Now going into his seventh year of AFL football, Alex Sexton knows 2018 isn’t going to be any easier than the rest.
But with a full pre-season under his belt and no injury worries in sight, Sexton is relishing the opportunity to build match fitness.
Sexton is slated to play in the inaugural AFLX tournament at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, selected in the 14-player squad on Wednesday.
READ: AFLX Squad Announced
“Obviously it’s going to be hard work and you can get found out pretty quick, but we’re just excited to compete against opposition instead of ourselves which we’ve been doing for the whole preseason,” Sexton said.
At 24, Sexton is one of the most experienced players in the SUNS AFLX squad and is expected to take on an expanded role in the SUNS playing group during the 2018 season.
The half-back expects there to be tweaks and adjustments to the overall game-plan this year, but says there is a new sense of accountability around the club under new coach Stuart Dew.
“The boys have adapted well to the new coach and we’re excited to play under him for sure,” Sexton said.
“His goals are pretty clear on what he wants out of us and it’s obviously all performance-based.
“He doesn’t want to see us at the bottom of the ladder and we all don’t want to be where we have been the last few years.”
With some uncertainty around how the SUNS will perform after losing experience in the off-season, Sexton was quick to affirm the playing group could work their way back up the ladder.
“We’ve got a core group of boys now that have been around the club, and we’ve brought some new guys in, that are keen on success and it’s exciting to be around,” he said.
“It’s easy to talk about it but until we show it, which will come around this season, that’s the only way to earn respect in the league rather than talk about it.”
Currently possessing one of the healthiest lists in the competition, the 24-year-old believes the SUNS are in a strong position to kick off the season in winning fashion.
“There’s only a couple that are in and out of training and consistency in the numbers at training has been massive this off-season,” Sexton said.
“We’re excited with that but it’s not round one yet so we’ll see how we go with numbers around that time but everyone’s training really well and we’re going in the right direction.”
However the challenge now becomes trying to condense 43 healthy players into a best 22, something Sexton admits has everyone turning up the intensity at training.
READ: Neon goalposts to light up AFLX
“You only have to watch it in our match sim drills to know that the competition is on (for spots),” he said.
“But that’s healthy for a football club and you would rather there be numbers out there than it be obvious with injuries who’s going to play round one.
“So it’s a bit of a good luck to the coaching staff on picking the first team.”
