I certainly agree they can’t be fixed in a year or two, but I think they need to do something to turn the tide, to start developing their own leaders who will be there for 5+ years. And not in a Jack Trengove captain-at-21 way.
Compare how many old blokes GWS have recruited vs GC.
It’s a pretty big disparity. And a lot of them have offered 3/5ths of stuff all on field.
Difference was that GWS recruited the vast majority of those old guys at a time when their list was made up of mostly 1st or 2nd year kids. Callan Ward (who I think history will probably judge as the most important player in GWSs existence) was only 22 when he started with GWS, but he was able to lead regardless because in footy terms, there’s a massive difference between 22 and 18. And he had a solid core of blokes like Mumford around him.
Whover GC try to bring in is going to have it much tougher. There’s a load of players there who’re 25+. You bring in a 22yo and tell everyone he’s going to be the leader that’ll turn the club around, they’re going to reckon he’s some kid who knows nothing. You bring in a 32yo who was on the way out at his previous club and they’ll reckon he’s some broken-down superannuant just looking for one more paycheque. You bring in only one guy, even in his prime, and you’re ■■■■■■■ against the wind because as Ablett showed, one bloke can’t do it all.
They need to bring in 3 senior players minimum, at least one of who should be in the peak 25-26 age group and be genuinely respected through the comp. Bringing in a Hodge is fine, but you need to have brought in a Beams and a Martin before you get much benefit out of him. I have no damn idea how you’d do this. Perhaps get in the AFLs ear and ask for a priority pick that’s conditional on trading it for a senior player? But that’s not going to help them actually attract players in the first place, of course, and it’d probably just end up with some other club laughing all the way to the bank as they run off with pick 3 in exchange for Reece Conca or something.
What better could they do than pick 3 with Richmond?
A Bolton, Conca, Miles type combo is not going to cut it.
Personally I think with the perilous state of the club they should get another $1-1.5m in salary cap space to attract players rather than continuously give them draft picks they take to the grave.
Match it and demand an established player and 2nd rounder in return.
Agree if they keep getting picks that wany out or end up as a bust or in this case due to the high amount of SA boys, Want out too. Worst case scenario would be boys skipping the draft or refusing to play up there.
I read that article yesterday about the young players not showing Lynch respect but was left no clearer as to what happened or why I should care?
I never paid any attention when they gave GC a license. Could someone explain this?
Irrelevant pissant club. Wish they would FRO.
No cash or money, eh?
The issue with Southport from an AFL perspective is 1) that they’re an established Qld club with established Qld enemies, and the AFL didn’t want to limit the potential fanbase to ‘Qld footy fans who don’t hate southport’, and 2) Southport are an established successful club with their own traditions and independent administration, and the AFL wanted a puppet GC franchise with a board who would do what they were told.
Dangling 50mill in front of them may have been tempting
Well then… they’ve reaped what they’ve sown, haven’t they? A complete irrelevance that no-one gives two ■■■■■ about… (other than clubs reviewing the fixture to check if they play them twice…)
THanks HM. So, if you were to compare are they like SANFL Port Adelaide (where everybody hated them, who didn’t support them) or a fairly benign club?
I’m not really sure regarding the attitude that fans had tbh. I’m not that well informed on Qld footy, maybe some queenslanders can offer opinions. But whatever people felt about them, they were the big dogs of the Qld comp. Bigger and richer than anyone else by a long way. Though they were still miles short of the sort of scale an AFL club operates on though.
So… they mean something to some people, and are presumably disliked by others. That means they actually matter and stand for something. Completely unlike GCS then…
This basketcase is Fat Andy and Gill the Dill’s gift to the AFL world. Fark them very much for that… The blinding arrogance of these turds, going into an area that’s repeatedly been a graveyard for sporting teams, where it’s full of “Mexicans” who’ve all got their own club (or Brisbaners who, if they follow AFL at all, follow the Lions), and thinking if we build it, they will come…
The sooner they turn the lights out up there, the better…
I honestly don’t think there was/is enough care factor about AFL in QLD for the impact of that to be significant. Queenslanders are bandwagon jumpers…■■■■, I hated the dickheads at work in the 00’s, pretending they knew something about AFL and then after 2004, just assuming the Bears would quickly bounce back…anyway, where were we?
Oh yeah, I reckon the overall volume of people that would have held a meaningful grudge against a Southport team would have been closer to 1000 across the whole of south east QLD than 10000.
They’ve probably missed out on the same number of members, simply by not giving the licence to Southport.
Still…both of your reasons sound 100% spot on as to why the AFL would have done it.
I still think a GC side was the right idea. Execution has been one disaster after the other though.
GC was a terrible idea . Even rugby league fails on the gold coast.
A second Brisbane team would have done better. (or perhaps a far north qld/Darwin side).
I’m somewhat sure you’re right. They were an organised club with a following, but an existing administration that couldn’t just be forced to follow the AFL — who knows better about everything.
Those in charge of setting the GCSuns up, were more interested in “the look” not in the history or demographics. No one with any authority listened nor was it set up well from the beginning and everyone watching knew it. Imagine being a player up there with a complete lack of resources on the ground, they didn’t have the basics and every other club had so much more. As a player or staff, you’d have to think to yourself these big boys from down south don’t give a dam about us.
And; eight years on…………………………………………………………