SUNS skipper David Swallow says the club is using outside expectations as ammunition heading into the new season.

The SUNS will go into Round 1’s clash with St Kilda as underdogs, but Swallow said the players were determined to kick their season off with a win.

“We hear the noise that everyone’s writing us off,” Swallow told the media at the 2019 Newscorp Season Launch on Tuesday.

“We’ve had a really good summer so the boys are really positive and obviously really fit at the moment so we’ll give ourselves every chance to go down there and get the four points.

“Physically we need to be harder around the footy and that’s something that we’re going to continue to work on.

“(We want to be) a consistent hard team to play against.” 

Round 1 will be the first time the AFL’s new rules are tested under playing conditions for premiership points.

Swallow said the introduction of the 6-6-6 rule, where players have designated starting positions for centre bounces, might cause some headaches for teams to begin with, but also allow for new strategies to be tested. 

“We obviously got a bit of a taste of it over the JLT,” Swallow said. 

“I think our team and a few others struggled to get the right amount of players on the field at certain times but the players will adjust really quickly. 

“The coaches as well will be able to implement things that we’ll be able to see if they work throughout the season.” 

The SUNS play at Marvel Stadium at 1:10pm this Sunday.