Gold Coast Suns

AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou announced in early 2008 that the club could debut in the Queensland State League in 2009 as it recruited players and prepared for its debut season in the AFL.[4] Amongst the first players targeted by the Gold Coast were former St Kilda captain and Gold Coast junior Nick Riewoldt,[5] Hawthorn forward and 2008 Coleman Medallist Lance Franklin[6] and Adelaide forward Kurt Tippett.[7] They did not end up with any of them.

In June 2008 it was announced that the new team would play in the TAC Cup in 2009[8] and then in the VFL in 2010.

Guy McKenna was appointed coach in August 2008.[9] In early 2009, the Host Plus superannuation fund was named as the club's major sponsor. [10] On 15 May 2009, it was announced that Essendon Football Club administrator Travis Auld would be the CEO of "GC17".[11][12] Former Brisbane Lions' Shaun Hart and Gold Coaster Marcus Ashcroft were also appointed to the coaching panel. On 1 October 2009, the club announced it had signed Guy McKenna as head coach until 2012.[13]

In early 2009, the Queensland government announced that it would contribute sufficient funds allowing the redevelopment of Gold Coast Stadium. The redevelopment of Carrara Stadium cost $144.2 million to complete and housed 25,000 spectators with the capability to host an additional 15,000 temporary seats.[14] The club's first game at the new stadium was against Geelong in round 10, 2011 after hosting their first few home matches at the Gabba.

The club's junior squad competed in the 2009 TAC Cup under 18 competition winning a number of games, eventually finishing in 5th place. They defeated the Northern Knights in the elimination final but then lost their semi final to the Geelong Falcons. Below is the inaugural TAC Cup team to play for the Gold Coast Football Club, as well as a table of results and fixture for the 2009 and 2010 seasons:[15][16]

In November 2009 the team signed twelve 17-year-olds around the country to compete in the Victorian Football League (VFL) year through the under age access rules. These players included Luke Russell (Burnie), Maverick Weller (Burnie), Taylor Hine (Calder), Josh Toy (Calder), Matt Shaw (Dandenong), Piers Flanagan (Geelong), Hayden Jolly (Glenelg), Alex Keath (Murray), Jack Hutchins (Sandringham), Tom Nicholls (Sandringham), Brandon Matera (South Fremantle), Trent McKenzie (Western Jets).

The Gold Coast was also given permission (by the AFL) to play David Swallow in 2010, despite not being the correct age. The deal that was struck with the AFL stated that Swallow would still need to go through the 2010 AFL Draft to officially join the team, while the other under age recruits contracts would run through 2011.

These are the results and fixture for the 2010 season, in which the club competed in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[18]

Guy McKenna would continue to coach the team throughout the 2011 season and beyond, after successfully guiding the club through its journey in the TAC Cup and VFL in 2009 and 2010. The Suns would play their first four "home" games of the 2011 AFL season at the Gabba in Brisbane, whilst their home stadium (Metricon Stadium) underwent final redevelopment works.

Michael Rischitelli was instrumental in the club's first winning game with 31 disposals and 2 goals against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium in Round 5 of the 2011 season.

Gold Coast had a bye in Round 1, and played its first AFL game debuted in Round 2 on 2 April 2011 against Carlton at the Gabba in front of a crowd of 27,914. The first five goals were scored by Carlton, before Charlie Dixon scored the first-ever goal for the Gold Coast Suns. Carlton went on to win by 119 points. Gold Coast won its first game in Round 5 on 23 April 2011, defeating Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. Gold Coast trailed by 40 points late in the third quarter, before coming back to win by three points, after Port Adelaide's Justin Westhoff missed a set shot after the siren.[31] Michael Rischitelli was the best on ground. Gold Coast won two more matches for the season, winning the inaugural QClash against Brisbane Lions in Round 7 by eight points (which became the most-watched AFL match on pay television ever),[32] and defeating Richmond by 15 points in Round 17 in the first AFL match ever played at Cazaly's Stadium in Cairns. However, the Suns also suffered several more very heavy defeats during the year, including a 139-point loss to Essendon in Round 6 – in which Essendon scored a record 15.4 (94) in the first quarter – and a 150-point loss against Geelong in Round 20. The Suns went on to win the wooden spoon.

Gold Coast endured a poor pre-season in 2012 which included a 13-point loss to fellow AFL newcomers Greater Western Sydney. Their solitary win in that time was a narrow win over Melbourne in the triangular round of the 2012 NAB Cup.

The home-and-away season did not begin well for the Suns either, losing their first fourteen matches in succession to be the only winless team after Round 15 of the 2012 AFL season. Among the losses included losses by more than ninety points to Collingwood and St Kilda (twice), seven-point losses to Fremantle and North Melbourne at home and a 27-point loss to the newest AFL franchise, Greater Western Sydney. Their fourteen losses to start the season was the worst by any team since Fremantle lost its first 17 matches of the 2001 season. Their horror start to the season ended in round 16 with a narrow 2-point win against Richmond. They had a lead of up to 36 points halfway through the second quarter, which then shrank to 24 points after 2 quick goals before half time from Richmond. Richmond then had a six to two goal quarter, snatching the lead back. The lead then went to 18 points Richmond's way before Gold Coast snatched it back to just 4. With 5 seconds left, a kick from the right forward pocket in Gold Coast's 50 was marked by Karmichael Hunt. After the siren sounded he kicked the goal to make Gold Coast 2 point winners.[33]

Gary Ablett Jr was Gold Coast's inaugural marquee player and captain.

The Suns then won two more matches for the season, a 30-point win against Greater Western Sydney in Round 20 and a 12-point upset win over Carlton in Round 22, both at home. The team finished 17th at the end of the season, only above Greater Western Sydney on the AFL ladder. In November 2012 the club announced their "20-ONE-3" plan that targeted signing twenty thousand members and winning a premiership within three years - by the conclusion of the 2015 AFL season. The plan was criticised as being overly ambitious.[34] By the end of the 20-ONE-3 period, the Suns had a highest membership of 13,643 (achieved in 2015) and a highest ladder position of 12 (10 wins - achieved in 2014).

In the 2013 AFL season Gold Coast made a much improved effort, highlighted by victories over seasoned opponents in Collingwood, St Kilda, the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne. Their improvement on the past two seasons was so stark that they were considered possibilities of securing an unlikely finals berth up until the final round after Essendon lost all their premiership points.[35] The Suns finished with 8 wins for the season and ended the season placed 14th on the ladder. Captain Gary Ablett won his second Brownlow Medal, the first such medalist to win the award at the club.

Despite losing veterans Jared Brennan and Campbell Brown ahead of the 2014 season, some experts predicted Gold Coast to "give the top 8 (finals) a nudge",[36] though the general consensus was that the Suns would likely finish around 13th.[37] Though beginning the season promisingly and entering Round 11 with a 7–2 record following impressive wins on the road against Melbourne, North Melbourne (who had defeated minor premiers Sydney three weeks earlier), and St Kilda, the Suns would stumble severely through the second half of the season. After captain Gary Ablett was injured in a win over Collingwood in round 16, the club went on to lose the next two matches, including one in the QClash against Brisbane. In round 19, the club recorded its inaugural win without their captain, defeating St Kilda. The club went on to lose the remaining matches of the season, finishing in 12th. Inaugural coach Guy McKenna was sacked at season's end, leaving the club after 88 games in charge and winning just over 25% of them.[38]

Year	Members	Change from previous season	Finishing position	Average home crowd [41]	Profit (Loss)
2011	14,064	—	17th	19,169	Undisclosed profit[42]
2012	11,204	2,860	17th	13,645	($1,401,168)[43]
2013	12,502	1,298	14th	13,907	$62,533[43]
2014	13,478	976	12th	16,092	$1,062,082[44]
2015	13,643	165	16th	12,360	($330,870)[45]
2016	12,854	789	15th	11,561	($2,941,965)
2017	11,665	1,189	17th	13,663	$19,219[46]
2018	12,108¹	443	17th	13,547	$1,160,912[47]
2019	13,649	1,541	18th	11,417	$248,795[48]

– ¹ as of 3 September 2018[49]

The three types of guernseys are:

• Home guernsey (worn since 2011): Red and gold based guernsey with the club logo in the middle. HostPlus sponsor on front and Fiat sponsor on back (home shorts worn in home games and away pants shorts in away games).
• Away guernsey (worn since 2011): Red based guernsey with a wave, coloured blue, gold and white. Fiat sponsor on front and HOSTPLUS sponsor on back (away shorts worn).
• Clash guernsey (worn since 2016): White based guernsey with an arrow-shaped design which goes down to the bottom, coloured blue, gold and two shades of grey. Fiat sponsor on front and HOSTPLUS sponsor on back (away shorts worn).

The Suns' Mascot Manor representative and club mascot is "Sunny Ray". In June 2018 the Suns introduced their new mascot, "Skye".

The team song is "Suns of the Gold Coast Sky".[50][51]

The Gold Coast Suns have a rivalry with fellow Queensland AFL team the Brisbane Lions. The two teams contest the QClash twice each season. The first QClash was held in 2011, with Gold Coast winning by 8 points; the game established the highest pay TV audience ever for an AFL game, with a total of 354,745 viewers watching the game.[52]

The medal for the player adjudged best on ground is known as the Marcus Ashcroft Medal. It is named after former footballer Marcus Ashcroft, who played junior football on the Gold Coast for Southport and 318 VFL/AFL games for the Brisbane Bears/Lions between 1989 and 2003. He later joined Gold Coast's coaching staff and was the first Queenslander to play 300 VFL/AFL games.[53] Lion Dayne Beams has won the medal three times, the most by any player.

The trophy awarded to the winner of the game is currently known as the "QClash Trophy". The trophy is a "traditional style" looking silver cup with a wooden base and a plaque. The plaque's inscription reads from left to right, "Brisbane Lions AFC", "QCLASH", "Gold Coast Suns FC".[54]