What's new: After a disastrous run with injuries in 2015, the SUNS enlisted a new fitness department during the off-season. The focus has squarely been on getting players available for round one, which will involve resting a stack of top-end personnel in the first two pre-season matches. Coach Rodney Eade's gameplan has now had another 12 months to be ingrained.

Bolters: Top-10 draft pick Callum Ah Chee has excelled in his first few months at Metricon Stadium and will play in NAB 1 on Sunday. The West Australian shone early in the SUNS' intra-club and has ticked every box to date. Darcy Macpherson could be another bolter after an excellent pre-season.

Who's back: They won't play first-up, but skipper Gary Ablett (knee and foot) and workaholic midfielder Dion Prestia (knee) will play during the pre-season competition after missing huge chunks of last year. Both have had almost full pre-seasons and will hit the ground running.

Wildcard: He excelled as a pressuring half-forward in his debut season, but watch for Touk Miller to play almost as a permanent midfielder during the pre-season.

Missing: The midfield will be thin, with Ablett (foot) to miss the first match, and David Swallow (knee) and Jaeger O'Meara (knee) likely to miss all three. Adam Saad (ankle), Jarrad Grant (wrist) and Tom Lynch (rest) will also miss against the Brisbane Lions, but return later in the pre-season.

Fantasy watch: The SUNS tracked Brayden Fiorini (MID, $166,000) closely before drafting him and his strong under-age Fantasy numbers mean he has been priced slightly higher than most first-year players. One to watch closely in the NAB Challenge.

For NAB Challenge ticket and venue information, click here.