Having returned to his native Western Australia to be with his family following the AFL’s lockdown period, Essendon senior coach John Worsfold is in a 14-day quarantine due to border restrictions.

While spending time with his wife and three children during the isolation period, the 42-year-old revealed he would be taking the time to do some online study in his down time.

“I’ve got plenty to do. I’m going to do some online study, so I’ve cranked things up already and I mowed the lawns yesterday afternoon,” he told SEN's Whateley on Thursday.

“I managed to get back to Perth yesterday, but I’m in self-isolation for 14 days because I couldn’t get back prior to the WA borders closing so that’s the reality of it.

“It was something I felt I needed to do. My family were going to come over for round one, that then couldn’t take place because of everything that was happening, so I’ve managed to get home which is critically important for me and my family.

"I’m here for the next two weeks at least as we see what the next move has to be."

Following a week where all clubs and the AFL headquarters have had to take significant cost-cutting measures for the viability of the competition, Worsfold said he believed football departments would have to re-think previous structures. 

“The pulling back of the football department spend by about 30 per cent is going to force everyone to say what is absolutely necessary,” Worsfold said.

“What is the stuff we would like to do that will keep us at the forefront of development that we just can’t afford to do at the moment?

“This is going to have a massive effect on how we look at everything we do. We know AFL clubs will not take that lying down. They’ll look for ways to do it without spending as much money.

“That won’t stop the motivation and the drive to look for ways to improve and be the best we can be in the current environment, but this will certainly shake everything up in a massive way.”