THERE are reality checks, then there are REALITY CHECKS.

While many of his Sydney teammates are spending their shutdown period mixing training with time on the couch, draftee Will Gould has been running his family farm ... on his own.

The 19-year-old was thrown into the deep end upon returning home to Lucindale, South Australia, last month with his father Richard sustaining a significant injury to his leg.

"It gives you a bit of a reality check when you come back and it's pretty tough going out here," Gould told SENSA on Wednesday.

"All of our cows are having calves at the moment so (I'm) looking after them, (plus a) bit of sheep work the last few days and today as well.

"Dad was out of action for the first week I was home. He had a little bit of a chainsaw accident so I was pretty much running the show on my own for a week.

"I was there probably 2-3 minutes after it happened. We were just trimming back trees, the branch he was cutting fell onto his chainsaw which then fell onto his leg."

With his leg wrapped in a jumper, Gould senior was taken to nearby Naracoorte for treatment before being rushed via ambulance 100km to Mount Gambier.

"It's a pretty decent scratch he's got himself. He's fine now and he's back working already," Gould said.

When the farm work is done each day, Gould turns to his fitness program. 

And while he played in a SANFL premiership for Glenelg last season with a body that's AFL-ready, Gould has a strong focus on improving his running endurance.

With the help of his local football club – Lucindale – Gould has nabbed gym equipment he wasn't able to take from the Swans when flying home interstate.

Gould played in one of the Swans' two Marsh Community Series matches before he was overlooked for a debut in round one against Adelaide.