After a breakout year in 2013, SUNS key defender Rory Thompson has struggled with injury in his last two seasons at the top level.
In 2014, Thompson did not play in the NAB Challenge after an off-season arthroscopy on his hip and a gastro bug prior to round one, while his campaign last year was derailed by a hip flexor injury that restricted the Gold Coast product to just 12 games for the season.
2016 represents a fresh start for the 25-year-old and after completing the majority of the pre-season under the watch of Elite Performance Director Justin Cordy, Thompson is confident his body is in perfect shape ahead of this Saturday’s season opener against Essendon at Metricon Stadium.
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“Way better than the last couple of years,” Thompson told SUNS TV at Burleigh Heads on Tuesday when asked about his pre-season.
“I think the best pre-season I’ve had was completing about 60 per cent and I think I finished around the 90 per cent of this pre-season so definitely my best one so far.
“Body’s feeling great and looking forward to the season now.
“It was good having a few hitouts in the NAB but it’s not quite the real stuff so looking forward to getting out there against Essendon round one.”
A lot of mystery surrounds this weekend’s round one opponent, with 12 current Bombers banned for the season after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld WADA’s appeal in January.
However, the SUNS won’t be taking their opponents lightly come 3:35PM on Saturday, with Gold Coast’s focusing on their own backyard to ensure preparations are seamless for a respected foe.
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“I think everyone’s going to have to be on their game come Saturday,” Thompson said.
“We respect everyone in the competition equally and Essendon fit right in that.
“It’s not so much who we’re versing but what we bring to the game so we’ve just got to make sure we’re doing everything we need to, our preparations right and come with that confidence we have and it’s up to us really.”
