It only counts as much as every other game, and it’s quickly confined to history, but there’s still something special about the first game of a new season. Just ask Mac Andrew.

Andrew has played 41 games for the SUNS without experiencing the extra ‘zing’ of the season-opener.

But after an outstanding 2024 campaign the dynamic key defender will break his ‘opening round’ duck against Essendon at People First Stadium on Saturday, 8 March (4.15pm).

Seven others who finished the ’24 season in red and gold are a potential to do likewise - Sam Clohesy, who is 20 games into his career without an opening round appearance, Will Graham (17), Jake Rogers (9), Ned Moyle (10), Ethan Read (4), Lloyd Johnston (9) and Jy Farrar (34).

Jed Walter (14 games) would have been another in contention but for a two-match suspension incurred in the VFL at the end of last year.

Sadly, though, a shoulder injury that will see Leo Lombard miss the start of the 2025 campaign has denied the boom SUNS Academy graduate a chance to become the 30^th SUN to make his AFL debut in opening round.

Still in the mix for what would be a meteoric call-up to senior ranks after some eye-catching practice match form is Burleigh Bombers and fellow Academy graduate Lachie Gulbin.

If chosen Gulbin would join a group of opening round SUNS debutants inflated by the SUNS’ first game in the AFL in 2011, when they fielded 12 debutants against Carlton at the Gabba in what was Round 2 of the first season.

The only ‘survivor’ from the SUNS first side, which ironically enough played in Round 2, 2011, is David Swallow, who was the youngest member of the historic outfit at 18 years 134 days.

Swallow is still the youngest player in club history, from Jacob Heron (18/160) and Alex Sexton (18/168), although Gulbin would slip 30 days inside them all if chosen to take on the Bombers. He would be 18 years 104 days.

Other AFL debutants in the SUNS’ first game were Harley Bennell, Charlie Dixon, Karmichael Hunt, Marc Lock, Alik Magin, Brandon Matera, Trent McKenzie, Dion Prestia, Zac Smith, Seb Tape and Josh Toy.

The 17 SUNS players since then to begin their AFL career with that special opening round ‘buzz’ have been Aaron Hall (2012), Jaeger O’Meara (2013), Jack Martin, Sean Lemmens, Clay Cameron (2014), Touk Miller, Adam Saad, Jarrod Garlett (2015), Callum Ah Chee (2016), Ben Ainsworth, Jack Bowes (2017), Jack Lukosius, Chris Burgess (2019), Noah Anderson, Matt Rowell, Conor Budarick (2020) and Bodhi Uwland (2023).

Gulbin could also claim the tag of the SUNS’ 150^th player if he plays opening round, given he would sit ahead of off-season imports Harry Himmelberg, John Noble and Daniel Rioli on a list determined alphabetically in the event of shared debuts.

The 50^th SUNS player was ex-St Kilda utility Andrew McQualter, who will take over as West Coast coach this year, and the 100^th was ex-Port Adelaide forward Aaron Young.

Andrew will play his first Opening Round game wearing jumper #1 for the first time, having switched from the #31 he wore through his first three seasons.

He’ll be the sixth player to wear #1 for the club, following Marc Lock (1 game), Jaeger O’Meara (44), Pearce Hanley (40), Hugh Greenwood (15) and Mabior Chol (30).

In other jumper changes over the summer, Walter has switched from #17 to # 4 and Ned Moyle has gone from #49 to #21.

Walter’s switch will allow Rioli to wear the #17 jumper he wore for nine years and 183 games at Richmond – second only to Tigers legend Jack Dyer, whose 311 games in #17 is second only to Hawthorn’s Michael Tuck (426) in AFL history.

Walter will follow Mav Weller (32 games), Jack Martin (97) and Brandon Ellis (75) in the SUNS #4, while Moyle will be the seventh SUN in #21 after Daniel Harris (11), Jeremy Taylor (8), Jack Leslie (26), Greenwood (17), Jacob Townsend (2) and James Tsitas (5).

Noble, who played five games at Collingwood in #49 and 107 games in #9, will take over the SUNS #2 from Atkins, who had followed Zac Smith (65), Jarrad Grant (14) and Ashley Miles (17).

And Himmelberg, whose 50 games at Adelaide were all in the #34, will slot into the SUNS #12 worn only by Sam Day (155).

Lombard will wear the #30 worn previously by Campbell Brown (46), Peter Wright (66), Alex Davies (1) and Levi Casboult (44), while Cooper Bell will follow Jackson Allen (4), Keegan Brooksby (14), Charlie Ballard (11), Jordan Murdoch (14) and Andrew (41) in #31, and Zak Evans will slot into the #36 of Sam Iles (26), Josh Schoenfeld (15) and Elijah Hollands (14).

Max Knobel will follow Harley Bennell (14), Alex Sexton (6), Jesse Lonergan (46), Jack Scrimshaw (4) and Jeremy Sharp (11) in jumper #37, and Lachy Gulbin has inherited the #39 jumper previously the property of Day (7), Timmy Sumner (11), Louis Herbert (3), Ryan Davis (21) and Nick Holman (62).

To round out the list, Asher Eastham will wear the #42 that previously identified Josh Caddy (2), Kyal Horsley (14) and Adam Saad (48), and Ben Jepson has been allocated the #44 jumper worn by inaugural deputy vice-captain Nathan Bock (27), Touk Miller (27) in his first season, and Darcy Macpherson (97) throughout his nine years at the SUNS.

Swallow, 48 games clear of Jarrod Harbrow at the top of the SUNS’ all-time games list, will go into his 15^th season as the only SUNS player to wear #24 and behind only five players in AFL history – Gary Dempsey (329), Jude Bolton (325), Don McKenzie (266), Peter Knights (264) and Stephen Wallis (261).

And despite being worn by only one player, #1 still sits top of the collective games list for the SUNS at 240 – just ahead of 236 games of #11 thanks to Touk Miller (169) and Harley Bennell (67).

Jumper #25 is third at 233 games via Danny Stanley (83), Jarryd Lyons (39) and Sam Collins (113), and the #9 of Gary Ablett (110) and Ben Ainsworth (121) is fourth at 231.

Swallow, the now 32-year-old former captain, will be hoping to play his 13^th opening round game, having missed only in 2016-17. He is two ahead of Miller, who has never missed a season-opener.

Sexton, Jarrod Witts and the retired Harbrow have played eight, while at seven are Ben Ainsworth and ex-SUNS Gary Ablett, Sam Day, Macpherson, Steven May and Michael Rischitelli.

The SUNS will take a 6-8 win/loss record in opening round matches into Damien Hardwick’s second season, having gone LLWWLWLWLLLWLW. They are 4-4 in opening round games at People First Stadium.

In 14 years the SUNS have played 11 different clubs in their season-opener – Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast twice and Collingwood, Fremantle, Geelong, GWS, Hawthorn and Western Bulldogs not at all.

They were 2-0 against Hardwick’s former club Richmond, 1-1 against St Kilda and West Coast, 1-0 against Essendon and North Melbourne, and 0-1 against Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Sydney.

Their best opening round win was against Essendon at PFS in 2016, when, in the Bombers’ first game after the supplements scandal, they prevailed by 60 points to celebrate Michael Rischitelli’s 200^th AFL game. It was also Callum Ah Chee’s debut and the first game in red and gold for Matt Rosa and Ryan Davis.

Swallow, going into his 15^th season after 240 games, is one of only 31 ‘survivors’ from the 639 players who played in the AFL in 2011.

Four others are ex-SUNS – Dion Prestia and Tom Lynch at Richmond, Sam Day at Brisbane and Steven May at Melbourne.

There will be at least two changes to the SUNS side that finished the 2024 season with a 28-point MCG win over Richmond, with Sam Flanders injured and Jack Lukosius now at Port Adelaide.

But, in a pointer to the club’s consolidation in recent years, the lowest change in personnel from the last game of one year to the first game of the following year is on the cards.

The ‘record’ low stands at seven changes from 2022 to 2023 and 2022-24 in what is massive decrease on earlier years.

There were 10 changes from the last game of 2011 to the first game of 2012, and thereafter it was 14, 11, 10, 10, 9, 12, 14, 9, 7 and the 7-7 of the last two years.