GWS Giants coach Leon Cameron implores society to 'play its role' during coronavirus pandemic

Usually they're in the same room as the GWS Giants coach.

But with the club's list scattered across Australia due to the coronavirus-enforced AFL break, getting everyone together via virtual hangout has become a temporary norm.

The entire list was on Friday's call and Cameron, at home with wife Carolyn and children Amelia, Harry and Jack, tries to speak to 12 players each day as the club navigates the unknown.

"It's forced you to slow down a little bit and take stock and allowed you to have some good positive outcomes as well," Cameron told The Standard.

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Cameron, who grew up in south-west Victoria and was drafted in the 1980s via South Warrnambool, is using the AFL hiatus to build memories with his family.

"I do a lot of little activities with the kids when they have their recess and lunchtime," he said.

"We've done a lot of basketball and bike riding, a little bit of footy and fishing as well after school.

"Not that I am a fisherman, I'm no good at it. I used to be able to fish but haven't done it for ages, and at nighttime we sit down for a bit of family time whether it's board games or a movie here and there.

""We just watched The Avengers End Game with the boys last night and we're watching Harry Potter. There's a lot of Harry Potter movies."

Coaching duties are ever-present in the Cameron household.

The 2019 grand final coach maintains regular contact with players and staff eager to ensure the Giants can produce their best football when the season resumes.

"Routine (for me) is get up in the morning, do a bit of meditation, have a bit of breakfast, clean the house a bit and my wife is doing a bit of schooling, like everyone else, with the three kids at home," he said.

"I jump in a little bit on that but she does the majority and then I touch base with 10 or 12 players everyday...just to check out how they're going, how their training program is going, what obstacles they're coming up against in terms of training within the restrictions that have been placed.

"It's good having a chat and having a bit of banter with them in what is a trying time."

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Cameron said the Giants were handling the isolation as best they could with the odd frustrations linked to individual training.

"We are no different to everyone else. Footy is one part of it, the travel industry is another part, the business world is another part," he said.

"It is every part of the economy. I try to look at what is in front of me for the day instead of worrying how long we're going to be out of the game.

"What it (the disruption to society) does do is shows character, resilience and what people are really like under stress and the true person comes out.

"They will have their ups and downs but some of the initiatives the players are showing with their gym work, they make up things in their garage or if they're back home on the farm, I think it's fantastic.

"A lot of people would have come up with new, weird ideas in the past and now it's our turn."

GWS, which suffered a humbling loss to Richmond in the 2019 grand final, bounced back with a win against Geelong in round one.

The season was then postponed as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world.

Cameron said it was important to remember society was dealing with a once-in-a-lifetime event and normal day-to-day activities would return.

"We're a part of 100 years of history; good, bad or otherwise, we're part of it," he said.

The former Western Bulldogs and Richmond player implored, in footy parlance, "everyone to play their role" to help flatten the curve.

"If we work together and work smarter, we'll come out of it and we'll learn a lot from it," he said.

"We've got to stick to playing our roles right now, do what we need to do as individuals and families."

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