Jay Rantall spending self-isolation studying up on the game he loves

That is exactly what first-year Collingwood midfielder Jay Rantall is doing during the AFL's coronavirus-enforced hiatus.

Between maintaining his fitness and making sure he is keeping his skills sharp, the 18-year-old has been binging on AFL matches from yesteryear from the comfort of his family home in Warrnambool.

The matches range from past Magpies' triumphs and tribulations with the South Warrnambool product memorising the way Nathan Buckley wants his side to play.

Other times it's honing in on some of the elite players in the game and taking a leaf out of their books and looking to implement it into his own.

"Our whole Collingwood midfield (Scott Pendlebury, Taylor Adams, Adam Treloar and Steele Sidebottom) is a great example and to be hands-on with them in pre-season has been a massive advantage," Rantall said.

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"(Development coach) Scott Selwood and I have watched a fair bit of his brother Joel (at Geelong) and (GWS star) Stephen Coniglio on the way they go about it.

"We are lucky to have resources where we are able to seek information from our development coaches to help me get through to that point as well.

"There have been a wide range of players (we have looked at) and more elite midfielders and why they are so elite."

From looking at the likes of Selwood and Congilio, Rantall, who was living with fellow rookies in West Australian Trey Ruscoe and Irishman Anton Tohill, noticed one area of their game he would be eager to implement into his own very quickly.

"The biggest thing is they are selfless players," he said.

"They are both captains of their clubs and probably deserving of that accolade too as they put themselves in it.

"They are selfless and team driven and I will try to put my hat on those qualities and be the selfless, team player I like to play with."

Rantall said the coronavirus break had opened his eyes to how lucky he was to have the job he has during a challenging time for society.

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