Anderson took the club to a maiden AFL finals campaign 15 years in the making in his first season at the helm, earning high praise from former Hawthorn great Luke Hodge along the way.
The 25-year-old averaged a career-high 30.1 disposals and seven clearances last year, polling 25 Brownlow Medal votes despite good mate and midfielder partner Matt Rowell collecting a staggering 39 on his way to the prize.
"I learnt that I could do it. It went well," Anderson reflected ahead of Friday's season opener against Geelong on the Gold Coast.
"You never really know ... I felt confident but it was nice to have a year and see results and receive feedback that what I was doing was helping the group.
"I've got to keep backing myself in as captain with the way I lead and hoping the playing group really benefits from that."
Hodge said Anderson was "a long way in front at No.1" on his AFL's captaincy rankings midway through last year.
Anderson hasn't got complacent though, revealing he's already leaning on up-and-coming players he knows have the attention of the Suns' young crop.
"I really am big on getting as many guys leading as possible, and I'm trying to do a bit more with those emerging leaders like Ethan Read and Bailey Humphrey and Will Graham," he said.
"I see them as such influential players.
"I'm getting older ... I'm not losing touch, but they've got such an impact on that younger group and they're playing such good footy.
"I'm trying to be proactive in upskilling them and delegating a lot of my stuff to them to help develop them because they're really important people for our team."
Coach Damien Hardwick sees those younger talents as crucial too, on the Suns' quest to become regular contenders.
Geelong, beaten in the grand final by Brisbane last year, present an immediate chance for Gold Coast to consolidate their new standing.
"I think they've played 19 finals series in 25 years," the coach said of the Cats.
"That's the sort of club you want to become, the organisation we're looking to morph into and this is a great step to do that.
"They are well coached, they are well drilled. We get a great opportunity at our home stadium which we are looking forward to."
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