ALL players across the competition are doing their best to keep busy and on track for a return to footy, whenever that comes.

It's no different for one of the game's best in Patrick Cripps, who has returned home for the next few weeks like a number of players in the AFL.

Speaking from the family farm in Northampton, Cripps spoke to Carlton Media about his thoughts around the season, his optimism for season 2020 and what to expect in such uncertain times.

After yesterday's part one which you can read here, it's time for part two.

What has training looked like for you in recent weeks?

PC: My whole family is up so I’ve been doing a fair bit of running and gym work with my brother. I’ve been going for a kick as well with Jamie Cripps from the Eagles. I’ve been having a kick with him for a couple of times a week, which has been pretty good.

It’s obviously a difficult time for everyone: how are you keeping positive at a time like this?

PC: For me, I’m taking the positive out of the fact that I’m back home with family. This is the first time I’ve been on the farm for more than a week since I got drafted, it’s pretty hard to get up here. I’ve been around my two brothers and Mum and Dad, my partner and my brother Daniel’s partner. Everyone came up to the farm for Easter so it’s been nice to have some quiet family time.

The other positive with what I’ve been seeing all over the place is a lot of the players having the chance to quieten down and get a mental break from things but also exercising a fair bit. It’s good for the head and that’s what we’ve been doing up here. Although it’s not ideal, I’ve tried to take a positive approach and do things I haven’t been able to do.

Having said that, are you itching for games to start and for the phone call to come through with a return date?

PC: I’d love for games to get started of course, the landscape is so unpredictable at the moment. I know how cliche this sounds, but you have to try and take it day by day. I’d love for footy to get back.

We’ve got a training program so I’m continuing to punch that out and making sure my body and mind is ready to go when we do resume. For now, it sounds like it’s going to be a bit of time before we get back, so I’m trying to enjoy my time up on the farm while this is all going on.

Are you one to continually check up on footy news in your down time or is it a case of just wanting to know what you need to know?

PC: Once the website loads and I can read it, I’ll keep across it. I’m always looking to see what the go is and talking with Lloydy, Caino, Teaguey and Jack Russell. They’ve got a good grasp on what’s happening and from all reports, the country is doing pretty well.

We’ll definitely play some footy this year — when, I have no idea. I’m definitely keeping track of it and keeping in touch with those guys to keep track of it all. Besides that, I don’t get too caught up in the commentary and I keep ticking away.

You’ve been full of praise for Carlton fans in recent years, especially for the energy and passion they’ve shown on game day. What’s your message to them?

PC: It was definitely a different experience in Round 1. It was strange playing with no crowd: the boys always appreciate our fans but you definitely appreciate them a whole lot more when you’re playing and you don’t get that buzz when they’re cheering. I’ve said it a few times that when ‘Newnesy’ kicked that goal in the last quarter, the crowd would have been extremely loud if they were there.

For them, it’s the same as all of us: we’re in this together. There are going to be some good days and there are going to be some bad days. From our end as a club, we love the support. ‘Caino’ said we’ve had 500 new members sign up and we haven’t lost too many.

It shows you how passionate they are, how much they love the Club and I’ve got to thank them for that. I hope they keep cheering us on when we do play and when crowds are back, they cheer extra loud and hopefully we can put on a show for them.

There was a lot of excitement at Ikon Park in pre-season before this all happened. Is there any reason for that to optimism to dwindle?

PC: As the time goes on, I’m getting more and more optimistic. We’ve got a team that hasn’t played a heap of footy together but the way we played the back-end of that Richmond game… if we can get our starts right and bridge the gap between our best and worst footy, our best footy is high-end and we can score pretty quickly.

There are always things you’ve got to fine-tune but there’s a lot of optimism. You just have to look at the game of ‘Weiters’, who was awesome, as well as Jack Martin and Marc Murphy, who I thought was very good as an old fella. There were a lot of good performances but some of those guys were unreal.

Does anything change for you in the next few weeks?

PC: It’ll be more of the same. I’m going to keep training hard: I’m training with my little brother at the moment and trying to get some muscle on him. I’m also doing a bit of uni and I’ve actually been getting stuck into a few books: I’m not a big reader, that probably says enough about what reception is like up here.

What’s the go-to for Patrick Cripps, the bookworm?

PC: I read the Andre Agassi autobiography the other day, which I found bloody interesting. Now I’m on a psychology book to learn about the brain, which is pretty interesting. I’m studying agribusiness, majoring in finance. I’ve done 20 out of 24 units, so I’ve got four to go. I wouldn’t say I’m a bookworm, I’d probably read for half an hour a day which is more than enough for me.