Over the past two seasons, the Gold Coast SUNS have regularly been forced to turn out a makeshift midfield with injuries decimating the SUNS engine room to the extent its six best midfielders have at times all been sitting in the grandstands together.
It was a clear priority of the club’s list management team during the off-season to address the issue, with Scott Clayton and his team bringing more than half a dozen new midfielders to the club through the exchange and draft periods.
The experience and mature bodies of Pearce Hanley, Jarryd Lyons and Michael Barlow have been joined by a plethora of talented first round draftees and the increased competition for spots will drive the entire group according to powerhouse midfielder Jesse Lonergan.
“With the boys coming in as well, we traded pretty well. We got Pearce Hanley and Jarryd Lyons and Wittsy as well and then we’ve also drafted well,” Lonergan told SUNS TV.
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“I think we got five quality mids in that could obviously play AFL so spots are pretty competitive and there’s no midfield spots cemented.
“Just having those boys on the park will just make things a bit more competitive. Also having that depth through the season will help the whole team so things are looking pretty exciting.”
Lonergan was forced to undergo a shoulder reconstruction at the end of the 2016 season, spending the majority of his off-season in a sling.
The Tasmanian’s recovery is progressing nicely and Lonergan looks on track to resume full contact training after the two-week Christmas break.
“I’m a few weeks ahead (of schedule) so I was able to join in a few main sessions, non-contact obviously, but it’s good to get out there and train with the boys and the boys are tracking well,” Lonergan said.
“I’m pretty much ready to go so hopefully I do a few contact sessions before Christmas but after Christmas I’m all guns blazing.”
The 22-year-old was super impressive in the early stages of 2016 and will be looking to build on that next year and cement a spot in Rodney Eade’s midfield early in the season.
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“Every year you’re in the system you put expectations on yourself and obviously that’s mine is just build what I did at the start of last year and just improve,” Lonergan said.
“Right now I’m just trying to get as much training under my belt as I can through the pre-season and hit some form in the NAB Cup.
“Like I said no spots are cemented so I’m only looking short-term goals right now and that’s round one for everyone. It’ll get to that and hopefully get as many wins as we can because there’s no ceiling on us this year.
“We’ve got some good boys in like I said and things are exciting.”
