If any player knows what it's like to train away from the main group, it's Lavington's Adam Butler.
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Since 2008, the Panthers' defender has been dogged by hamstring complaints, which is well into double figures.
However, Butler overcame his latest setback last year when he played in the grand final win over Wangaratta after missing more than three months, which was a doozy even by his own injury-plagued standards.
The Border Mail will follow sportspeople as they're forced to train alone, due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Like most Ovens and Murray League footballers, Butler would mix his running with a weights program, but the personal trainer isn't allowed into his normal base at the Panthers' gym, so it's now a combination of on the track and using his own body weight.
"When I'm at home, I'll do 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups," he said.
"Then when I'm doing a sprint session, I'll also do plyometrics (also known as jump training) and strides."
Despite turning 38 last month, Butler retains one of the league's best physiques and therefore just needs to keep the engine ticking over to keep his hamstrings in check.
"I try and not do too much or put too much load on them because I can keep them in enough nick to get by," he said.
Butler finished last year as the league's second oldest player. Ironically, he replaced the oldest in the grand final when John Hunt, just a month short of his 40th birthday, was forced out with a shoulder complaint.
The former Fremantle draftee says it's not necessarily a goal to play until he's 40, but admits he was looking forward to this season.
"Yeah, it's very exciting, I really enjoy playing under Simon (Curtis), he's a super coach and he gets everyone up and about," he offered.
"It's good fun and I'm very keen to go again. I don't know my role, it might have been out of fullback or even in the 2's, but it's a good place to be around.
"Simon's very good at reading people. We played the press for seven or eight years but he brought in a style of play that you can go out and win a game of footy.
"There wasn't any restrictions placed on anyone, you didn't have to stand here, you didn't have to try and stop the footy, you're allowed to go and try and win a game of footy, which was super."
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Curtis arrived after claiming best on ground in Ainslie's AFL Canberra grand final win over Belconnen in 2017.
A Wodonga junior, Curtis carried a reputation as an elite kick and he finished with the mantle of the league's best last year.
But it was that intangible adventurous spirit which carried the Panthers to a drought-breaking premiership.
