The Gold Coast SUNS playing group were given no respite on their first day back to pre-season training this morning, completing a 2km time trial in typical sweltering Queensland conditions.

As the mercury tipped 29 degrees, it was SUNS defender Kade Kolodjashnij who crossed the line first, narrowly edging out veteran elite runner Michael Barlow who was a strong favourite heading in.

All players had previously run the same 2km time trial at the end of last year, however today was the first time they ran as a complete group.

Touk Miller, Jack Martin and Alex Sexton were all standouts while new recruits Lachie Weller and Nick Holman showed impressive endurance.

First-round draftee Wil Powell was exceptional and caught the eye of coaching staff as he posted an improvement on his 2017 time, outpacing many of his older teammates.

Of the 40 players who ran the time trial, 35 posted a quicker time than their first 2km run at the start of pre-season, with the remaining five just seconds off their time.