Following a 17th place finish in 2017, the Gold Coast Suns saw a large turnover of personnel throughout the summer, with no bigger departure than that of Gary Ablett.

Ablett, who secured the club’s best and fairest despite playing just 14 games last season, returned to Geelong in the most recent trade period.

The midfielder was one of 12 players who left the club in the off-season.

Other notable absentees from the Suns' 2018 playing squad include Adam Saad (Essendon), Brandon Matera (Fremantle) and Trent McKenzie (Port Adelaide).

There was also a new coach appointed in October, with two-time premiership player Stuart Dew employed after the departure of Rodney Eade earlier that year.

Gold Coast made the bold decision to part with their first round selection in last year’s NAB AFL Draft (Pick 2) to acquire emerging on-baller Lachie Weller from Fremantle.

Weller averaged 17 disposals across his JLT Community Series, one which was quite promising for the Suns.

Gold Coast kicked its pre-season campaign off in fine fashion, making a normally impressive Cats' outfit look second-rate in a 56-point win in Townsville.

The stand-out feature in this win was their immense pressure right across the ground. Their willingness to confront the opposition caused Geelong to over-posses the ball, which resulted in a number of crucial turnovers.

The Suns' high-intensity approach was something that has rarely been seen since they entered the competition in 2011.

Gold Coast’s second pre-season match was significantly different in terms of their style to play, with the Suns forced to adapt to what was a water-logged ground caused by a significant amount of rain throughout the match.

The grinding win over the Lions was marred by the shoulder injury defender Pearce Hanley, who has since been ruled-out from their Round 1 side. Aaron Hall is also set to miss because of a broken finger.

Aside from these two setbacks, the Suns will head into Round 1 with a very healthy list, and are surely to be brimming with confidence after going undefeated in the pre-season competition.