A sweltering start to the week hasn’t impacted preparations for Opening Round according to experienced defender Sean Lemmens.

The SUNS hit the deck at the Austworld Centre in scorching temperatures on Monday, but nobody was resting on their laurels with the squad’s season opener against the Tigers only a tick over six weeks away.

“The energy has been really good and the boys are getting around it… we’re firing in the heat nice and early,” Lemmens said.

The 29-year-old has seen his fair share of change now heading into his 11^th season on the SUNS list, but is feeling refreshed and optimistic under new Senior Coach Damien Hardwick.

After missing a large chunk of the 2023 campaign with a hamstring complaint, Lemmens says his body is in a good place.

“I was also to sit down with Riggers (High Performance Manager Alex Rigby) in the off-season, look at a couple of minor things in my program which seem to be working, just trying to keep my body free and loose,” Lemmens continued.

“I’m looking forward to the season starting in a few weeks.

“Dimma’s been amazing. He’s a super clear coach on what he wants – the structure, the gameplan – we’re grasping that well as a team and moving forward with it well.

“We know our individual roles. Mine doesn’t change a whole lot, I’ll still try to be super competitive and give us some rebound too when the time is right.”

Pre-season preparations continue to ramp up ahead of the SUNS two pre-season fixtures against the Brisbane Lions on February 22 and the GWS Giants a week later.

The SUNS open its 2024 AFL campaign at Heritage Bank Stadium on Saturday, March 9. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketek.