ONE OF the highlights of Gold Coast's first full training session on Monday was the sight of lanky ruckman Tom Nicholls striding out in full flight.
 
Nicholls suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury when he banged knees with North Melbourne's Todd Goldstein at a ruck contest in round seven last season, wiping out the rest of his year.
 
But after hours of rehab, building strength, building fitness, and doing homework on fellow ruckmen, he was back doing what he loved on Monday.
 
While he won't rejoin the full training group until later in the week, the sight of Nicholls tearing into some near top-speed sprints would warm the hearts of Suns supporters.
 
In just 15 games sprinkled over his four-year career, he has shown a rare talent that makes him an integral part of the Suns midfield.
 
While injuries have hampered his progress in the past two seasons – right when he was proving to himself, his teammates and the AFL world he could mix it – the jovial 22-year-old is more concerned with the future than the past.
 
"The expectation is I'll be able to do pretty much everything in the pre-season," Nicholls said.
 
"The knee's all good and the body's all good, so there's no reason to hold me back."
 
Nicholls was almost ready for a return in the final two rounds of the 2014 season, but with Gold Coast's finals chance having evaporated, the club decided to put him on ice.
 
Not only has he worked tirelessly on regaining leg strength and fitness, but Nicholls has spent his time poring over hours of vision on opposing ruckmen.
 
"I was watching the whole game with behind-the-goals vision," he said.
 
"I watched about six or eight games, including Dean Cox who really took me by surprise.
 
"He showed me how much he runs and how much reward he gets for that running.
 
"When you play you know when you're jogging and saving your tickets, but with him there's not too many opportunities where you get that with him.
 
"He's always on the move, running hard and never flat-footed, never walking. That's something I'll be looking to implement this year."
 
But more than anything, Nicholls is just happy to be out doing what he loves most.
 
"I'm just looking forward to have that continuity, building the base for training and playing games," he said.
 
"I've had two moderate knees injuries and it's put me out for a long time. Playing is just so precious, that's what I've learnt."