In his Gold Coast SUNS debut, ruckman Jarrod Witts emerged on top of the hitout count against Brisbane’s Stef Martin, but was beaten around the ground by the athletic Lion.

Witts described it as a ‘solid start’, but admitted there is significant room for improvement over the duration of the season.

“Obviously I would’ve liked to have done a bit better, but I thought it was a solid start,” Witts told reporters at SUNS headquarters on Tuesday afternoon.

“Stefan Martin’s a quality player and he has been for a while, so it was good to go head-to-head with one of the best early and I’ll just look to build from there.”

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The task doesn’t get any easier for the former Magpie this week, taking on Greater Western Sydney’s man mountain Shane Mumford in a crucial game at Spotless Stadium.

Mumford is one of the most physical players in the AFL and while some would be daunted by the prospect of taking on the dominant ruckman, it’s a challenge Witts is looking forward to and hopefully coming out on top of.

“It’s awesome to play quality players early as well, you can really see where you’re at and what you need to improve on so I’ll be thriving to get out there against Mumford,” Witts said.

“I’ve had a few battles with him in the past so I’m really looking forward to getting out there and playing against him. Obviously he’s quite strong and quite physical so first things first, try and match him there.

“Depending on how the game’s going, potentially get forward and just try and follow up and have an influence around the ball.”