DOING the dishes is the one household chore most people try to avoid.
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And just because you're a professional footballer, it doesn't mean you're immune from completing such chores at home when you're asked - even after you've moved out.
Angus Thurgate can vouch for that.
The 20-year-old spent a week in Port Macquarie not long after the Newcastle Jets were forced to stop their Hyundai A-League campaign amid the COVID-19 pandemic in April.
But it was his one-week stay at the family home that stood out.
"The parents had me doing stuff around the house... I did a lot of the dishes; they'd been piling up," he said.
"I hadn't been home since the season started so it was nice to get back to see the family for a week and then it was back to normal."
The Jets returned to the training pitch last week as they started preparations for the resumption of the 2020 season on July 16.
Thurgate admitted it was "nice" to have a break from the rigours of week-to-week football, but motivation had to play a part in his training program.
It only took him a week before the boredom started to kick in and he soon found himself doing large amounts of fitness to pass the time.
There were no teammates providing inspiration, it was just him putting the kilometres in the legs.
He now hopes to reap the rewards of his hard work at the back end of the season.
"At training you want to be the best every day, so to go out there by yourself, it is a bit hard to replicate that intensity and drive," he said.
"But you've got to get yourself in the best shape as possible to be able to hit the ground running when you go back.
"We all had our individual programs so it was up to us to do it ourselves and push through because you're only affecting yourself if you didn't do it."
The Jets find themselves three points outside finals contention with just four rounds to play.
Under the revised draw, three of their four matches will be at McDonald Jones Stadium and time will tell if that would prove to be a help or a hindrance.
"It will be interesting to see how it all plays out with the games and travel and teams going into hubs," the midfielder said.
"We're pretty lucky where we can stay in our own place throughout the resumption of the league and stay comfortable.
"But none of us have been in this situation before so time will tell."
The Port Macquarie junior knows there is no time to slip up; they have to get it right for four-straight weeks.
"We can't take any time to warm up; we've got to hit the ground running because we gave ourselves a chance of making the six before the break," he said.
"We didn't get that many results early in the year so we've got to hit the ground running."
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