The Gold Coast SUNS have entered into a new phase of the 2020 AFL season on Sunday, beginning their two-week stint in Wollongong, New South Wales. 

The SUNS are one of seven clubs to be based in New South Wales during the next two rounds of the season, taking on Melbourne and Sydney in successive weeks. 

SUNS CEO Mark Evans said the decision to base operations in Wollongong was an easy one for the club.

“We chose Wollongong for two reasons,” Evans said. 

“The facilities were just a standout; the people at the university showed us yesterday there what we have access to and it is just state of the art. 

“The second part is more about the feel of the place. 

“We know the benefits that come from living outside of the CBD in terms of hospitality and the way the people treat you, the ease of getting around and just the attitude that you get when you live beside the sea.

“It feels very much like Gold Coast and we’re just delighted to be here.” 

SUNS midfielder Wil Powell echoed Evans’ sentiments and said the players were eager to continue their training utilising the high performance centre at the University of Wollongong.

“The facilities are really good,” Powell told SUNS Media.

“(We had a) little get moving session today and then straight into the gym. 

“The boys are pretty focussed on next week when we face Melbourne.”

The SUNS will replicate, as much as possible, a regular week of training leading into Round 6 against the Demons at GIANTS Stadium on Saturday night. 

Powell said the team had reviewed the loss to Geelong and were confident they could turn it around this weekend. 

“The main focus is to just clean up what we’ve done wrong,” Powell said. 

“Last week we put all the bad stuff behind us and are focussing on what we can do better on game day and during the week. 

“It’s just cleaning up our skills and that’s the main focus.”