REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Tuesday, August 3, 2004

THE Gold Coast, a national football code wasteland since 1998, become the centre of a desperate sporting race between rugby league and Aussie rules.

To add to the frenetic mix were moves within senior rugby union circles to base a team from an expanded Super 12 competition here by 2006.

The mastermind behind the

Coast’s NRL business plan, Michael Searle, admitted his consortium’s bid had become “do or die”.

“We do not believe there is room in this city for two national teams,” he said. “Whoever gets in first will take the whole pie.”

The general manager of the Labrador-based Southport Sharks Australian Football Club, Paul Wyatt, said his club was in negotiations with a Melbourne AFL team about hosting several home-and-away games in 2006.

”We have certainly had negotiations with an AFL team that is looking at playing games up here,” he said.

“We haven’t determined when or how many games and I am not going to name the team.

“However, my understanding is that the AFL is saying ‘yes’, that it can be done. We are now entering into negotiations.”

The Gold Coast Titans and Gold Coast Suns were eventually created but a rugby union team failed to eventuate.