Gold Coast players model the new Gold Coast Football Club playing strip during the Gold Coast Football Club Launch at the Southport Sharks Function Centre, Gold Coast. Slattery Images
The AFL’s newest club confirmed the worst kept secret in footy last night in announcing they’ll be called the Gold Coast Suns, but thankfully they didn’t stop there – the team’s colours, jumpers, logo and song were also officially unveiled.
The string of announcements will no doubt generate a mixed response from fans, especially with the fledgling club throwing up a few unique decisions.
Most people saw the Suns name coming – especially readers of The Roar – so there’s no need to go over old ground there. The jumpers, logo and song provide enough to dissect in their own right, however.
The home jumper closely resembles the current VFL version, in that it’s predominantly red with a GC logo in the middle. However, two yellow panels have been added to the sides, completing what looks like a fine football jumper. Some might say it’s too simple, and it’s easy to understand that view, but sometimes less is more.
The other two playing strips have adopted a more stylised look, with a giant wave dominating the front. The away jumper is red with a yellow and white wave, while the clash strip is white with a blue wave.
While the clash strip does well to incorporate the blue that’s become synonymous with Gold Coast-based sports teams in recent years, the away one feels a tad unnecessary given its similarities to the home jumper. The only explanation you can draw for creating it is that it features more white and is paired with white shorts, traditional for away teams.
On the whole, however, the three jumpers are not a bad first-up effort from the club. A look back at some of the early Fremantle jumpers verifies this.
The logo is also an updated version of the one used up until now. Unfortunately, it’s hard to call this one a change for the better.
It’s fair enough that the club would try to continue on the Suns theme with its logo, but having beams shooting out in all directions and adding glare to the background of the previously-simplistic GC symbol is over the top. Perhaps it would have been better to simply add the Suns name at the bottom of the logo, without going after symbolic references at the same time.
The club song, meanwhile, will take some getting used to – and that’s after already hearing it on YouTube months ago. To be fair, though, it does have two nice redeeming features.
The first is that it’s more of a traditional club song than other recent efforts. The second is the “fight fight fight” line of the song, which has a bit of “yellow and black” about it.
But still, it will definitely take some getting used to.
Finally, and although the jumpers and logo pretty much covered this, the colours are deserving of a mention. They’ve stuck with the red and yellow look, and they should be applauded for doing so.
They’ve managed to find colours that are fitting for a Gold Coast team without copying the colour scheme of the NRL’s Titans, the A-League’s United or the NBL’s Blaze. As mentioned before, it was good to see blue incorporated somehow, but they’ve found a healthy point of difference with the lifeguard-inspired – or sun and beach-inspired – look.
However, with so many unveilings in one day, there is bound to be more than a bit of conjecture.
On one hand, it’s easy to look back at the efforts of Fremantle and Port Adelaide and say Gold Coast have made some truly great decisions. But it’s also easy to say they could’ve done better.
With that in mind, Gold Coast seem to have done a reasonable enough job.
beaver fever
Guest
No doubt in QLD, a non BL or next year GC game would not generate enough interest for a early fri timeslot. Dont think that is news.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
beaver fever - Why don't they show the AFL game LIVE into Brisbane? Is it because there is not enough interest for LIVE AFL in Brisbane? Surely, in the 21st century, the AFL realises no committed sports fan bothers to watch a sporting event unless it is broadcast LIVE? I know I can't be bothered watching Football - or any sport - on TV unless it's LIVE. Thank heavens SBS won the rights to broadcast the FIFA 2010 WC into Australia. 64 matches all LIVE and uninterrupted - the only way to watch sport.
beaver fever
Guest
Thanks for putting in the link Fussball, the whole story however includes it's timeslot, in QLD on friday night the AFL game would come on at around midnight. In that context 13.000 footy fans /insomniacs/whatever s is OK
BigAl
Guest
Actually Ted, at a quick glance - just the opposite ! Appart from RU getting a mention for a special one-off Wallabies v SA, AFL is the only football of any sort that crack mentions in the list you provide.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Ted Skinner you are absolutely correct about the poor AFL ratings in QLD Here are the Friday night FTA ratings for St Kilda v Hawthorn, a match that most people (including I, who watched the last quarter) found to be extremely entertaining, exciting and as high a standard of Aussie Rules as you will ever see. Seven’s AFL: St Kilda Vs Hawthorn Total: 698,000 SYD: 7,000 MEL: 452,000 BRI: 13,000 ADE: 126,000 PER: 100,000 Source: http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2010/07/week-30-3.html
Ted Skinner
Guest
So a Prime Time Rating of 32K in a catchment area with 2.8 million viewers is supposedly satisfactory? Channel 10 were in line to win the week (the last two weeks actually) but thanks to the AFL it won't. The AFL is a Rating' Dog in Queensland without the Lions . Non Lions' games shouldn't be screened on Saturday Night. BTW these Ratings make a mockery of the claim that the AFL is Australia's nation football code.
beaver fever
Guest
Correct, most of those $40 memberships will be $200, 300 and 400 next year and a few more thousand to boot, the GC Suns will do very nicely for members and will vie with the Titans for H& A crowd honours, although i expect overall the Titans will more popular across the board. Will be interesting.
Kurt
Roar Pro
So your big revelation is that an AFL game between two clubs near the bottom of the ladder, neither of which was Brisbane, didn't rate well in Queensland. Nice work Monsieur Poirot.
Ted Skinner
Guest
True The Lion' game wasn't played in prime- time on Saturday Night. I never said it was. It was a non-Lions game that was screened in Brisbane on Saturday Night. It came a long last much to the chagrin of Channel 10. BTW the Lions' game rated 50K.
Redb
Roar Guru
Those memberships are for VFL games on the GC for a development squad. Cut it anyway you like, the GC Suns are coming and I reckon they will do quite well for themselves off the field and attract good crowds especially for the big travelling Vic teams. Success will take 2-3 years to build the crowds from there. The Suns have a bright future :-)
MattS
Guest
I see the Suns are selling those memberships for $40. No wonder they have 7,000. Will be interesting when they start selling memberships for seating. THe AFL must be subsidising the cheap memberships but the media don't comment on price they just keep stating the wonderful numbers. But then again, why woudn't you when you buy the media all expenses paid trip to the coast, dinners, accommodation etc to cover their launch.
hot dead chook
Guest
The average age of Brisbane lions fans is something like 52 - compared to the broncos 33.
Kurt
Roar Pro
The game wasn't in prime time, it was on Saturday afternoon. Lions games started out this year rating 100K+ in Brisbane but have steadily declined as it became clear that, far from being a premiership chance, they are in fact a team of overrated duds coached by a solipsistic neophyte.
BigAl
Guest
. Paul J . . . Brisbane Lions got their 'Lions' nickname from the merger with the Fitzroy Lions. The Fitzroy Lions pre- date the Detroit Lions by about 50 years !
Timmuh
Roar Guru
For as long as the AFL builds into its contracts that Lions (and soon Suns - I hate that name) games must be shown in prime time in Qld and Swans (and soon GWS - hate that name too) games must be shown in prime time in NSW, If the AFL doesn't put that in the next rights rounds, the NSW and Qld AFL teams will find themselves in the same boat as the NRL's Storm (again - hate the name - have we had any decent names of created clubs in recent times?); with no TV coverage worth having.
Ted Skinner
Guest
How long will AFL games be telecast into South-East Queensland on Saturday Nights? For the second week in a row in prime time the AFL has been beaten by 15 year reruns of the Japanese Cooking program the Iron Chef -- 45K to 32 K. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2010/07/week-30-3.html
beaver fever
Guest
Dont know about popular, not very well liked by the rest of the clubs around the GC and Brisbane, but it is renowned for being very well off financially. I would say that GC17 was not named the Sharks because of the Southport FC.
ME
Guest
Its suprising how many people don't know about the Southport AFL club, considering how big and popular it supposed to be.
beaver fever
Guest
The great K Hunt was the teams 7th best player according to Bluey. Me thinks Hunt has overestimated his footballing prowess across all the codes. But i guess many people are following his progress, hoping for success or failure. Very good crowd for the game 3500 http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-3392-0-0-0&sID=53234&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=12747254§ionID=53234
LT80
Roar Pro
I thought it was a refreshing sign when GCFC game out and said they will not nominate a nickname for the club, they would let it develop over time. Then they come out and christen the club "the Suns". It has to be one of the worst nicknames in recent memory, especially given one of the strong points of AFL clubs is that they are not as Americanised as other in other sports. My interest is rapidly fading.