“Leave everything in the gym” – are the words that are being echoed by the playing group as the Gold Coast SUNS battled in scorching hot conditions during a challenging gym session.

Promising GC SUNS forward Sam Day says he can already see the physical improvements amongst some of his teammates as a result of the tough pre-season campaign.

Day says he believes the GC SUNS young guns were beginning to close the gap in strength between the club’s senior bodies, an encouraging sign heading into the club’s third AFL season.

"Guys like Wilko [Joel Wilkinson], Dave [David Swallow] and a lot of the young boys are setting personal bests, and are in the top of the leader boards ahead of some of the senior players."

“It’s pretty impressive for 20 and 21 year olds to be smashing the weights the way they are.”

However, Day was quick to say that the voices amongst the playing group were still coming from the club’s senior leaders, who had set high standards for the rest of the GC SUNS squad.

“You see boys like Kyal Horsley and Joel Wilkinson pushing the running sessions, seeming to be more at the top, but the voice on the track is still coming from the older guys who have set the standards quite high for the rest of us.”

“The whole group is pushing each other; motivating one another and feeding off everyone’s energy.”

Day says he believes he’s finally starting to fill out his body to its full potential, believing he’s made bounds and strides since he first arrived at the club.

"I’ve come a long way; I’ve always been strong in the legs but I’ve really been trying to push my upper-body strength."
“The boys I come up against have much more seasoned bodies so it’s about making sure I can physically compete against them on the field.”
“I don’t think I need to get much bigger,” said Day with a smirk.