Australia's Men's Sevens have been somewhat isolated from the Commonwealth Games bubble, but they're keen to throw themselves into the thick of it, boosted by a visit from James Stannard.
The Aussies have been training in Sydney ahead of the tournament, rather that going straight up to the Coast, but it's been a blessing in disguise in many ways for the team.
Coach Andy Friend spoke last week about the energy that was sapped out of them in Rio, with an intense Olympic build-up, and that along with the unforeseen setbacks the team has had to deal with in the Games lead-up.
An injury to captain Lewis Holland and his stand-in James Stannard's hospitalisation on Good Friday after a one-punch hit forced changes to the squad, obstacles they've worked through away from the intense spotlight of the Gold Coast.
Stannard made an appearance at training on Tuesday, the first since the attack, boosting the mood of the team and posting on Instagram that he was 'back with the family'.
Now that their tournament is just days away though, the excitement is palpable among the squad, with the men flying to the Gold Coast and going into the athlete's village on Wednesday.
Though they've played home tournaments before - a World Series leg is played in Australia each year - X-Factor player, Maurice Longbottom said the prospect of a home gold medal win in front of family and friends was another level.
"Having friends and family there, that's big for me," he said.
"I'm a family man, (so) to be at the Commonwealth Games and going out there trying to win that gold medal, it's going to mean a lot.
"When you run out there and you hear that crowd roar and they're screaming out 'Australia', really lifts you up, gets you going."
As well as the emotion of a medal, rising star Lachlan Anderson said it could help propel the profile of the men's game.
"I guess if you look at the girls and what it's done to their sport, They won a gold medal back in Rio," he said.
"So, if we're able to emulate that at a Commonwealth Games, hopefully we can grow this sport even bigger now in Australia, globally across the world and it'll do amazing things for the game and for Rugby Australia."
While Fiji were winning the Hong Kong Sevens, the Aussies were watching on back in Sydney, and Anderson hoped that extra week of rest would be helpful.
"We're pretty used to doing back-to-back tournaments now., (but) we've had the luxury of holding ourselves back and hopefully we're a bit fresher for that."
Hong Kong did give the Aussies a chance to see pool opponent Samoa in action before their competition opener on Saturday April 14.
"We saw how they play, they took a pretty good team, so we're expecting a physical clash first-up with them," he said.
"They'll bring it to the table with nothing to lose, so it'll be good."
They didn't have that luxury with all of their opponents, with lesser-known Jamaica a hard team to break down, Longbottom said.
"I think we've got a couple of games upstairs i think we've watched," he said.
"I've only watched one - I think there's only one, but we've just got to watch the vision and then go out there and trust our system and hope it works."
Longbottom played his first game back from a syndesmosis injury last Friday, in a friendly against New Zealand, and said he was confident he was back to 100 per cent.
The Commonwealth Games Sevens program kicks off on Friday April 13, with the men's competition from Saturday April 14, at Robina Stadium.
