He's ticked enough boxes since arriving to earn a spot in Gold Coast's leadership group, but Geelong recruit George Horlin-Smith knows that won't be enough to ensure him a place in a Suns midfield which may surprise this year.
Horlin-Smith played 51 games across eight years at the Cats and hopes to provide a dose of experience to the young, rebuilt Suns list.
But he headed north without any guarantees and the strong form of his teammates means he'll need to prove himself in a pre-season game against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
"I really liked that about the Gold Coast Suns, that there weren't promises made," he said.
"It was about coming up here and if you're good enough you'll play."
The 26-year-old is a new addition to a Suns leadership group that includes Alex Sexton, Jarrod Harbrow and Brayden Fiorini, with Pearce Hanley and Touk Miller vice-captains and Jarrod Witts and David Swallow co-captains.
Horlin-Smith's strong character is obvious and his experience playing with the likes of Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood and Gary Ablett in a regular top-eight side will be precious this year.
But he said the form of emerging Suns Callum Ah Chee, Ben Ainsworth and Wil Powell in particular showed he wouldn't be a walk-up start under coach Stuart Dew.
"They're incredibly competitive for young kids; they want to deck each other at training, which you need to do," he said.
"In comparison to Geelong it's difficult to compare (anyone) to a Pat or a Joel.
"But I just see these guys having great futures if they work hard and generally when teams play well then individuals get rewards on the back of that."
Horlin-Smith has been careful not to promise too much this season, instead saying the club hoped to stick to its guns and do fans proud in 2019.
They began well on the weekend though, getting the better of Brisbane in a trial game and see Sunday's clash as another chance to make an early statement.
"We need to make it count," he said.
"We're facing a challenge and the competition wants to see where we're really at."
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