Brockie missing family, football

With no idea when he will see his family again, Jeremy Brockie has hunkered down with a Kiwi team-mate in an attempt to ‘‘stay sane’’ during the lockdown in South Africa.

Before the country went into lockdown, Brockie invited Maritzburg United defender Dan Morgan to stay at his secure estate during the 21-day isolation period after sending his wife, Jes, and their three children to Australia.

‘‘It’s been very tough especially not really knowing when I’m going to see them again. All flights at this stage with Qantas closing down most of their international service until May 31,’’ Brockie said.

‘‘It’s definitely not ideal especially when I’ve got the little baby. I’m getting on Facetime everyday and get to see the little things she’s introducing. She’s close to crawling now so going to be missing a lot of those milestones from the other side of the world.’’

Brockie and Morgan’s routine begins with coffee and a workout and finishes with many hours of Football Manager. They are both holding out for the Premier Soccer League returning after the competition was suspended last month but have enjoyed each other’s company.

‘‘It’s pretty much Football Manager all day it seems. Inside or outside, whichever it may be, there’s some sort of Football Manager going on,’’ said Morgan, a relative late developer who made his breakthrough as a professional footballer at 28.

‘‘There’s no yard but we have a little front porch I guess and we have a little soccer goal so we can have a kick around. But there’s no real diagonal balls being played, just some short passing and a bit of soccer tennis, a couple of random shots but there’s not a lot you can do.’’

Brockie joined Maritzburg on loan in September last year after being starved of game time at parent club Mamelodi Sundowns. Maritzburg were riding a four-game winning streak and moved up to fifth place on the table before the

PSL was suspended.

After playing with Michael Boxall at Supersport United, the 32-year-old has enjoyed the chance to link up with another Kiwi in South Africa. Morgan signed from Auckland City a few months earlier and the pair immediately struck a strong friendship off the pitch.

‘‘I arrived at the club a little bit after Dan had already arrived and started playing,’’ Brockie said. ‘‘The main reason [for inviting him to stay] was to keep each other company, keep each other sane. ‘‘We’re in day 10 of 21 lockdown and still mentally sane but definitely missing the family and missing football.’’