RODNEY Eade has cast aside speculation surrounding the Suns captaincy, confirming Gary Ablett will again lead Gold Coast in 2016.
Ablett has captained the club for each of its five seasons, but was forced to fend off questions about his passion for the job last season after off-field controversies engulfed the Suns.
The veteran coach said amongst the dramas of 2015, Ablett had impressed with his leadership improvement.
“We haven’t sat down as a club, but I’ve got no doubt he’ll be captain," Eade said.
"I can’t see any reason why he won’t be.
"He’s done a good job in trying conditions this year, but at the same time he’s improving all the time.
"He wants feedback, he takes it on board and he’s really embracing it."
Ablett completed his first full-intensity session of the pre-season on Monday morning, showing no ill effects from the knee injury that prematurely halted his 2015 campaign.
The two-time Brownlow medallist was restricted to six games, first recovering from a shoulder reconstruction and then tearing the medial ligament in his left knee against Adelaide in round 17.
But at Metricon Stadium Ablett was put through his paces with the full squad and came through with strongly.
"He’s been in really good fitness for a while now, we’re just taking our time as far as the extreme agility, we’re just building up in that area,” Eade said.
"He's been doing a fair bit of football for a few weeks now, but today was 100 per cent of it and he did some running at the end of that and ran exceptionally well, so he’s in a pretty good spot.”
Ablett was still wearing the 'no contact' orange cap at training and is expected to do so up until the Christmas break.