They may have the bye in round one, but the Gold Coast Suns are very much part of the action being  the first new AFL franchise since Port Adelaide joined in 1996. The question is, will the people of the Coast take a ‘shine’ to their latest sporting team?

Season 2011 is finally upon us and the excitement in Melbourne is palpable. Every fan is discussing their team’s ins and outs, their strengths and weaknesses and most importantly their chances for September. Even Richmond fans have hope in round one.

It’s a different story on the Gold Coast however as much of the excitement and discussion over the last week has centred around the opening round performances (or lack thereof) of the local NRL teams, the Gold Coast Titans and Brisbane Broncos. The shiny new Gold Coast Suns could barely get a mention in the local paper, being forced to share pages with the results of provincial rugby clubs.

But this indifference towards the AFL is to be expected. It’s obvious from the moment you land on the Gold Coast that it is a rugby town. There are posters for the Titans everywhere on buses, shops and billboards. There are promotional vouchers for their game tickets in almost all the tourist publications. The major airline running flights to the Gold Coast is the Titans major sponsor. If this was a publicity war, the AFL is throwing twigs at the walls of Rome.

The AFL’s bold venture would appear to be even more forlorn when considering the plight of the other two franchises which have struggled to survive in Australia’s fastest growing urban area. The Gold Coast Blaze has hardly lit a flame since the start of the revamped NBL season with disappointing crowds in a tiny venue most of the season. We hardly need to speak of Gold Coast United’s woes and their impressive televised broadcasts of Skilled Park’s colourful plastic furniture.

Despite all the research that money can buy, all rival codes that have embarked on gaining their share of the supposed enormous Gold Coast market have been abject failures. It seems the people of the Gold Coast just aren’t that enthusiastic about being dragged off the beach and into the bleachers.

So based on current evidence, the Suns appear set for failure. But the AFL is yet to play its trump card which might just be the golden ticket into the psyche of the sunshine people. This card will be dealt in round 2 of the season when the Suns take on Carlton in their inaugural match.

Put simply, AFL is a better game to watch than NRL. It’s faster, longer and higher scoring. It combines athletic ability with high-level ball skills. Tactically, it is leap years ahead (although not even close to football).  It delivers more bang for your buck than any other sport in Australia.  You can know nothing about AFL and still enjoy a game.

Couple this with the fact that it is the dominant code across 5 states and territories of our great land, generates the highest TV and sponsorship revenue of any code by nearly double and has more than twice the average crowds of the NRL then it appears inevitable that AFL fever will consume the Gold Coast like it has everywhere else.
Come Round 2, the people of the Gold Coast will know what the fuss is about and I have no doubt will take more than a glancing interest.

The AFL is loading the artillery, the Romans best be ready.