Gold Coast SUNS Captain Gary Ablett has spoken exclusively to goldcoastfc.com.au about his personal goals for the 2012 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.

The Premiership-winning skipper speaks candidly about his expectations for the group as they prepare for the NAB Cup Series prior to the season proper.

Enjoying an uninterrupted pre-season campaign, Ablett is looking forward to having himself and his young team mates tested against quality opposition, adding that he is confident the team has come a long way.

The skipper said AFL fans at Metricon Stadium this year will see a much improved Gold Coast SUNS side in action.

“There is no doubt the boys will improve this year with the experience they have got and having the twenty games under their belt, I know they are going to go out there and perform against Adelaide in Round One. They are really excited about the season.”

Injury-free and confident about the year ahead, Ablett is looking to lead the young SUNS through the NAB Cup Series.

“I’ll play enough to get some match fitness and make sure I am ready to go for Round One, but how many games that is I don’t know and how many games the coaching staff want me to play I’m not sure but I want to make sure we can have a few wins in the NAB Cup and give the boys a bit of confidence heading into the season.”

The skipper attributes the Club’s decision to take the entire playing list to the testing high altitude levels of Flagstaff Arizona as a real catalyst for significant improvement in 2012 however says the benefit of a season of high intensity AFL footy will also make a real difference.

“I think the Arizona camp was really good for them, some of the challenges we went through and some of the hikes and things like that I think were really fantastic for the younger boys because there is no doubt you go through some situations in games where you really have to push through and you really have to be mentally strong and I think that’s what the fitness coaches wanted to get out of it.”

“In the first year you get a lot of players who get out there on the field and you know, they are not really sure about what AFL footy is about and to have that twenty games under their belt now, they know how fast the game is, how hard you have to train to play at this level and they have shown that in pre-season, the way they have put their heads down and trained really hard.”

One of the code’s greatest players, Ablett admits he too has learnt plenty during his first year as Captain of the league’s newest team.

“I remember the first month or two when I got up here and it was quite challenging because there were some great leaders at Geelong and it was easy to just sort of sit back in the leadership group and let them do most of the leading, but to come up here and be in a new role and have so many young kids around me I guess I have had to lead by example.”