Just over a month into her career as a professional athlete, Serene Watson couldn’t be happier to be a SUN.

It means she’s a representative of the first national female sporting team on the Gold Coast, a proud achievement for the local SUNS Academy product.

And with the carrot of two blockbuster home games at Metricon Stadium dangling over her, Watson is determined to work hard and earn a spot in the team.

“It’s amazing to even have that opportunity (to play at Metricon Stadium),” Watson told SUNS Media.

“We’ve got two games at Metricon, one at Southport Sharks and one in Mackay so there should be lots of local fans getting around us.

“We’re super excited to have two games at Metricon Stadium so hopefully they’ll go well.”

On Saturday Gold Coast hosted its first AFLW Open Training session with a strong showing of support from the local community.

Watson said the excitement from the fans had filtered through to the playing group who are all becoming a family as they get to know each other better.

“We’re hoping to get a lot of support from our local fans, it’s very exciting,” she said.

“It’s a bit nerve-wracking as an 18-year-old coming into my first national team but we’re doing great.

“We’re trying to be a really mixed club with the boys team as well.

“We’re doing amazing and our team bonding has been unreal through all the pre-season so I’m really excited to see how we jell in our first game.”

With her sights on a Round 1 debut, Watson said she’ll be soaking up all the wisdom and advice from her more experienced teammates throughout the remainder of pre-season.

“(I’ll be) leaning on those experienced AFL Women’s players that we’ve got on our team,” she said.

“They’ve brought a lot for us and they’ll do a lot for us throughout the season so it’s just leaning on them.

“I can’t wait.”

Gold Coast’s AFLW players will train up until Christmas, with a short break before returning to training on January 2.