Photo: The Herald Sun

Jy Simpkin is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure a safe and uninterrupted re-start to the 2020 AFL season.

Regular COVID-19 testing will be among the measures players will have to undertake ahead of the proposed June 11 return, but the North midfielder believes it’s a sacrifice that must be made.

“It’s going to be the same old boring life, but it’s what we’ve got to do to get back playing footy and if it means we get back playing footy, I know I’m happy to do that,” Simpkin told the Herald Sun.

Simpkin spent much of the last two months in Kununurra with family, with temperatures consistently surpassing 30 degrees. It’s a very different story in Melbourne, on the eve of winter, as he trains at Arden Street in temperatures just above zero.

Having gone through his program alone for so long, one-on-one sessions with the club’s High Performance Manager, Jona Segal, have been a blessing.

And on Monday, North’s entire group will come together for the first time in close to two months.

“Without a doubt, especially in those times a couple of months ago when we didn’t know when the season was coming back … there was times where you do get less motivated than what you’d want to be like,” he said.

“But you get through the program still which is just what you’ve got to do.”

Segal admitted it had been equally as challenging for the football staff, ensuring players stayed engaged while communicating in very different ways.

A heavily football-based program meant even with such uncertainty around a return date, the team would be ready.

“I think had we not had the level of communication with players over the break that we’ve had, and not known exactly what guys are doing, not being able to see the quality of session that guys have had, you’d be very uneasy,” Segal said.

“We’ve still got some screening that we’ll need to get done. We need to see physically exactly how guys have returned, but that’s then our challenge in terms of how we manage that first week back. But for a lot of the group, we’re really comfortable with what they’ve done and we’re not expecting many surprises. But antennas are up.”