Sitting outside the club's accomodation in Maroochydore, Mattaes Phillipou reflects on a challenging, yet rewarding, week in the Sunshine Coast.

"It's been a lot of hard work. A lot of training. A lot of sweat," says Phillipou.

"The humidity up here is different that's for sure. But it's been a lot of fun, first and foremost."

The Saints travelled to Maroochydore in January for a pre-season camp in a state where they haven't played since 2024, and won't travel to in the home and away season in 2026.

The aim of the camp was to continue to build connection among the playing group, forging through difficult conditions and training sessions, as well as visiting the Queensland Saints Supporter Group that have supported heavily from afar.

"There's been a lot of connection. Just being around the guys more you probably see them in a different light to when you're back home.

"Here it's been good, you can let your hair down with the guys and have a bit of a laugh and a lot of fun."

The Saints mixed in training sessions with team-building exercises, such as raft-building, over the course of the week to bring the team together away from home.

The directive has been simple for the Saints and Phillipou however: the footy needs to do the talking come the 2026 season.

"Lenny [Hayes] was big on this with the meeting we had before coming here was that we're here to improve our football.

"It's been about embedding the gameplan. We've had a lot of meetings in the days between trainings and while it might not make the biggest impact right now... When the guys are put under the pump in the big moments we're going to be ready for it."

"Everyone communicates differently... some guys need to have really strong connection in order to communicate on game day and some guys don't, so you learn."

Phillipou's 2025 campaign was a frustrating one for himself personally. Injuries restricted the South Australian to just seven games after a strong pre-season was ended with a leg injury.

The back end of 2024 was prolific for Phillipou, returning to the senior side after a spell in the VFL and dominating out of the midfield. That form is what he will be chasing as he aims for consistent football in year four in the AFL system.

"I feel like I'm starting to hit my level of where I need to be at at a better time instead of pre-Christmas," said Phillipou of his conditioning throughout the summer.

"You don't want to be a November hero or December hero and then injured coming into the season so I think that was my focus.

"The best ability is availability... I just think my pre-season has been a bit more consistent.

"I let myself down in that aspect last year... The injuries that I had weren't 'freak' injuries, they were as a result of my actions.

"Although that's hard to stomach, it's also quite empowering because it makes me believe I can change things going forward."

With the eyes of the footy world firmly on the Saints, Phillipou says he and his teammates are ready to stand up to the task.

"I think what we're most excited about is that the spotlight is on us and it's on us in a footy sense and I think that's a great thing."

"I think we should always want that and want it to be because we're a good team.

"We're taking steps towards that... Ultimately, you've got to make bold decisions and you've got to be bold in order to get there."

The Saints kick off their season in Opening Round against the Magpies on March 8.