons last season with a brilliant year on the wing, said it was coming into a busy period for the farm.
"We knocked a few trees over and made a few loads for the wood fire in the house. That usually happens this time of the year when we cut all the wood and stack the tanks full," he said.
"We've been doing a bit of that, and karting a bit of water around. And then there's a bit of milking that happens as well. If any of the workers can't get there we'll pop over and help out as well.
"Dad's calving at the moment so all the cows are having their babies, so there's a lot to be done there.
"You have to get them in and look after the babies when they have them, feed a lot of cows around the dairy with grain, and all that sort of thing. It's flat out. There's always something for us to do."
As well as offering a hand around the property, McCluggage is working through the fitness program given out by the Lions, which is similar to the training guidelines for their off-season.
He and brother Myles, 17, will head to the local oval at quieter times for a kick, with Myles this year on the Greater Western Victoria Rebels' list as a bottom-ager.
"We're doing a few runs a week, and a few boys I know took equipment home from the gym like most clubs, but we've got a little gym here so I've tried to use that," he said.
"We've got to try to do the program to the best of our ability – obviously it's quite tough trying to find someone to kick with but I've got Myles who is going through the junior programs at the moment."
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The Lions were outplayed by the Hawks in round one, but McCluggage said that had nothing to do with the uncertainty over the future of the season when they took the field.
They were informed post-game that the season was on hold, and now will wait to see when they are able to play again next, with the Lions positioning themselves as a flag contender this season after a brilliant rise in 2019.
"It was a weird feeling [after the game], maybe a little bit of relief because there had been so much questioning of whether we would or wouldn't play, that you weren't quite sure what was happening," he said.
"But as soon as we got told we were off for a couple of months, I thought 'Righto, there's a date there to look to and we can go back and stay fit and aim for that'. Obviously there was disappointment there as well because we've done a massive pre-season and then you can't go out and play.
"But hopefully it means when we do come back we can play in front of our fans again, which we love, and you probably take for granted having the fans there in the stands until you actually play without them.
"As AFL players we're so used to having a schedule pretty much 12, 16 and 18 weeks in advance. I've got full faith in the guys at the club and we've got groups set up where we always talk, so we know what's happening."
