After a long 2016 season, the entire Gold Coast playing list will retreat for a well-earned rest following this Friday’s Club Champion event at Southport Sharks.
 
Assistant coach Ashley Prescott told reporters on Monday afternoon he and the rest of the coaching staff expected players to return in November ready to maximise on another summer of pre-season training.
 
“The expectation is to stay really fit and make sure they look after themselves,” Prescott said.
 
“As a footy club you can’t put any expectations on them in regard to following a program, but individually they know where they’ve got to get better and this off period can really set yourself up for a pre-season.
 
“Gone are the days where you can just go and let yourself go totally.
 
“They’re a professional group and they’re a really self-driven group so our expectation is they present really strong for pre-season.”
 
A huge focus of the last 18 months has been the culture and standards at the club, something Prescott believes will drive the players to push each other during the off-season ahead of a critical 2017 season.
 
“The growth in leadership has been sensational,” he said.
 
“They’re a really tight group so they support each other as friends but also as teammates and professional teammates and that’s the sort of culture the club’s been working really hard to develop.”