Coach Ricky Stuart, Chairman Allan Hawke and members of the Raiders football, high performance and coaching departments visited the Gold Coast SUNS' training facility last Friday.
The purpose of the visit was to tour the Gold Coast SUNS' new training and administration base, helping to guide the Raiders in their plans to build a new training base in the future.
Raiders football manager John Bonasera was extremely impressed by the SUNS' facilities and the knowledge they were able to share.
"The SUNS were really prepared to give us an in depth discussion on how they arrived at what they built," Bonasera said.
"The preparation and consideration they gave in building the facility showed, as when we walked through the facility they were able to discuss the smallest things in great detail, and the reasons why they programmed them in that way.
"If you're going to go and spend a huge amount of money and develop a training facility, you need to understand all the small details and how they can help a team reach peak performance."
Several members of the Gold Coast SUNS' coaching and high performance staff were on hand to guide the tour and discussions, including head coach Rodney Eade.
The new facility, located next to Metricon Stadium, features a state-of-the-art gym, hot and cold recovery baths, a 25 metre three-lane pool, medical facilities and coaching offices. The centre is part of a larger sporting precinct, which includes community facilities for a range of sports.
"What they have now is very close to what we would ideally like to have, with some subtle differences, which are mainly related to the differences between the two codes," Bonasera said.
"It was a great opportunity for us to see what you can get with a certain level of funding."
The Raiders would like to express their gratitude to the Gold Coast SUNS for the opportunity to tour their facility and for how forthcoming they were with information.
