Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett Jr is eager for his legendary father to watch from the stands as he leads the Suns in their historic opening AFL match against Carlton at the Gabba on Saturday night.

Ablett said his mother and siblings had committed to being at the Gabba and the last piece of the family puzzle was knowing if Gary Snr would be in the grandstand as well.

"I haven't spoken with him, I'm actually going to give him a call tonight and hopefully he gets up here," Ablett said before heading to a closed training session at Carrara.

"My mum is coming along and my sisters, so hopefully he'll come along, it will be fantastic.

"If not I'm sure he will watch it on TV."

Gary's younger brother and 2007 Geelong premiership teammate Nathan, who is also on the Suns list, will be at the Gabba on Saturday night, but he won't be playing because of injury.

Suns veteran recruit, back-up ruckman and forward Josh Fraser, 29, failed to do the warm-up with the senior side on Thursday, although his preparation has been deliberately light because he is in the twilight of his career.

Ablett said the move to a three-man interchange bench and one substitute would not affect his midfield rotation as it's likely he'll be pushing forward when not part of the on-ball brigade.

"Last year I played a lot down forward anyway so I'll do a bit more of that this year," he said.

Even though it will be his first game as skipper of the Suns after failing to play a pre-season match because of niggling injuries, Ablett does not expect to be making any big statements to his teammates before they take the field.

The dual premiership midfielder said he has thought very little about what he will say in his on-field pre-game huddle speech.

"We're an AFL side, we have lot of talent and if we stick to our structures and play the right way, and things go our way we can definitely win," Ablett said.

"I don't think I need to say anything special.

"I think the guys know what we expect of them and how to play the game is what we have been working on all season."

The 2009 Brownlow medallist said he has had a quiet word with the debutants and also kept tabs on their progress and expects a lot of nervous first game players on Saturday night.

He said he will point out to the younger players how hard and fast the first few minutes will be and to make sure they are not caught flat-footed and in awe of the experience.

"I think they'll be ready for the opening bounce."

The Suns are expected to play up to a dozen first game players including code-hopper Karmichael Hunt who has proved he is worthy of being in their best side following some impressive practice match form.

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