Why can't the Gold Coast commit to its sporting marriages?

That's not fair - by your logic because my work shifted me to Perth 15 years ago I should abandon the team I supported for 25 years and barrack for West Coast or Freo... That ain't gunna happen!

Its the "to much else to do" thing that I reckon is the big problem... Especially when the teams doing crap. Was up there to visit a mate in Brisbane last year - lions fan who went to at least 5 games a year at the Gabba and a couple at metricon but when I asked him if he had been to the footy much that year he laughed at me - why would he travel to either ground to watch either team get thrashed when we were able to go to so much within an hours drive of Brisbane/GC... For free... In perfect weather...

How so?

They need a like button on this site

He right however as the story doesn't add much, I'm assuming it's linked to it being Schoolie's week.

These comments show why a lot of locals don't talk to people from Melbourne for about 18 months after they move. Titans are safe, Suns need to win. They key with the Suns is winning and how much Sharks are prepared to put into them

Good comment

It's especially amusing when IAP who has shown himself to be inclined to rampant shallowness and a high level of resistance to opening his mind to anything broader than his own restricted and narrow view of the world. The word culture could be used to describe anything that has ongoing and durable connections between people. Whether that's ritualistic, artistic, sporting etc. It's really useful in this context to view whether a culture is dynamic or static, long-term or short-term etc. It'd be useful for the AFL to really hone in on the sporting culture of the Gold Coast, which you'd think would be highly dynamic and somewhat short-term, to really shape how the team tries to embed itself in the fabric there.

IAP even higher on the horse this morning than usual. Gotta love Melbourne attitudes thinking they have cultural superiority in Australia.

Solid question and probably without a conclusive answer. If we were to compare early incarnations versus the current two city tenants, Suns and Titans, the difference would be chalk and cheese. Facilities: As at the end of 2018 both the Suns and Titans train in State-of-the-Art facilities with all the bells and whistles, which rival any other club in either the AFL or NRL. Long term this can only help with recruitment/retention of players as well as development of players if they join those Clubs at the beginning of their careers. This was never previously a selling tool to either Club previously. Stadium: Both have excellent stadiums, which are the perfect size for these teams. The issue for both is getting to them from the broader Gold Coast region. Noting that they are both close to the train line is important, however this is the train line that runs from Brisbane to the Gold Coast – it is not something that Gold Coast locals utilize as a public transport option unless going to Brisbane. This leaves you with the option of driving or taking the bus so accessibility is a factor. That being said if the teams are performing then the Gold Coast has shown the capacity to fill those grounds in the past and there is no reason that they won’t do it again. If the future mooted tram lines running to both Nerang and Robina Train Stations come to fruition this would make a huge difference. History: This takes time to build so comparing the Suns and Titans with historic clubs in their respective competitions is pointless. The AFL and NRL need to continue to back these Clubs into the future because in a small country like Australia your national competition should have a presence in the 6th largest city in the country. Grassroots support: Relates to the point above and these Clubs need to be active in the community as much as possible to get people engaged from a young age. The difference between the past and present is huge and these Clubs need to stick around for a generation so people have actually grown up with them as opposed to having yet another team fold and a new team created continuing the previous cycle. A few points to finish: “It has an emerging dining and café culture soon to rival Melbourne” The Gold Coast already has an excellent dining and café culture and I don’t think anyone really cares whether it rivals Melbourne or not. For those who only get to the Gold Coast on holidays once a year I would suggest to get down to Mermaid Beach, Burleigh, Palm Beach or even Kirra Beach and Coolangatta and check out the number and quality of the offering of cafes, restaurants and bars in those suburbs. The lifestyle, weather, beaches and location of this city are excellent. Getting a quality surf in before work (particularly in the summer months) and not having to sit in commuter traffic like people in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane do every day is a blessing. My total commute from Mermaid Beach to Bundall is 15 minutes one way so I spend approximately 2.5 hours a week getting to and from work  “On any given weekend, much of the population is transient” Utterly false with no basis in reality. The population of the Gold Coast is just shy of 600,000 people and growing every year. Yes there is plenty of tourism to the Gold Coast with people coming and going but the city doesn’t swell and then shrink when people head to the airport on Sunday night. The other misconception about the Gold Coast is that Surfers Paradise is the Gold Coast. This could not be further from the truth and you will find very very few locals actually spend any time in Surfers ever if they can help it. There are so many other great spots to visit.

I think there are those currently in the AFL executive who understand that and get that it's going to take time to build a rusted on supporter base. The Gold Coast seems to have a relatively high percentage recent residents, who have come from somewhere else and so haven't developed deep-seated strong connections to the place. The sort of connections that allow you to drag yourself over razors to follow a team in bad times as well as good.

The people just need some motivation, then that motivation will become habit.

I would probably disagree with that, places like Western Sydney, Western Brisbane, rural QLD in general, Townsville, Newcastle are RL heartland --- places like Cairns, the GC, NSW to the Murrumbidgee River still have decent support for RL but would not be heartlands, they are areas that have quite good support for AF.

Isn't Metricon 40,000 with the new upgrade? All gold coast suns need is success and by that they need to drafting players who want to play for gold coast. Make the drafting questions better. Really get the truth out of them. Be willing to drafting a very good player who wants to play at gold coast than a superstar who doesn't. What gold coast needs to do is what is Brisbane and north did. Doesn't matter about winning as long as it's exciting to watch competitive football. Why did nth come from 15th to 9th because they were competitive they made bold decisions (moving on Gibson, swallow, Thomas) and played with the shinboner spirit. Gold coast suns need to find their shinboner spirit.

Can't really speak for the Suns, but I think a common criticism we Queenslanders have of the Titans are their branding. I heard a story once that when the Broncos were developing their brand colours, they were talked out of using a Blue and Yellow colour scheme because Queenslanders had been booing Blue-jerseyed teams for decades. There particular shade of light blue is pretty NSW. There are also already teams with blue and yellow colour scheme. Maybe it would help if they focused on the orangey-yellow part of their jersey - mostly orange with a stripe of blue, maybe some maroon (unoriginal I know) or a bit of a navy stripe. They have also never really had anyone that you would go out of your way to watch, or would be the hero of kids with posters on their walls. Maybe Scotty Prince? Signing a genuine star would help get bums on seats and people talking about them. Mal Meninga in his new Director of Culture role may help with that

Well said Randy. Burleigh, Southport and Coolie are way different from Surfers and Broady. More relaxed vibe and different sorts of accommodation styles, bars and restaurants, and 'culture' and 'lifestyle' (whatever those mean to different people)