"From what I've seen so far, the hardest part of this job will be to pick 15 players for the team because there are so many talented players around here," he said.
The coach will look to select a core of experienced players in trials this Saturday, with the majority of the squad likely to be made up of promising youngsters.
"I have been impressed by some of the raw talent here in Northland. Once it is utilised more efficiently there will definitely be a chance of competing with some of the bigger city programmes ... but you have got to crawl before you can walk," he said.
His Croatian background won't go amiss either, with Croatia - despite its relatively tiny population - always near the top of European basketball, something he will be looking to emulate with Northland in the national basketball scene.
A big help to Susnjar this year will be Aaron Sadler, who has been sidelined due to an ACL injury suffered over summer.
"I was looking forward to playing this year with the guys and improving on the 2011 season but now I'm happy to stay involved and I can still be just as effective, if not more useful as a coach"
Sadler sees the injury as a chance to speed up his transition from playing to coaching.
"I'm looking forward to working alongside Stanko this year and helping the Suns progress from how they have played in previous seasons."
"As a player, you don't have much to worry about except playing - as a coach, you have to worry about getting players the right amount of time on and off the court, dealing with referees and with different egos on the team," Sadler said.
The Suns will select a training squad at the first open trial on Saturday morning with the final cut to be made in the afternoon.
Players are expected to be at Kensington Stadium at 9am with the trials starting at 10am.
