A big queue for Richmond merchandise at Metricon Stadium (left). At right, the Suns’ merchandise store.Photo: DYLAN LEACH
If there is one of many images that sums up the state of the Gold Coast Suns as you walk through the gates of Metricon Stadium to watch them play a visiting team from Victoria – it’s the lines at the merchandise stand.
At the recent Gold Coast v Richmond match, the line for the Tigers’ merch was long and the club shop was doing a roaring trade.
Meanwhile, at the Suns’ stand, there was next to no one lining up to get a Gold Coast scarf or jumper, the people running the shop looking bored or as is the norm these days, staring into their phones.
In the week leading up to the game, the inbox for the Queensland Richmond Supporters Group was bombarded with messages about where should the Tigers’ fans be sitting at the match. The answer we gave was simple, anywhere – it’ll feel like a Richmond home game.
The ground was a sea of yellow and black, with sparse areas of people supporting the Suns. The roar for Richmond goals was loud, and there were next to zero Gold Coast fans getting stuck into their former captain Tom Lynch.
Metricon Stadium is a cracking boutique footy ground, with great views, a good mix of family-friendly and old-fashioned standing areas and even live bands and carnival rides behind the grandstand. The Tiger Army had a great day out as the team thrashed the Suns in an atmosphere that felt like the Punt Road End at the MCG.
Besides the pleas from the ground announcer to “Get behind your team – the Gold Coast Suns”, there was zero feeling that Richmond was playing on enemy turf.
For any established football club – Metricon Stadium feels like a home when you’re away and the Suns desperately need clubs like Richmond, Carlton, Adelaide and Collingwood to play there, preferably during school holidays to attract a crowd.
But there is no way that this is a sustainable or healthy way to attract a local fan base, let alone a business model.
Having lived in Victoria for the good part of 27 years until moving up to Brisbane only a couple of years ago, you notice the stark difference in how the Queensland market does its sport.
Firstly, going to the footy (of any code) isn’t a ritual – it’s an event.
Be it the Brisbane Lions, Broncos or Suns, they want you to plan ahead, book your reserved seat and be enthused by whatever theme day is happening at the ground, rather than make it the ritual of just going no matter what, like rusted-on Victorian fans are accustomed to.
The other thing I’ve noticed is that the Queenslanders like a winner and feel like they have better things to do with their time than watch a losing team week in, week out.
Locals were happy to pack out Suncorp Stadium when the Brisbane Roar in the A-League and Rugby Union’s Queensland Reds were up and about, but crowds are now very low as both teams have struggled in recent times.
While Queensland is also a Rugby League heartland state, they’ve been reasonably spoilt with success in recent times.
While they haven’t won an NRL premiership since 2006, the Brisbane Broncos have made finals every year but four times in their history, and despite a poor start and a young team this season, the Baby Broncos are still a chance to make the eight. But if it becomes obvious it’s mathematically impossible, the locals will drop off.
Queensland also famously won eight State of Origin series in a row until recently in an era of dominance that is most likely never to be repeated.
There are Queenslanders who care more about Origin than NRL at a club level. Why? Because they love a winner.
Had it been New South Wales winning eight in a row, it’s fair to say Origin would have gone the way of the Aussie Rules version.
Meanwhile, at the Gabba – the Lions are winning again. In fact, they are currently the best team in all of Queensland.
If trends persist, the Gabba will soon be packed with people that haven’t seen the Lions for the good part of a decade, along with the solid rusted-on 10-15,000 who are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. The ground will be packed this Saturday night for the game between the Lions and North Melbourne.
The Gabba gets loud when it’s full and the atmosphere can be electric. Many recall fondly the glory days of what was known as the “Gabbatoir” of the early 2000s, which saw that famous premiership “three-peat” and one of the greatest teams to ever grace the field.
The likes of Dayne Zorko, Charlie Cameron, Eric Hipwood, the “Big O” Oscar McInerney and Lachie Neale will now be the talk of the town. The Lions are now on the back page of the Courier Mail on a regular basis and people are making their plans to get down to the Gabba.
Meanwhile, down the road on the Gold Coast, things are looking grim, and while participation of kids playing Aussie Rules is at a record high, not many are running around in Suns jumpers. Brisbane’s third spot on the AFL ladder might attract people to drive up the pacific motorway to watch the good team rather than stay home to watch the struggling Suns.
The Gold Coast region itself has a big footy following, but many follow established teams and aren’t embracing the Suns for many reasons.
Clubs like Richmond have excellent and quite flexible interstate membership packages and active local supporter groups, the Tigers boasting more than 3000 members in the Gold Coast region alone.
It could be argued that while the population of south east Queensland is on the rise, the region might not be able to sustain teams in both Brisbane and the Gold Coast, as the success of one eats into the chances of the other finding a supporter base. And those moving up to the area aren’t so keen on getting on board with the local clubs.
As of this weekend, both Gold Coast teams are sitting on the bottom of the AFL and NRL ladders.
The Titans in the NRL have just sacked their coach and people are calling for the AFL’s Suns to find a new home in Tasmania. Meanwhile, the locals are probably more worried about what special they’ll have down at the local RSL on the weekend then the fate of their local teams.
The Suns and the AFL might need to think about what they are going to do to attract anyone to their Round 23 match against Greater Western Sydney on a date yet to be determined (although this game has 4.40pm Sunday written all over it).
Throwing open the gates and letting fans listen in on the coaches’ addresses like in local footy might not be out of the question to get people to come. Otherwise, they are not only staring down the barrel of another wooden spoon, but quite possibly the lowest attendance in recent AFL history.
Will their small fanbase and the wider Gold Coast community care about it? Only if they are a chance of winning.
*Dylan Leach is president of the Richmond Queensland Supporters’ Group
Dylan, you’re looking in the wrong place for the GCSuns merchandise store. That stand you write about has a limited range, but there is a substantial store underneath one of the stands and I can guarantee has been crowded every time I have been there.
You are right about Queenslanders approaching their sport as an event, and week to week interest in the professional teams of any sport is much lower than it is in Melbourne. Maybe that’s because there’s more for families (and a substantial part of Qld crowds is family groups) to do in winter than in Victoria.
Don’t forget that the established clubs have 100+ years of tradition behind them. It’s no wonder that Richmond have that many members in Queensland.
Last thing: “another wooden spoon”. The Suns only have one of them in 9 years so far, in their first year- and that was Melbourne’s fault (check out Rd 23, 2011)