What was scheduled to be a light one-hour training session on Gold Coast’s first day back in the new year quickly turned into a two-hour sweat-fest in humid conditions at Metricon Stadium on Thursday morning.

It’s swiftly become a theme under new High Performance Manager Alex Rigby – be ready for anything, at any time.

Third-year forward Ben Ainsworth has cottoned on quickly to the new regime and is relishing the challenges he’s faced so far during the pre-season.

“As soon as Alex Rigby came in they’ve become a lot harder (training sessions), but it’s been a great pre-season,” Ainsworth said following the latest gruelling session.

“The lads are digging in pretty hard and I think everyone’s looking in career-best form.

“It’s pretty cliché for pre-season but I think people are in the right places now and everything’s sort of moving into place so hopefully we can have a good 2019.”

The soon to be 21-year-old Ainsworth harbours ambitions to improve his midfield presence in 2019 after getting a taste last season and training almost exclusively with the other midfielders throughout pre-season. 

But his work inside the forward arc is not something he’s willing to give up entirely just yet either.

“I’ve been putting all the right methods in place to get myself to where I want to be this season,” he said.

“I think there’s all the right people in the right positions at the club now and I’ve got all the right people around me to help growth in my midfield work and also my forward craft as well so hopefully I can progress into better things this year.”

Ainsworth says he has a renewed sense of optimism and confidence heading into the 2019 season after a list revamp saw 13 new players join the SUNS in the off-season. 

“We know where we’re at at the moment in terms of the last few seasons and hopefully 2019 holds a lot better than what we’ve had in the past,” he said.

“I think we’ve worked on that in the last 24 months with our culture and turning things around. 

“I think we’ve found the right balance at the moment with football and off-field and then building the right values around that so I think we’re in good stead.”