Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade admits he has some selection headaches ahead of Saturday's AFL round one clash with Melbourne but captain Gary Ablett is not one of them.
The dual Brownlow Medallist is a confirmed starter to take on the Demons in what will be his first AFL appearance since injuring his shoulder against Collingwood last July.
Despite missing the entire pre-season during his recovery from reconstructive surgery on that shoulder, Ablett has proven his fitness in time to take on the Demons at the MCG.
"Certainly Gary will play," Eade said on Tuesday.
"There's no doubt about his confidence."
Ablett only returned to full contact training last week after a summer spent in kid gloves to protect his shoulder.
But Eade says if anyone can hit the ground running it's Ablett and he has no qualms about throwing his superstar skipper straight into the fray.
"His shoulder's actually stronger than before he did it," Eade said.
"The only way he'd do it again is probably through the same motion.
"He's going to be fine. He's mentally tough."
While Ablett will be lining up against the Demons it seems young gun Jaeger O'Meara streak of consecutive appearances since his 2013 round one debut is about to come to an end.
O'Meara trained well on Tuesday but Eade is playing it safe with the West Australian product, who had both kneecaps shaved in a surgical procedure during the off-season to relieve a tendinitis issue which hampered his 2014 campaign.
Eade says the 21-year-old will most likely play for the Suns' reserves this weekend.
"He hasn't missed a beat and he's trained exceptionally well," he said.
"He's got to be comfortable with where he's at. He's always had his mind set with the program that was set by the surgeon in London that he would like a game in the NEAFL.
"He's got to be confident. The medical staff have got to be confident.
"If he is available, what's best for him? Is it best to play as a sub? Or is it best to play? Or is best to trot around in a NEAFL game and get some confidence?
"Those things we'll discuss but it'd be a long shot at this stage."
Eade says he has at least two positions to decide upon in his team with Touk Miller and Adam Saad set to make their AFL debuts after impressive pre-seasons.
With Tom Lynch and Charlie Dixon unavailable, the return of Sam Day could also be considered to add another tall option to the Suns' forward line.
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