History of Australian rules football on the Gold Coast

Australian rules football on the Gold Coast, Queensland can be traced back to the Gold Coast Australian Football League that was established in 1961. The city's interest in the sport has been heavily linked to the Southport Australian Football Club, the Brisbane Football Club and more recently the Gold Coast Football Club. The highest form of the sport played on the Gold Coast is the Australian Football League's team the Gold Coast Football Club, who were admitted into the competition in 2011.^[1]

History

Gold Coast Australian Football League

On 18 May 1961 the Gold Coast Australian Football League was established and four days later the first Australian rules football club on the Gold Coast was formed, Southport Australian Football Club. On 7 June it was revealed the team would be known as the Southport Magpies and would based at Owen Park.^[2] The team would also wear the black and white stripes similar to the Collingwood Football Club. In early June a second Gold Coast team was established in Palm Beach and was known as the Central Australian Football Club. On 25 June Southport would play their first game against the Central Football Club at Labrador Sports Reserve. The magpies would come out victorious by 11 points. The game attracts so much attention that a second game was scheduled for 9 July and would be played in Palm Beach and the Centrals would win the second game by 25 points. A third game between the two clubs was played on 23 July and Southport were comfortable winners by 39 points.

The season was temporarily interrupted when a Gold Coast representative side was scheduled to play the Royal Australian Navy team in Palm Beach on 16 August. The Gold Coast team, who were captained by Southport player Ken McDonald, beat the Navy side by 5 points. In August Ipswich had entered the Gold Coast Australian Football League and matches between the three clubs occurred. An inter-district game between Southport and the Ipswich Football Club was scheduled on 25 September at Labrador Sports Ground and was considered the first Gold Coast Australian Football League Grand Final. Southport would claim victory by 13 points to win their first premiership.

Senior football on the Gold Coast became stagnant in 1962 as the Southport Magpies struggled to find any local opposition. The Central Football club had rebranded to Coolangatta at the beginning of the season but faltered and become the Currumbin Australian Football Club by the end of the season. Southport was largely instrumental in the creation of the Surfers Paradise Australian Football Club but the club also failed to become resourceful enough to compete. In an attempt to grow the code, Southport scheduled several showcase matches against Brisbane-based QANFL clubs Enoggera, Mayne, Morningside and University. A junior competition was also started in 1962 and in a stark difference to the senior competition the junior and schools competition enjoyed immense success. The junior competition was such a success that the local paper the South Coast Bulletin would often report on junior matches rather than senior matches. With only two senior clubs based on the Gold Coast, the GCAFL Grand Final was contested between Southport and Currumbin with the Magpies claiming their second consecutive premiership by 53 points.

Premiers

Gold Coast AFL (1961-1996) / AFLQ - Gold Coast Division (1997-1999)

Southport accepted into the QAFL

Following a year and a half of applications, Southport would be accepted into the Queensland Australian Football League in 1983. Entry into the league caused a problem with both Southport and the Western Magpies, who shared mascots and guernseys. Southport would rebrand from their Magpies moniker to the Southport Sharks. The Brisbane clubs in the QAFL had long seen the Gold Coast as a lesser competition and weren't expecting Southport to achieve much in the Brisbane-based league. However, the Sharks would send shock waves through the competition when they claimed the QAFL premiership in their debut season with a victory over the Morningside Australian Football Club in the Grand Final. Southport President Dr Alan McKenzie did not miss the opportunity to let the Brisbane clubs know how they felt declaring "For too long Brisbane people have denigrated Gold Coast football. Our win just shows how strong Coast footy is".^[3] Meanwhile, in the GCAFL, Coolangatta recorded their third consecutive premiership.

The following season saw Southport struggle to hold on to their premiership players from the previous year and would only retain eleven for the 1984 season. Troubles would transfer to their on field performances as the team lost their first four games of the season. Following a match against Coorparoo in which future VFL player Jason Dunstall starred, the Sharks would win twelve consecutive matches before being eliminated by Morningside in the preliminary final. Once again determined to prove to the Brisbane clubs that Gold Coast football was not a joke, the Sharks would set their eyes on premiership glory again in 1985. Throughout the home and away season the Sharks would only be defeated two times and would reach the Grand Final with a 27-point victory over Mayne in the Major Semifinal. Two weeks later the Sharks would again face Mayne in the Grand Final and with a minute to go, Southport full-forward Glen Middlemiss would kick a goal that would seal a three-point victory. The Sharks would also do the QAFL sweep that season with their reserves and colts teams claiming their respective premierships as well as the senior team winning the midweek Championship.

Southport began the 1986 season with a bang by signing Brownlow Medal winning ruckman Gary Dempsey in an attempt to cover some of the players they had lost. The move would prove successful with the Sharks reaching a second consecutive Grand Final. Despite defeating Coorparoo by 98 points two weeks prior to the Grand Final, the Sharks would fall in the premiership decider by ten points. Unbeknownst to the Sharks, the Gold Coast was about to receive its own VFL football club in 1987.

Bears based at Carrara

In 1986 the Victorian Football League Commission announced plans to introduce privately owned clubs in Brisbane and Perth. The Brisbane license was awarded to a consortium headed by former actor Paul Cronin and bankrolled by entrepreneur Christopher Skase. It was expected that the newly formed Brisbane Football Club would be based at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, however Skase had other plans for the team. Skase opted for the team to be based out of Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast and nicknamed the team the 'Bears'.^[4] He justified the decision by pointing out that Carrara possessed a ground the same size as the Melbourne Cricket Ground while the Brisbane Cricket Ground had a greyhound track surrounding the field and wasn't suitable for football.

The Bears struggled to attract the interest of high-profile players to join the team for their inaugural season. Billionaire owner Skase decided to open the chequebook and the Bears were able to acquire the services of 1985 Brownlow Medalist Brad Hardie and Collingwood captain Mark Williams. After winning two of their first three away games of the 1987 season, the followers in Queensland were optimistic about the club's future in the lead up to their first home game. The Bears would play their first home game at Carrara Stadium against the Fitzroy Lions in front of a sell out crowd of 17,795.

The Fitzroy Lions would win the encounter by fifteen points. In 1989 the Brisbane Bears and the Albert Shire Council signed off on a 30-year lease for the ground with an option for a further 10 years. Later that year on 15 July the Bears hosted the first ever night match at Carrara against the Geelong Cats in front of a then record crowd of 18,198.

Bears move and the impact

Insufficient public transport to and from the stadium, as well as the poor on field performance of the Bears, resulted in low crowds at the Bears games and prompted the local media to refer to it as the Curse of Carrara^[5] as well as labeling the team the Carrara Koalas or the Bad News Bears. The new owner of the Bears, Reuben Pelerman, would lose a further $10 million between the 1990–1992 AFL seasons. Despite local fans disagreeing with CEO Andrew Ireland,^[6] the ever-increasing problems with Carrara Stadium would lead to the Brisbane Bears permanently moving north to the Brisbane Cricket Ground for the 1993 AFL season.

Sharks bid to enter the AFL

Although interest in the sport had waned on the Gold Coast during the years the Bears were based at Carrara, the Southport Sharks continued to stamp their authority in the QAFL as a powerhouse club. Eight consecutive Grand Finals between 1986 and 1993 showed the club's consistency with premierships years coming in 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1992.

In 1996 the Southport Sharks began bidding for acceptance into the Australian Football League. At the conclusion of the 1996 AFL season it was announced the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy Lions would merge, leaving a sixteenth spot in the AFL open. The AFL decided to hand the open license to the Port Adelaide Football Club and in the process rejected Southport's bid. Now on a mission to prove the AFL made the wrong decision by not granting them a license, the Sharks would win four consecutive QAFL premierships between 1997 and 2000. This led to the AFL Chief Executive Wayne Jackson stating "I was left with the indelible impression that if ever there was another side outside of a capital, no one else would be in as strong a position as Southport to compete for that. There was nothing like the vibrancy surrounding the Gold Coast. They were the standout (state league) club anywhere around Australia".^[7]

GCAFL absorbed by QAFL

Following the 1996 GCAFL season the league was absorbed by the QAFL state league and created a Gold Coast division for the clubs. In 2000 the Gold Coast division was abolished and teams were assigned to different QAFL divisions according to the strength of each club. Broadbeach and Labrador were admitted into the top division while Burleigh, Coolangatta-Tweed Heads, Palm Beach Currumbin and Surfers Paradise were placed in the second division. Although other Gold Coast clubs had joined the QAFL the Southport Sharks would continue to prove themselves as the Gold Coast's powerhouse club with five consecutive QAFL Grand Final showings between 2004 and 2008, claiming premierships in 2005, 2006 and 2008.^[8]

AFL push for Gold Coast team

By 2004 the city of the Gold Coast had become the sixth most populated city in Australia and had begun to attract the attention of sports leagues around the country. The Southport Sharks continued to bid for a place in the AFL and in August 2004 it was revealed the Sharks attempted to lure the Melbourne Football Club to move to the Gold Coast permanently.^[9] The bids would be unsuccessful but a surprise crowd of 16,591 at Carrara to a pre-season match between the Brisbane Lions and Essendon prompted the Australian Football League to act. The AFL scheduled one pre-season match as well as two home and away fixtures at Carrara Stadium in 2006, two of which involved the Brisbane Lions.^[10]

The three scheduled games in 2006 would be considered a success which would lead to the North Melbourne Football Club signing a three-year deal to play ten home games at Carrara between 2007 and 2009.^[11] Following another successful season of Australian rules football at Carrara, the AFL offered a $100 million package to the North Melbourne Football Club to move to the Gold Coast permanently. With relocation looking likely, James Brayshaw began campaigning for the president position with the slogan 'Keep North at North'.^[12] On 7 December 2007 the newly appointed Kangaroos chairman James Brayshaw announced the club would not be moving to the Gold Coast permanently and would continue to be based out of Melbourne.

In January 2008, it was reported that the AFL officially registered the name Gold Coast Football Club Ltd with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The registration was effective from 24 December 2007.^[13] The registration was of a public company limited by guarantees rather than by shares, the corporate personality common to 15 of 16 of the current AFL teams, the exception being the Fremantle Football Club.^[14] In March 2008, the AFL won the support of the league's 16 club presidents to establish a side on the Gold Coast and an 18th side in Western Sydney. A bid team known as GC17 consisted of Minter Ellison, head of the largest Australian-based international law firm group, John Witheriff, the Gold Coast chairman, Graeme Downie, an ex-Brisbane Lions president, Dr Alan Mackenzie, president of the Southport Sharks, Dale Dickson, the CEO of the Gold Coast city council and Bob Gordon, a Gold Coast Bulletin editor. In May 2008 it was revealed that Michael Voss had expressed interest in coaching the newly created Gold Coast bid team.^[15]

In July AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou made a surprise visit to the Gold Coast in an attempt to help the GC17 bid team gain corporate support.^[16] In August 2008 the GC17 bid team hired former West Coast Eagles captain Guy McKenna to be the inaugural coach of the team as well as former Brisbane Lions players Shaun Hart and Marcus Ashcroft as assistants.^[17] The deadline for the team to reach the AFL requirements occurred in October 2008 and the GC17 bid fulfilled all the criteria.

The last hurdle the GC17 bid team faced would come down to whether the Queensland Labor Party would be re-elected in the 2009 state election. With 42,000 supporters signed up and 110 sponsors already committed, the final roadblock would involve the Queensland Labor Party's $60 million redevelopment of Carrara Stadium that would occur if they won the election.^[18][19][20] The Queensland Labor Party would win the 2009 election and in doing so secured the AFL license for the GC17 bid team.^[21] On 31 March 2009 AFL Chief Executive Andrew Demetriou announced that the Gold Coast bid team had been granted an AFL license to enter the league in 2011 and become the seventeenth team.^[22]

Gold Coast Football Club

Following the announcement that the GC17 bid team had been granted an AFL license, it was revealed the new team would be called the Gold Coast Football Club and would play their 2009 season in the TAC Cup. The club shocked many on 29 July 2009 when they signed Queensland Rugby League player Karmichael Hunt from the Brisbane Broncos to a three-year deal.^[23] After a season of mixed results the Gold Coast Football Club would finish fifth on the ladder with a record of ten wins, seven losses and one draw. In the team's first finals match they faced the Northern Knights at Visy Park and would come out victorious by fourteen points. They would then be eliminated in the semifinals by the Geelong Falcons.^[24]

During the 2009 off season the Gold Coast Football Club would make major inroads by signing Geelong Cats premiership play Nathan Ablett,^[25] former North Melbourne player Daniel Harris and former Collingwood duo Danny Stanley and Sam Iles.^[26] The team was also allowed to sign up to twelve 17-year-old players from around the country. On 22 July 2010 it was revealed during a Rise Up function at the Southport Sharks that the new Gold Coast AFL team would be known as the Gold Coast Suns. The club's guernsey and song were also revealed on the night.^[27] The club's 2010 VFL season would prove to be not as successful as the season before, only recording five wins and finishing tenth on the ladder. Meanwhile, in the QAFL the Labrador Tigers reached the Grand Final, the first Gold Coast team to do outside of Southport. The Tigers would lose the final by 22 points.^[28]

On 17 August 2010 it was revealed the Gold Coast Suns had signed their first AFL contracted player in the form of Nathan Bock.^[29] Signings of Campbell Brown, Josh Fraser, Jarrod Harbrow and Michael Rischitelli would follow before the biggest signing in the club's short history. On 29 September 2010 the club announced the signing of two time premiership player and 2009 Brownlow medalist Gary Ablett Jr.^[30] On 2 April 2011 the Gold Coast Suns made their historic AFL debut against the Carlton Football Club, they were beaten soundly by 119 points.^[31] Three weeks later the Suns would record their first AFL win over the Port Adelaide Football Club by three points in Adelaide.^[32] The Suns would only taste victory two more times that season to compile a win–loss record of 3-19 en route to collecting the wooden spoon.

In the Suns second AFL season the club would go on a fifteen match losing streak to begin the season with many media outlets putting it down to the second year blues.^[33][34] The losing streak was snapped with a goal after the siren victory against Richmond in Cairns.^[35] The team would then finish the season off strongly with two home wins against Greater Western Sydney and Carlton. They would finish the year with the same record of 3-19, finishing second last on the ladder.

Gold Coast Australian Football League Clubs

Gold Coast Australian Football Clubs

Current Clubs

Football Club	Nickname	Colors	Founded	Location	Ground	Current Competition
Gold Coast (R)	Suns		2008	Carrara	Carrara Stadium	VFL
Gold Coast (S)	Suns		2011	Carrara	Carrara Stadium	AFL
Broadbeach	Cats		1971	Mermaid Waters	H & A Oval	QAFL
Labrador	Tigers		1964	Labrador	Cooke-Murphy Oval	QAFL
Southport	Sharks		1961	Southport	Frankhauser Reserve	VFL
Burleigh	Bombers		c. 1979	Burleigh Waters	Bill Godfrey Oval	QFA Division 1
Coolangatta Tweed Heads	Blues		1962	Coolangatta	Len Peak Oval	QFA Division 2
Palm Beach Currumbin	Lions		1961	Palm Beach	Salk Oval	QAFL
Surfers Paradise	Demons		1962	Benowa	Sir Bruce Small Park	QAFL
Robina	Roos		1995	Robina	Scottsdale Drive	QFA Division 2
Carrara	Saints		2012	Carrara	Alan Neilsen Oval	QFA Division 2
Coomera	Magpies		2009	Coomera	Coomera Sports Park	QFA Division 2
Bond Uni.	Bullsharks		1987	Robina	Scottsdale Drive	QFA Division 2
Ormeau	Bulldogs		2009	Ormeau	Ormeau Sports Park	QFA Division 3

• (S) = Seniors
• (R) = Reserves

Former Clubs

Gold Coast Australian Football Club	Colors	Founded	Location	Ground	Competition
Beenleigh Buffaloes [note 1]		1997	Beenleigh	Dauth Park	QFA Division 1

Notes

Grounds

Carrara Stadium

In early 1987, Brisbane Bears financial backer Christopher Skase, would fund a redevelopment of Carrara Stadium to feature makeshift stands. In 1989 Skase would orchestrate the installment of $6 million flood lights in order to allow the Bears to host night games. The Bears announced in late 1992 that they would be moving away from Carrara permanently, instead opting for the Gabba in Brisbane.

Australian rules football would not return at a professional level until 2006 when 8,258 fans saw the Melbourne Demons hosted the Adelaide Crows in Round 3 of the 2006 AFL season. Four rounds later Queensland's own Brisbane Lions and the Hawthorn Hawks clashed in front of 12,315 spectators. The two games were deemed a success and in late 2006 the North Melbourne Kangaroos signed a three-year deal with the AFL to play ten home games out of Carrara. Following another successful season of Australian rules football at Carrara, the AFL offered a $100 million package to the North Melbourne Football Club to move to the Gold Coast permanently but North under President James Bradshaw's leadership rejected the offer.

Over these years Carrara Stadium also played host to several QAFL Grand Finals involving the Southport Sharks. On 7 May 2009 a $144.2 million upgrade of Carrara Stadium began to accommodate the new Gold Coast Football Club upon entry into the AFL in 2011. The site would be demolished with only the six flood lights remaining from the previous stadium. The newly upgraded stadium would hold 25,000 seats with the ability to be upgraded to 40,000 seats if needed.^[36]

List of VFL/AFL games played at Carrara

VFL/AFL games at Carrara Stadium

No. Year Rd Home team Score Away team Score Crowd Date 1 1987 4 Brisbane 16.18 (114) def by Fitzroy 20.9 (129) 17,795 Sun, 19 April 2 1987 5 Brisbane 12.14 (86) def Melbourne 12.9 (81) 7,451 Sun, 26 April 3 1987 8 Brisbane 22.12 (144) def Richmond 15.19 (109) 7,944 Sun, 17 May 4 1987 11 Brisbane 9.10 (64) def by Sydney 19.23 (137) 11,840 Sun, 7 June 5 1987 12 Brisbane 11.4 (70) def by Hawthorn 24.21 (165) 7,284 Sun, 14 June 6 1987 14 Brisbane 17.11 (113) def by North Melbourne 23.13 (151) 7,716 Sun, 28 June 7 1987 15 Brisbane 18.11 (119) def by Geelong 10.18 (78) 9,380 Sun, 5 July 8 1987 16 Brisbane 14.9 (93) def by St Kilda 18.13 (121) 9,106 Sun, 12 July 9 1987 19 Brisbane 11.11 (77) def by Collingwood 14.16 (100) 9,166 Sun, 9 August 10 1987 20 Brisbane 18.11 (119) def by West Coast 21.14 (140) 4,859 Sun, 16 August 11 1987 21 Brisbane 10.11 (71) def by Footscray 22.21 (153) 6,754 Sun, 23 August 12 1988 1 Brisbane 10.15 (75) def by Collingwood 11.17 (83) 11,306 Sun, 3 April 13 1988 6 Brisbane 17.11 (113) def Fitzroy 16.15 (111) 9,981 Sun, 8 May 14 1988 7 Brisbane 10.12 (72) def Footscray 9.17 (71) 10,898 Sun, 15 May 15 1988 10 Brisbane 16.13 (109) def by Geelong 24.18 (162) 8,637 Sun, 5 June 16 1988 11 Brisbane 23.13 (151) def Richmond 15.13 (103) 13,222 Sun, 12 June 17 1988 14 Brisbane 14.15 (99) def St Kilda 12.17 (89) 10,394 Sun, 3 July 18 1988 15 Brisbane 12.19 (91) def by Hawthorn 17.13 (115) 14,213 Sun, 10 July 19 1988 17 Brisbane 10.14 (74) def by Essendon 16.7 (103) 15,950 Sun, 24 July 20 1988 21 Brisbane 14.13 (97) def by Carlton 13.22 (100) 16,727 Sun, 21 August 21 1988 22 Brisbane 11.11 (77) def by Sydney 10.21 (81) 12,718 Sun, 28 August 22 1989 2 Brisbane 18.15 (123) def Sydney 8.17 (65) 11,405 Sun, 9 April 23 1989 5 Brisbane 10.13 (73) def by West Coast 19.11 (125) 9,694 Sun, 30 April 24 1989 6 Brisbane 8.11 (59) def Footscray 6.15 (51) 5,134 Sun, 7 May 25 1989 7 Brisbane 12.9 (81) def by Essendon 17.10 (112) 12,034 Sun, 14 May 26 1989 12 Brisbane 18.6 (114) def by Fitzroy 19.14 (128) 10,008 Sun, 18 June 27 1989 14 Brisbane 14.15 (99) def by Melbourne 17.11 (113) 8,799 Sun, 9 July 28 1989 15 Brisbane 11.11 (77) def by Geelong 22.19 (151) 18,198 Sat, 15 July 29 1989 16 Brisbane 14.10 (94) def St Kilda 12.18 (90) 11,004 Sat, 22 July 30 1989 18 Brisbane 25.17 (167) def North Melbourne 12.12 (84) 9,606 Sat, 5 August 31 1989 20 Brisbane 12.5 (77) def Hawthorn 9.7 (61) 9,093 Sun, 20 August 32 1989 22 Brisbane 15.15 (105) def Carlton 10.10 (70) 15,409 Sun, 3 September 33 1990 1 Brisbane 19.19 (133) def Richmond 10.14 (74) 11,814 Sat, 31 March 34 1990 3 Brisbane 14.11 (95) def by North Melbourne 17.11 (113) 8,683 Sun, 15 April 35 1990 5 Brisbane 8.13 (61) def by Melbourne 19.11 (125) 9,381 Sat, 28 April 36 1990 7 Brisbane 14.12 (96) def Sydney 13.10 (88) 7,226 Sun, 13 May 37 1990 9 Brisbane 8.8 (56) def by Footscray 19.11 (125) 6,628 Sat, 26 May 38 1990 11 Brisbane 10.13 (73) def by Collingwood 15.17 (107) 12,339 Sun, 10 June 39 1990 13 Brisbane 7.13 (55) def by Essendon 15.19 (109) 10,105 Sat, 23 June 40 1990 15 Brisbane 17.9 (111) def Fitzroy 9.8 (62) 10,105 Sun, 15 July 41 1990 17 Brisbane 14.11 (95) def by Hawthorn 16.14 (110) 8,768 Sun, 29 July 42 1990 19 Brisbane 25.13 (163) def Geelong 14.13 (97) 8,180 Sat, 11 August 43 1990 21 Brisbane 8.11 (59) def by West Coast 14.16 (100) 7,286 Sun, 26 August 44 1991 2 Brisbane 8.10 (58) def by North Melbourne 15.14 (104) 5,724 Sat, 30 March 45 1991 6 Brisbane 12.11 (83) def by Essendon 16.18 (114) 9,253 Sat, 27 April 46 1991 10 Brisbane 10.15 (75) def by Richmond 12.10 (82) 7,330 Sun, 26 May 47 1991 12 Brisbane 14.9 (93) def by West Coast 21.19 (145) 5,728 Sun, 9 June 48 1991 18 Brisbane 14.16 (100) def Carlton 12.21 (93) 9,735 Sun, 21 July 49 1991 20 Brisbane 10.11 (71) def by Collingwood 26.16 (172) 9,302 Sat, 3 August 50 1991 24 Brisbane 8.14 (62) def by Footscray 14.14 (98) 4,721 Sat, 31 August No. Year Rd Home team Score Away team Score Crowd Date 51 1992 1 Brisbane 10.8 (68) def by Carlton 13.14 (92) 9,066 Sat, 21 March 52 1992 3 Brisbane 11.16 (82) def Fitzroy 8.10 (58) 3,876 Sun, 5 April 53 1992 5 Brisbane 14.8 (92) drew with West Coast 13.14 (92) 6,923 Sat, 18 April 54 1992 7 Brisbane 11.9 (75) def by Geelong 37.17 (239) 7,645 Sun, 3 May 55 1992 9 Brisbane 6.6 (42) def by Footscray 11.18 (84) 3,059 Sun, 17 May 56 1992 12 Brisbane 16.7 (103) def Melbourne 11.11 (77) 4,902 Sun, 7 June 57 1992 13 Brisbane 12.13 (85) def by Essendon 18.11 (119) 6,442 Sun, 14 June 58 1992 15 Brisbane 15.14 (104) def by Hawthorn 16.12 (108) 7,573 Sun, 28 June 59 1992 17 Brisbane 9.10 (64) def by Collingwood 14.19 (103) 13,053 Sat, 11 July 60 1992 21 Brisbane 11.11 (77) def by Adelaide 17.8 (110) 4,603 Sun, 9 August 61 1992 23 Brisbane 19.15 (129) def Sydney 9.16 (70) 4,349 Sat, 22 August 62 2006 3 Melbourne 14.13 (97) def by Adelaide 15.14 (104) 8,258 Sun, 16 April 63 2006 7 Hawthorn 9.12 (66) def by Brisbane 16.10 (106) 12,315 Sat, 13 May 64 2007 4 North Melbourne 12.15 (87) def Brisbane 8.15 (63) 11,133 Sat, 21 April 65 2007 8 North Melbourne 22.15 (147) def Carlton 20.10 (130) 11,647 Sat, 19 May 66 2007 12 North Melbourne 7.12 (54) def by Adelaide 15.10 (100) 11,178 Sat, 16 June 67 2008 8 North Melbourne 13.11 (89) def West Coast 12.11 (83) 6,354 Sat, 17 May 68 2008 14 North Melbourne 19.15 (69) def by St Kilda 12.12 (84) 9,128 Sat, 28 June 69 2008 18 North Melbourne 13.14 (92) def Brisbane 11.18 (84) 10,037 Sat, 2 August 70 2009 7 Carlton 11.15 (81) def by Fremantle 13.10 (88) 10,294 Sat, 9 May 71 2009 10 St Kilda 11.17 (83) def Melbourne 6.10 (46) 9,112 Sat, 30 May 72 2009 14 Richmond 13.7 (85) def by Adelaide 15.12 (102) 11,174 Sat, 4 July 73 2011 10 Gold Coast 10.13 (73) def by Geelong 21.13 (139) 21,485 Sat, 28 May 74 2011 12 Gold Coast 9.9 (63) def by North Melbourne 18.14 (122) 14,945 Sat, 11 June 75 2011 14 Gold Coast 13.10 (88) def by Footscray 17.8 (110) 16,149 Sat, 25 June 76 2011 16 Gold Coast 4.12 (36) def by Sydney 15.16 (106) 16,488 Sat, 9 July 77 2011 18 Gold Coast 11.9 (75) def by Collingwood 19.15 (129) 23,302 Sat, 23 July 78 2011 19 Gold Coast 6.18 (54) def by St Kilda 10.14 (74) 17,482 Sat, 30 July 79 2011 22 Gold Coast 9.10 (64) def by Adelaide 18.17 (125) 16,168 Sat, 20 August 80 2011 24 Gold Coast 14.13 (97) def by Hawthorn 16.10 (106) 19,314 Sat, 3 September 81 2012 1 Gold Coast 10.8 (68) def by Adelaide 19.23 (137) 12,790 Sat, 31 March 82 2012 3 Gold Coast 13.10 (88) def by Essendon 15.15 (105) 17,069 Sat, 14 April 83 2012 6 Gold Coast 14.3 (87) def by Fremantle 14.10 (94) 11,670 Sat, 5 May 84 2012 9 Gold Coast 10.10 (70) def by Port Adelaide 17.16 (118) 12,416 Sat, 26 May 85 2012 11 Gold Coast 7.7 (49) def by St Kilda 21.18 (144) 12,534 Sat, 9 June 86 2012 11 Gold Coast 12.8 (80) def by North Melbourne 11.21 (87) 10,170 Sat, 16 June 87 2012 15 Gold Coast 13.18 (96) def by Geelong 15.20 (110) 15,824 Sun, 8 July 88 2012 17 Gold Coast 5.18 (48) def by Brisbane 8.11 (59) 16,550 Sat, 21 July 89 2012 18 Gold Coast 8.6 (54) def by Sydney 19.12 (126) 11,169 Sat, 28 July 90 2012 20 Gold Coast 16.13 (109) def GWS 12.7 (79) 14,657 Sat, 11 August 91 2012 22 Gold Coast 15.8 (98) def Carlton 11.20 (86) 15,251 Sat, 25 August

Rivalries

QClash

The QClash is the name for a rivalry between the Gold Coast Suns and the Brisbane Lions that began in the 2011 AFL season. On May 7, 2011 the Gold Coast won the first QClash played at the Gabba by eight points. The Lions would even the score in the second QClash, again played at the Gabba. In 2012 Brisbane would get the better of the Gold Coast in both QClashes. The ledger between the two clubs currently stands at 3–1 in favour of Brisbane.

Broadbeach vs Southport

The most intense rivalry in local Queensland football exists between the neighbouring clubs in the form of the Southport Sharks and the Broadbeach Cats and stretches back to their first meeting in 1971. Matches between the two teams generally result in a larger audience and a heated contest on the field. The rivalry reached boiling point in 1999 when the Sharks successfully lured future AFL number 1 draft pick Nick Riewoldt from the Cats. As of the completion of the 2013 NEAFL season the win–loss–draw record between the two clubs stands at 70-10-0 in favour of the Sharks.

Notable AFL players from the Gold Coast

Player	Junior Club/s	AFL Club/s	Playing Years	Notes
Michael Voss	Morningside	Brisbane	1992-2006	1996 Brownlow Medal Winner. 2002-2003 Leigh Matthews Trophy Winner. A Merrett–Murray Medal winner in 1996, 1997, 2000-2002. A premiership player with Brisbane in 2001, 2002, 2003. Played in the 2004 AFL Grand Final.
Nick Riewoldt	Broadbeach Southport	St Kilda	2001-2017	Riewoldt was the number 1 draft pick in the 2000 AFL Draft. 2004 Leigh Matthews Trophy winner. A Trevor Barker Award winner in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2014. Played in the 2009 AFL Grand Final. Played in the 2010 AFL Grand Final.
David Hale	Coolangatta Broadbeach	North Melbourne Hawthorn	2003-2015	Hale was the number 7 draft pick in the 2002 AFL Draft. A premiership player with Hawthorn in 2013, 2014, 2015. Played in the 2012 AFL Grand Final.
Marcus Ashcroft	Surfers Paradise Southport	Brisbane	1989-2003	A premiership player with Brisbane in 2001, 2002, 2003.
Clark Keating	Surfers Paradise	Brisbane	1996-2006	A premiership player with Brisbane in 2001, 2002, 2003. Played in the 2004 AFL Grand Final.
Dayne Beams	Mudgereeba Southport	Collingwood Brisbane	2009-2020	A premiership player with Collingwood in 2010. A Copeland Trophy winner in 2012. A Merrett–Murray Medal winner in 2015.
Dayne Zorko	Surfers Paradise Broadbeach	Collingwood Brisbane	2012-	A Merrett–Murray Medal winner in 2015-2018, 2021.
Michael Osborne	Labrador	Hawthorn	2001-2013	A premiership player with Hawthorn in 2008.
Brent Renouf	Surfers Paradise Southport	Hawthorn Port Adelaide	2007-2014	A premiership player with Hawthorn in 2008.
Kurt Tippett	Southport	Adelaide Sydney	2007-2019	Adelaide leading goalkicker in 2010. Played in the 2014 AFL Grand Final. Played in the 2016 AFL Grand Final.
Sam Gilbert	Coolangatta Southport	St Kilda	2006-2018	Played in the 2009 AFL Grand Final. Played in the 2010 AFL Grand Final.
Will Ashcroft	Broadbeach Southport	Brisbane	2023-	Ashcroft was the number 2 draft pick in the 2022 AFL draft.

Junior Gold Coast Clubs

Club	Suburb	Ground
Beaudesert Brumbies	Beaudesert	Field of Dreams
Broadbeach Cats	Mermaid Waters	H & A Oval
Burleigh Bombers	Burleigh Waters	Bill Godfrey Oval
Carrara Saints	Carrara	Alan Neilsen Oval
Coolangatta Tweed Heads Blues	Coolangatta	Lean Peak Oval
Coomera Magpies	Coomera	Coomera Sports Park
Fassifern Falcons	Fassifern Valley	Kalbar Showgrounds
Labrador Tigers	Labrador	Cooke-Murphy Oval
Mudgeeraba Spartans	Mudgeeraba	Somerset College sports oval
Ormeau Bulldogs	Ormeau	Ormeau Sports Park
Pacific Pines Power	Pacific Pines	Gum Park
Palm Beach Currumbin Lions	Palm Beach	Salk Oval
Southport Sharks	Southport	Fankhauser Reserve
Surfers Paradise Demons	Benowa	Sir Bruce Small Park
Tamborine Hawks	Mount Tamborine	-

See also

• Sport in Queensland
• Sports on the Gold Coast, Queensland

References