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By Michael Whiting

Nathan Bock believed his leadership role at Gold Coast SUNS was never in jeopardy despite being suspended by the AFL for the first two rounds of the home and away season.

Bock was retained as the GC SUNS vice-captain on Saturday after being voted into the leadership group by his peers for the second straight season.

He will miss rounds one and two after telling family members he would be moved from his usual full-back role to start in the forward line against Hawthorn in round 24 last season.

That information led to a betting plunge on Bock to be the first goalkicker, and it proved to be a windfall for some punters when he duly managed the first major.

Despite the setback, Bock was not concerned he would lose his vice-captaincy.

'It's obviously serious; it's a breach of AFL rules and I understand that,' he said.

'The AFL have handed down their penalty and I copped it on the chin and move on from it.

'The players obviously still see me as a strong leader and that's what I see myself as.'

Teammate Campbell Brown was stripped of his deputy vice-captaincy role after being detained by Thai police for an incident on an end-of-season trip.

Brown was still eligible to be in the seven-man leadership group but was not reinstated.

Michael Rischitelli took his role, while captain Gary Ablett also has Zac Smith, David Swallow, Karmichael Hunt and Andrew McQualter in his team.

Bock said missing two games was a tough penalty to take.

'It was always going to sting,' he said.

'It obviously stung when I first found out and it's going to when the season kicks off … disappointing, but cop it on the chin and get myself ready and raring for round three.

'I understood the penalties in place. It's an easy mistake to make and something I've learnt from and hopefully the rest of the playing group has learnt from as well.'

Bock said he was eager to play as much of the pre-season as possible to minimise the loss of any fitness and touch when he serves his suspension.

The 2008 All Australian was sensational in defence last year but starred as a key forward in Saturday's intra-club match, kicking four goals.

He said it was a role he'd be happy to fill more regularly.

'I've spent a majority of the pre-season up in the forward line, so as you saw last year there was times I did go forward and if that needs be this year I've probably done a bit more work and understand the structures a bit better this year,' he said.

Gold Coast SUNS opens its NAB Cup campaign against Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.

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By Michael Whiting

Karmichael Hunt took another big leap in his AFL journey on Saturday, being named in the GC SUNS leadership group and starring in its intra-club match on the Gold Coast.

Hunt was one of three new faces in the seven-man group alongside second-year midfielder David Swallow and St Kilda recruit Andrew McQualter.

Gary Ablett will again captain the GC SUNS with Nathan Bock the vice-captain and Michael Rischitelli taking over from Campbell Brown as the deputy vice-captain.

Zac Smith retained his place.

For Hunt, the leadership elevation marks another chapter in his switch from rugby league international less than two years ago.

He is now also likely to play a more pronounced midfield role in 2012.

'It's a privilege to be voted in by the boys as a leader,' Hunt said.

'I look forward to the role and taking it on board and helping us reach the goals we want to achieve.'

One man not surprised by Hunt's selection is Ablett.

'It's a great effort to get up in the leadership group, especially coming from another code. He's been fantastic for everyone around the club and I'm super proud of him,' Ablett said.

'I've been able to see since day one that 'K' was always going to be a leader of this football club and it's a great reward for him.'

Hunt, 25, played 16 games in his debut season last year and was predominantly used in defence.

However, coach Guy McKenna has indicated during the pre-season he wanted to use Hunt more in the midfield and he made a strong fist of his first challenge in the GC SUNS intra-club hit-out.

Hunt said he was more comfortable with a full season under his belt and felt he was more suited to the middle of the ground.

'I've been doing a lot of work with 'Cheesy' (midfield coach Shane O'Bree) and the rest of the midfielders,' he said.

'I enjoy being around the ball and trying to attack it and feed it off to the boys on the outside.

'I think I'm more of a reaction player, so being in the midfield where you hunt the ball and that reaction of going after it rather than being down back and following a man and reacting off his play, I feel more comfortable.

'It was only an intra-club match and I was quite happy with the way some things panned out but there's a lot of work for me to do.'

Ablett said opposition teams might have to pay closer attention to Hunt this season.

'The amount he's improved from last year to this year has been incredible but it's no surprise,' Ablett said.

'He's one of the hardest workers at the club, he's always doing extras. It's good to see him playing the kind of footy he's playing and it'll be great to see him running around in the midfield this year.'

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