# 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.

## 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. 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)
* 1961: Southport
* 1962: Southport
* 1963: Surfers Paradise
* 1964: Southport
* 1965: Palm Beach/Currumbin
* 1966: Southport
* 1967: Surfers Paradise
* 1968: Surfers Paradise
* 1969: Surfers Paradise
* 1970: Labrador
* 1971: Palm Beach/Currumbin
* 1972: Surfers Paradise
* 1973: Palm Beach/Currumbin
* 1974: Surfers Paradise
* 1975: Southport
* 1976: Southport
* 1977: Southport
* 1978: Coolangatta
* 1979: Southport
* 1980: Southport
* 1981: Coolangatta
* 1982: Coolangatta
* 1983: Coolangatta
* 1984: Surfers Paradise
* 1985: Palm Beach/Currumbin
* 1986: Labrador
* 1987: Broadbeach
* 1988: Coolangatta
* 1989: Coolangatta
* 1990: Surfers Paradise
* 1991: Labrador
* 1992: Surfers Paradise
* 1993: Labrador
* 1994: Labrador
* 1995: Palm Beach/Currumbin
* 1996: Broadbeach
* 1997: Palm Beach/Currumbin
* 1998: Surfers Paradise
* 1999: Palm Beach Currumbin

### 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". 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'. 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 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, 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".

### 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.

### 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. 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.
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. 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'. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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. The Queensland Labor Party would win the 2009 election and in doing so secured the AFL license for the GC17 bid team. 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.

### 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. 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.
During the 2009 off season the Gold Coast Football Club would make major inroads by signing Geelong Cats premiership play Nathan Ablett, former North Melbourne player Daniel Harris and former Collingwood duo Danny Stanley and Sam Iles. 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. 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.
On 17 August 2010 it was revealed the Gold Coast Suns had signed their first AFL contracted player in the form of Nathan Bock. 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. 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. Three weeks later the Suns would record their first AFL win over the Port Adelaide Football Club by three points in Adelaide. 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. The losing streak was snapped with a goal after the siren victory against Richmond in Cairns. 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.

## Current Gold Coast Australian Football League Clubs
### Current clubs

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

### Former clubs

| Gold Coast Australian Football Club | Colors | Founded | Location | Ground | Competition |
| Beenleigh Buffaloes | | 1997 | Beenleigh | Dauth Park | Queensland Football Association Division 1 |

#### Notes

* ↑ In 2008 Beenleigh broke away from the Gold Coast City Council and became a part of the Logan City Council.

## 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.

### 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 | - |