Day one at Gold Coast training was more a gentle introduction than a baptism of fire, and No.1 draft pick Matt Rowell says he's acting like a sponge in his new life as a SUN.
Rowell, along with his best mate and No.2 pick Noah Anderson and the SUNS' four other draftees – Sam Flanders, Jeremy Sharp, Jy Farrar and rookie Patrick Murtagh - all got through their first session unscathed at the club's Carrara headquarters in hot conditions on Monday.
Two-time premiership Tiger Brandon Ellis also completed his first official session, although the hard-running wingman had previously popped in to watch his new teammates train a couple of times.
The six draftees got through about 90 minutes of work including some light running and stoppage work with midfield coach Josh Francou before being given an early mark.
Rowell said the few days following the draft had been hectic, but he was "loving every minute of it".
"I've already doing some contest work with players like Hugh Greenwood and David Swallow and Touk Miller, it's pretty surreal just being able to train with them," Rowell told AFL.com.au.
"I'll learn so much off them, I learnt so much just in today's training. It's really exciting.
"I'll be like a sponge, just keep trying to absorb a lot of information from everyone."
Rowell and Anderson got to the Gold Coast on Saturday and immediately moved in with club CEO Mark Evans and his wife Lynne.
The two Victorians are following in the footsteps of 2018 draftees Jack Lukosius and Ben King who did likewise before recently moving out.
"It's a really nice spot, two minutes from the beach … we're pretty lucky," Rowell said.
"To be able to do what I love doing, play footy at an AFL club, it's surreal.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet but I'm sure once I get a few weeks of training in, I'll get a bit more used to it."
The new faces have two weeks of training before Gold Coast heads to Queenstown in New Zealand for a pre-season camp that will lead them straight into the Christmas break.
