On his first day in charge of the full Suns list, Eade said Ablett could still improve both his game and his leadership at the back end of his career.

 

Ablett was restricted to light duties at Metricon Stadium on Monday morning as he continued to rehabilitate from shoulder surgery, but Eade believed the 30-year-old had plenty of good footy ahead of him.

 

"There's no doubt," Eade said, when asked about Ablett's possible improvement.

 

"I was fortunate enough to coach Tony Lockett at 29. It's not so much better (form) compared to their previous best, but they learn new ways, they change their game as they're getting older and their body can't do what it used to do.

 

"Gary, certainly I think has got four or five good years of footy left in him.

 

"Hopefully he can become a better leader. He's a good leader, but hopefully a better leader to drag these younger players along."

 

Ablett did numerous run-throughs at near top speed at training, and then played kick-to-kick, where he caught the ball exclusively right-handed to protect his recovering left shoulder.

 

But Eade said his captain would rejoin the main group in the next fortnight.

 

"Gary's running, but he's a bit stiff in the shoulder, he's just being over cautious with that at the moment, but he's done some ball work and his running is OK," Eade said.

 

"I imagine he'd be joining back with the main group within the next week or two. There'll be no problems with him."

 

Jaeger O'Meara is recovering from surgery to both knees earlier this month, and will likely begin running in January with the aim of playing at least one pre-season match.

 

The former Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs coach said the attitude of his new group was terrific.

 

He said the first step was to play finals, but would put no ceiling on the Suns' performance or timeframe on their progression.

 

"My coaching is about continual improvement," he said. 

"Hopefully my tenure will be a bit longer than I've committed to (three years)."