Heading into his eighth pre-season as an AFL footballer, Jack Hombsch knows how tough they can be.
When combined with relocating to a new city and integrating into a new club, they can be even more challenging.
But it's one that Hombsch is fully embracing and he has had no trouble settling into life on the Gold Coast.
"The chunk of training before Christmas was a great opportunity to get to know everyone, and the camp in New Zealand was a good bonding experience," he told SUNS Media.
"A couple of days of tough training, but I certainly feel like I've found my feet and the guys have been amazing, the club as well, very welcoming."
Not every face at the club is new to the 25-year-old, who spent five seasons alongside forward Aaron Young at Port Adelaide, while he also lived with Brendon Ah Chee - older brother of Callum.
He has also been reunited with Anthony Miles, with the two spending a season together at the GWS Giants back in 2012.
The familiar faces have played their part in ensuring a smooth transition to the Gold Coast.
"It made a massive difference, Cal Ah Chee’s brother (Brendon), I lived with him when we were at Port together so we’re really good mates, so knowing half a dozen guys coming up here made it a lot easier,
"(It was) a pretty cool moment that Milesy and I got to start at the Giants and then come here together at the same time as well”.
On the training track, Hombsch and his new teammates have been putting in the hard yards since late last year.
But with a JLT Community Series match in Mackay fast approaching, the focus on football has increased.
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“Riggers (High Performance Manager, Alex Rigby) has worked us really hard and that’s to be expected, it’s a professional footy club and they’re tough everywhere,
“The guys put a massive block in before Christmas and now we’re focusing on the footy side of things, I think the boys are pretty excited about that.
“I think there’s a bit more footys out and less time in the runners but it’s been solid and a lot of hard work.”
Throughout his career, the South Australian has made sure to also give back to the community wherever he can.
In 2017 he received the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award, having been a nominee the two years previously, for his work with people with an intellectual disability.
His work as a positive role model and ambassador will see him fit nicely with the SUNS, where community work is a big focus.
The club consistently spends over 5,000 hours working in the community each season raising awareness of youth homelessness, domestic violence prevention, Indigenous and Multicultural programs, as well as visits to schools, junior clubs and Auskick centres.
“It’ll be good to see what the club does and what sort of footprint they have in the community,” Hombsch said.
“I think a lot of the boys are really generous with their time and are happy to help out wherever possible.”
