Nathan Scott thought he'd left the horrors of lockdown behind when he moved home to Wagga after a tough 2020 in Melbourne. And judging by his footy, it suited him.
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Scott has been in rare form across half-back for East Wagga-Kooringal this season, helping the Hawks to a clear-cut second place and primed for an assault on finals.
Until last Saturday's shattering mid-afternoon news of restrictions taking in the Riverina.
"I feel like it's chasing me. I spent a good five months in it in Melbourne. They promised it was only going to be a couple of weeks down there so that's why I'm not getting my hopes up here," Scott said.
"Hopefully it's not the same here...
"You look out the window, it's 19 degrees and sunny and it's got that finals feeling about it. It's very disappointing."
It's a sentiment shared by experienced EWK coach Matt Hard, who's now managing a finals campaign unlike any other.
The Hawks were supposed to kick off the Farrer League finals with a qualifying final against The Rock-Yerong Creek on Saturday.
The best case scenario now is for the region to come out of lockdown next Saturday.
Hard says after a couple of weeks off, players and clubs need preparation time.
"You'd definitely want a week on the training track," Hard said.
"You can spend a lot of time on your fitness but training by yourself and training in a team environment are completely different. You work hard all year to try to earn the right to qualify for finals. I'd hate to do it on the back of no training."
He believes a week would be enough after two weeks off but warned: "the longer it goes, the harder it is - you're trying to help your players out with programs, you hope they're getting the k's in, they're paired up with someone and trying to get a touch... but it's hard as coaches too because you lose that contact with your players."
Hard was pleased with the way his side was coming together at the business end of the season.
Now they just need to see some business.
"We'd worked hard, our game was evolving I thought. Hopefully that can continue when we do get back," Hard said.
"It's hard. It's out of our hands, we've just got to stay positive, and plan that when things do get moving, we're organised."
Scott is paired up with Ben Absolum ("we're in the veterans club") for lockdown training. He's confident the Hawks have got something special.
It feels like a long time since his last final - a 2018 premiership win in Melbourne with Highett Bulldogs - and Scott believes they've got the right mix of youth and experience.
He said there's no secret to his own success. It's just hard work, fitness, and enjoying himself at Gumly.
"It's been unreal, it's just good being back home," Scott said.
"The last few weeks you can sense we've been building. Our forwards are starting to hit the scoreboard which is massive for this time of year. Everything was coming together...
"All we can do (now) is trust that all your mates are doing the work and hopefully we get a restart to the season.
"I've got full confidence in the boys that we can get the job done this year. Everything was just piecing together nicely."
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