DION Prestia says the Gold Coast playing group has banded together more tightly than ever in the face of increasing speculation linking them to a drugs scandal that has embroiled former teammate Karmichael Hunt.
 
Prestia is the first Suns player to speak since Hunt was issued with a notice to appear in court next month for allegedly supplying cocaine in the second half of 2014.
 
The 22-year-old, who is part of the Suns' leadership group, said the players had tried to keep things as normal as possible ahead of Sunday's opening NAB Challenge match against Geelong.
 
He said it was a surprise to see Hunt linked to the scandal that had also claimed five current Gold Coast Titans NRL players, but insisted the players remained a tight-knit group.
 
"Nothing at the club has happened at the moment and I'm pretty confident it's going to stay that way," Prestia said.
 
"I guess it could be frustrating if people are reading into it, but I know I'm not, and I know most of the players are similar.
 
"A lot of the boys we've got in, they're not just good footballers, they're good people as well and they really respect each other.
 
"I guess it's something different we've got here, we're all pretty close with each other, most of us are from interstate.
 
"Trust is a big thing and I think at our club all the boys really trust each other and we're pretty much like brothers because we're with each other every day."
 
After hearing from CEO Andrew Travis, football manager Marcus Ashcroft and coach Rodney Eade on Monday, the players were encouraged to come forward with any information they had.
 
Prestia said he was confident they would feel comfortable enough to do so.
 
"We've told them if they're not comfortable talking to someone higher up, they can come and talk to one of the players," he said.
 
"You'd hope out of the six of us (leadership group), at least one of us they'd be comfortable with.
 
"We've encouraged them and there's been no news, so that's what you want as a club."