A rejuvenated Nick Malceski is benefiting from a clean bill of health and is focused on helping Gold Coast mount a rise up the premiership ladder in 2016.

The SUNS won just four games for the season to finish in 16th position on the ladder, while a persistent knee injury prevented Malceski from building any continuity in his game.

Restricted to 16 games for the year, the 31-year-old has put the horror campaign behind him and is looking solely at 2016 and beyond.

“Obviously it was disappointing last year but we’ve let that go past and all we’re looking is forward at the moment,” Malceski told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

“Everyone’s really excited about next year; we’ll keep everyone on the park – that’s the No.1 thing – and then obviously from there we’ll try and do the best we can.”

The 2014 All Australian has his sights set high and believes his SUNS are not only capable of challenging the top teams in 2016, but for the holy grail if they can keep their star players on the park.

“There’s no reason why we can’t, we’ve got a good list and if we can get everyone out on the park so we can get a bit of continuity between the group, not guys coming in and out all the time and changing the team around … then we can challenge the top teams,” he said.

“That’s the reason I play AFL footy, to win premierships and it’s obviously the pinnacle of AFL, so it’s still in my sights.

“That’s what I’m looking to do this year and next year.”