It might have taken four seasons, but Sam Day says he is feeling more confident at AFL level than he ever has before.

“We still have a long way to go in the year, but I think we’ve got a bit of confidence behind us,” Day told SUNS TV.

“You can keep seeing us improve which is really exciting for me.

“I feel like I have come a long way and hopefully we can keep getting that improvement and finish off strong.”

On Sunday, the Gold Coast powerhouse will become the eleventh player to reach 50 games with the club, the first of many milestones Day is expected to notch throughout his career. 

At 196cm and 103kgs, there have never been any question marks surrounding whether the South Australian spearhead could compete on the national stage, but Day admits it has taken time for the former No. 3 pick to find his feet when contending against some of the competition’s match-hardened defenders.

“I started off against some of the bigger bodies in Daniel Merrett and Darren Glass, so it’s been pretty good.

“I think the coaches have shown a lot of faith in me; getting a few games where I shouldn’t have, but it gave me a good chance to learn pretty early on so I want to start repaying them now that we are up and running.”

In just his seven AFL starts this season, Day is already one-shy of surpassing his total season-high tally of 12 majors, with his four-goal haul in round three against Brisbane suggesting the big forward’s star was on the rise.

However, the 21-year-old said he and the teammates still have plenty of hard work ahead of them.

He said the boys were looking forward to building on their encouraging start to the season with a strong performance over the Saints this weekend.

“I think the boys really enjoy going down to Melbourne, especially with the roof closed and the dry conditions so hopefully we can play really strong.

“We’ve got a big block over the next month and a half to show we really belong in the top eight so hopefully we can cement ourselves there going forward.”