History of the Gold Coast Suns

[1] However, in 1987 the Brisbane Bears, ignoring the advice of its consortia partner the QAFL hastily selected Carrara Stadium as its temporary home ground, thwarting any plans for any local side.

[4] Following the meeting it was announced that the AFL had offered the North Melbourne Football Club a $100 million package to permanently relocate to the Gold Coast.

[5] On 7 December 2007 the newly appointed Kangaroos chairman James Brayshaw announced the club would not be moving to the Gold Coast and would continue to be based out of Melbourne.

[8] However, Voss sensationally walked out on the GC17 bid team due to the fact that they refused to offer a five-year contract as head coach.

[13] In October the GCFC bid team presented their submission to the AFL commission which included 42,000 committed supporters and the required 111 business partners.

[19] Gold Coast scheduled a practice match against the reigning QAFL premiers Southport Sharks in the buildup to their first game in the TAC Cup.

A top of the table clash in the last round saw Gold Coast miss a crucial double chance for the finals with a loss to the Geelong Falcons.

[24] Gold Coast would come out victorious in their elimination final against the Northern Knights, but their dream season came to an end the following week in a semi-final loss to the Geelong Falcons.

[29] The list of the 12 selected players was revealed in November which included Russell (Burnie), 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).

On 29 September 2010 the club officially announced it had signed Geelong player Gary Ablett Jr to a five-year contract believed to be worth close to $10 million.

The picks were used to acquire David Swallow (1), Harley Bennell (2), Sam Day (3), Josh Caddy (7), Dion Prestia (9), Daniel Gorringe (10), Tom Lynch (11) and Seb Tape (13).

[42] The pending completion of Carrara Stadium forced the Gold Coast Football Club to play their first three home games in 2011 at the Gabba.

After trailing by 40 points in the third quarter, the Suns recorded their first AFL victory against Port Adelaide after Justin Westhoff missed a kick after the siren to win the game.

[51] In an attempt to close the gap of the huge losses that the club incurred in 2011, the Suns offered zone pick Dayne Zorko in a three-way trade that resulted in key defender Matthew Warnock joining the Gold Coast.

[58] Still without a win for the season, the Gold Coast entered their Round 7 clash against the Giants with high hopes as their captain Gary Ablett made his return from a knee injury.

[60] Losses continued to mount for the Suns as their losing streak reached an astonishing 21 matches and began to put coach Guy McKenna's future in question.

[67] On 22 November 2012, Gold Coast chairman John Witheriff announced an ambitious '20-ONE-3' campaign that aimed to deliver 20,000 club members and an AFL premiership within a three-year period.

[70] Martin would show his commitment to the Gold Coast by signing a five-year contract extension, a year before being eligible to make his AFL debut.

[71] The Suns returned to Arizona in November for a preseason training camp that included a 26 kilometres (16 mi) hike through the Grand Canyon.

After spending the 2012 season in the Gold Coast NEAFL reserves team, much hyped teenager Jaeger O'Meara was named to make his senior debut in Round 1 against St Kilda.

[86] Leading into the 2013 AFL Draft, head coach Guy McKenna revealed he was looking to sign a rebounding defender to fill a hole in the team.

Like O'Meara a year before him, Jack Martin was required to spend the entire 2013 season in the Gold Coast's reserves team before being eligible to make his senior debut in 2014.

All eyes were on Jack Martin for the Round 1 clash against Richmond but a shoulder injury in the fifth minute of the game ruled the talented teenage out for a minimum of two months.

Sitting equal second on the ladder leading into Round 11, the Suns entered a slump and could only manage two wins in seven games which would see them drop out of the top 8 for the first time throughout the season.

In what would prove to be a significant moment for the team's 2014 campaign, Gary Ablett Jr suffered a season-ending injury just prior to half time.

On 28 August, Rugby convert Karmichael Hunt announced he was leaving the game of Australian rules football after five years service for the Gold Coast, citing his inability to keep up with the physical demands.

After the conclusion of the 2014 AFL Grand Final pressure began to mount on head coach Guy McKenna as internal club expectation were not reached in 2014.

On 30 September the Gold Coast Football Club announced the removal of McKenna as head coach just days before the free agency/trade period began.

The club continued to improve its playing list by adding key position player Peter Wright to the team with the eighth pick in the 2014 AFL Draft.

Unlike previous years, the Suns chose to conduct preseason training on the Gold Coast in order to help the new recruits adjust to their surroundings.