GOLD Coast moved its training session on Monday indoors as Cyclone Alfred remained ominously stationed off the Queensland coast.
With damaging wind and heavy rainfall expected to lash the south-east part of the state in the middle of the week, the Suns took the chance to give their players an easy day.
They expect Saturday's Opening Round clash against Essendon at People First Stadium to go ahead at this stage and will return to training outdoors on Tuesday and Thursday.
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Former captain Jarrod Witts said they were preparing for a wet contest against the Bombers.
"There's a lot being said about the weather and what happens, but at the moment, that's out of our control," Witts said.
"It's a long way out from the game right now. The closer it gets we'll have more of an understanding … for now, we'll just prepare as normal and as it gets closer, we can make adjustments."
Monday was a light 30-minute "touch" session on the indoor basketball courts at Carrara, with Mac Andrew (chest), Lachie Weller (hamstring), David Swallow (knee) and Charlie Ballard (ankle) all on extremely light duties as they await updates on their respective concerns.
Witts is no stranger to playing in extreme conditions, having been part of the 2018 round one game against North Melbourne in Cairns that saw Cazaly's Stadium all-but submerged in the lead-up to the first bounce following a torrential downpour.
The match went ahead, with the Suns winning by 16 points in Stuart Dew's first game as coach.
"We were umming and ahhing about 20 minutes (before the game) about whether we were going to play or not," Witts recalled.
"Grounds these days dry really well … we'll prepare as normal."
Saturday will be the first time since the end of that 2018 season that Witts has played as a non-captain after Noah Anderson's elevation earlier in the pre-season.
The 32-year-old said he was right behind his young skipper.
"Noah's as impressive a young player as I've seen, in terms of the way he prepares," Witts said.
"I think his leadership has elevated every year he's been here and that's his natural next step.
"He's not going to have all the answers straight away, he's going to develop into the role, but he's pretty well prepared and I've got full faith in Noah.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes."
