Leadership funnelling right throughout the SUNS squad is what has impressed new recruit Elliott Himmelberg most since arriving on the Gold Coast.

The experienced key forward joined the club from Adelaide during the 2024 Trade Period and this week hit the deck with his new teammates for the second week of pre-season preparations.

With plenty of experienced heads in the program, it’s the SUNS young core that have made an immediate impact on the 26-year-old.

“I’ve been pretty impressed, mainly with how good a head on their shoulders the younger boys have and how everyone's sort of driving that,” Himmelberg said.

“It's not just relying on the older boys and the quality leaders, there's a lot of quality younger leaders as well.

“Even some of the first year boys have come in and set the tone as well.”

While still adjusting to life in the Sunshine State, Himmelberg says playing under Senior Coach Damien Hardwick was a lure to the club.

“That was probably a big driver to me wanting to further my career here. I was just really impressed with how clear his vision is and how everyone's buying into it and sort of rowing in the same direction now,” Himmelberg said.

“At the moment, I’m just trying to get the body to full fitness and then hopefully contributing, obviously, to more games. That's the goal, to get on the field and contribute to some success.”

The adjustment has been made easier after being welcome in by a pair of his teammates – the 50-gamer is currently living with Streetsmarts SUNS Academy graduate Alex Davies and small forward Ben Long.