Electrifying defender Adam Saad was one of Gold Coast’s injury casualties of 2016, missing 11 consecutive games due to ongoing hamstring troubles.
After recovering to play the final three games of last season, the Calder Cannons product spent his off-season rectifying the issues and believes he has put the niggles behind him as he pushes for a spot in Rodney Eade’s side.
“I had a couple of hammy injuries in the past and I had a big off-season,” Saad told SUNS TV.
“I’m having a big crack in the pre-season as well and just trying to get my body right and trying to get as fit as I can.
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“I feel really good and everything’s behind me now, just looking forward to this next month and hopefully NAB Cup.”
The 22-year-old isn’t getting too far ahead of himself, just looking to complete every pre-season training session with the first JLT Community Series game still over five weeks away.
“First things first is to get through pre-season now, complete every session and go into NAB Cup,” Saad said.
“Hopefully play the NAB Cup games, hopefully play round one and just play my role for the team as all the players do and just take things from there.”
In his 26 games for the SUNS, Saad has played in just seven wins and is hopeful the club can turn the corner in 2017.
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“It hasn’t been a great two years for the club but I think we’ve fixed up everything off-field culture-wise and everyone’s really excited about the year to come. We’re training really well and continue that form hopefully into round one,” Saad said.
“Our aim’s to make finals and gain the respect of the AFL but we’re just trying to work hard and see where that takes us.
“The backline now, our defence, we’re building that real synergy on the field and we’re training together continuously. I guess that’s what we really need and hopefully take that into NAB Cup and the games.”
