The SUNS’ playing list will go head to head in an intra-club match at this Friday’s Family Night Out.
Gold Coast members and fans can catch all the action from 3.45pm at the Bond University AFL Field, with signing sessions and more to follow.
Senior coach Stuart Dew and his coaching staff will cast their eyes over the players before the squad is selected for the first JLT Community Series game against Geelong in Townsville.
With the SUNS’ pre-season campaign ramping up, Friday’s hit out is set to be the most competitive match simulation session of the year.
There are sure to be plenty of enticing contests across the whole field and goldcoastfc.com.au, over the course of the week, will take a look at some potential match ups.
RUCK: Jarrod Witts v Tom Nicholls
With many clubs, including Gold Coast, opting to only play one ruckman during most of last season, there will be two giants battling it out to claim their place in the first squad for the year.
Jarrod Witts is the incumbent, and he won plenty of admirers as he cemented his spot as the SUNS’ number one ruckman in 2017, playing 18 games in his debut season at the club.
The 209cm ruckman averaged career-high numbers for disposals (13.3) and hit-outs (37.9), where he ranked fifth in the league.
He’s likely to come up against Tom Nicholls, who is keen to bounce back from a season where he was unable to break into the senior side.
The 25-year-old has been working hard on the training track as he aims to rediscover the form from the season prior where he managed to play 15 games.
His follow up work in and around the contest saw him average 5.3 tackles and 12.8 disposals per game in 2016.
The two have gone head to head a number of times throughout the pre-season, and there will be plenty of interested onlookers as they continue their battle for the number one ruck spot.
Waiting in the wings is Academy product Brayden Crossley, who joined the SUNS senior side during November’s Draft after his impressive form in the NEAFL last season.
The youngster has spent plenty of time working on his craft during the pre-season and will be hoping to show his wares as a ruckman.
