The Gold Coast Fooball Club was formed in 2008, as an expansion side to grow the game in the Gold Coast area of Queensland. It was originally announced that the club would be known as "Gold Coast FC" and depart with the tradition of having an official nickname, but the move met with opposition and it was later revealed that the new side would be known as the Suns. With former Eagle Guy McKenna appointed as the club's inaugural coach, the Suns spent 2009 playing in the TAC Cup Victorian under-18 competition and 2010 in the Victorian Football League before joining the AFL in 2011. Like fellow expansion side GWS Giants, which joined the league a year later, the Gold Coast club received significant recruiting concessions as part of its start-up which it used primarily to stockpile the nation's best young talent, apart from the marquee signing of Geelong champion Gary Ablett Junior. As a result, Gold Coast fielded an inexperienced lineup and won the wooden spoon in its first season.
Head to head[]
| Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 63.9% | |
| Finals | 0 | |||||
| By venue | ||||||
| Subiaco Oval | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | |
| Perth Stadium | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 66.7% | |
| Carrara | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 25.0% |
Every game[]
| Year | Round | Venue | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 11 | Subiaco | W | 85-67 |
| 2012 | 14 | Subiaco | W | 166-40 |
| 2013 | 19 | Subiaco | W | 130-113 |
| 2014 | 13 | Subiaco | W | 103-100 |
| 2014 | 23 | Carrara | W | 151-99 |
| 2015 | 7 | Subiaco | W | 151-99 |
| 2015 | 18 | Carrara | D | 83-83 |
| 2016 | 10 | Subiaco | W | 132-55 |
| 2017 | 11 | Carrara | L | 77-80 |
| 2018 | 4 | Perth Stadium | W | 139-59 |
| 2019 | 7 | Perth Stadium | W | 80-57 |
| 2020 | 2 | Carrara | L | 44-90 |
| 2021 | 1 | Perth Stadium | W | 83-58 |
| 2022 | 1 | Perth Stadium | L | 80-107 |
| 2022 | 20 | Carrara | L | 104-107 |
| 2023 | 9 | Perth Stadium | L | 43-113 |
| 2024 | 7 | Carrara | L | 75-112 |
| 2024 | 21 | Perth Stadium | W | 97-87 |
Records[]
Biggest win: 126 points in Round 14 2012 at Subiaco
Biggest loss: 70 points in Round 9 2023 at Perth Stadium
Highest score: 166 in Round 14 2012 at Subiaco
Lowest score: 43 in Round 9 2023 at Perth Stadium
Highest score against: 113 points in Round 19 2013 at Subiaco, and again in Round 9 2023 at Perth Stadium
Lowest score against: 40 in Round 14 2012 at Subiaco
Most goals in a match: 8 by Josh Kennedy in Round 23 2014.
Players to have appeared for both clubs[]
| Player | WCE games | Years at WCE | GC games | Years at GC | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Davis | 14 | 2008-2009 | 21 | 2016-2017 | ||||
| Tom Hickey | 23 | 2019-2020 | 12 | 2011-2012 | ||||
| Matt Rosa | 168 | 2005-2015 | 39 | 2016-2018 | ||||
| On playing list at both clubs | ||||||||
| Keegan Brooksby | 0 | 2019 | 14 | 2015-2017 |
Trade history[]
| Year | Traded | Acquired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Future third-round pick (Teia Miles) | Pick 43 (Tom Barrass) | |
| 2015 | Matt Rosa | Pick 31 (Tom Cole) | |
| 2017 | Pick 50 (Brayden Crossley) Future first-round pick (Xavier O'Halloran) |
Pick 21 (Oscar Allen) Pick 26 (Liam Ryan) Pick 37 (Jack Petruccelle) Future second-round pick (Jez McLennan) |
|
| 2018 | Pick 20 (Jez McLennan) Future fourth-round pick |
Pick 24 (Xavier O'Neill) Pick 29 (Bailey Williams) |
Live trade |
AFLW record[]
Head to head[]
| Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20.0% | |
| By venue | ||||||
| Lathlain Park | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% | |
| Carrara Stadium | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Western Oval | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
Every game[]
| Year | Round | Venue | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 6 | Lathlain Park | L | 8-33 |
| 2021 | 5 | Lathlain Park | W | 34-33 |
| 2022 | 2 | Western Oval | L | 33-46 |
| 2022B(S7) | 2 | Carrara Stadium | L | 14-47 |
| 2023 | 2 | Carrara Stadium | L | 26-99 |