WEST Coast defender Liam Duggan is backing himself to pick up where he left off when football resumes after looking set to take his game up a level in 2020.
The 2018 premiership Eagle had enjoyed a strong summer and pre-season, and was among his side's best in its round one win over Melbourne.
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At 23 and a settled member of the Eagles' line-up, Duggan said the competition's pause as a means to slow the coronavirus outbreak had also halted his hopes to lift his output another notch.
"For me personally it was a little bit disappointing I couldn't continue that form but it's not to say I can't pick it back up when we start back up and going, so that's another challenge that we'll face with form," he said on Wednesday.
"It's a little bit frustrating but pretty small in the scheme of things."
West Coast premiership coach Adam Simpson said last week that some of his players had suffered minor injuries while training away from the club as they learned to cope with the fitness program in isolation.
Duggan said he hadn't fallen victim to any issues, but was still nursing a sore thumb from the pre-season.
"I've got a clean bill of health. I injured my thumb in the Marsh Community Series against Fremantle so that's been able to get a little bit of a rest," he said.
Duggan has steered clear of tracking the latest updates in relation to when football will return, instead just waiting to be told the date players will be able to resume training at West Coast's headquarters.
He said it can be difficult to maintain the drive to keep consistent with training levels.
"The motivation is something that is a challenge. It's a day-to-day thing and something we're all dealing with at the moment. At times it wavers, which is natural I think, but we're all keen to get this season underway so staying fit and ready is our job," he said.
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Duggan has had a training partner assist with that, though, with the sharp left-footer working closely with ruckman Nic Naitanui during the break.
He joked going to the local park with Perth's most recognisable figure has felt like "an open session" with fans occasionally watching on – at a distance.
"There's been a few sessions where he's drawn some cameras and you see the phones come out as they stroll by. Everyone's been pretty good with it and given us our space," he said.
