North Melbourne great and 1978 Brownlow Medallist Malcolm Blight joined fellow Brownlow winner Barry Round as well as 268 game ex-Docker and Demon Jeff White at Carrara today to cast an eye over the club’s final preseason preparations.

But it wasn’t just an interest in the club’s on-field progress that attracted their attention. All were on hand as former players who now call the Gold Coast home to lend their names to GCFC’s push for new members.

Blight, who kicked 444 goals over 178 games with the Kangaroos and later coached Adelaide to back-to-back premierships in 1997 and 1998, urged his fellow local former players to get involved.

“[The Gold Coast] is obviously a great place to live so to take an interest in the home games would be fantastic for everyone. It would be fantastic [for former AFL players to sign up] – it gives everyone a bit of an interest if they are away from home.”

Barry Round played 328 games for Footscray and South Melbourne between 1969 and 1985. He says membership is integral to AFL clubs. He called on all Gold Coasters to jump on board the competition’s newest club.

‘It’s about taking a step beyond being just a supporter when you’re a member. It’s about making a full commitment to the cause. Look at the strength of Collingwood with 50,000 members before the season even starts. Gold Coast Football Club are in that league now. They are competing with those kinds of numbers. There’s a real need for the club to have a strong membership base.’

He says it hasn’t taken long to bump into a host of former players who not only call the Gold Coast home, but who’ll be watching the competition’s newest club with keen interest.

‘There’s a regular gathering of former players the first Monday of every month at Surfers Paradise RSL. It gets an amazing turn out. Ex-Lion, Roger Merrett, former Swan Cliffy Deacon, Ex-Cat Tony Polinelli to name a few. There’s plenty of us and the Gold Coast Footy Club will get some great support out of them. They’re all getting pretty excited about getting their local footy fix.’

White, a former number one draft pick, moved to the Gold Coast in 2008 and now works as GCFC’s ruck coach. He says the huge amount of expatriate AFL support existing in the region augurs well for a groundswell of support for a start up club.

‘There’s a lot of passion for the game up here with people crossing the border, that’s for sure. I used notice it when I’d holiday up here. I’d come up to get away from footy, but people would recognise me in the street and want to talk footy.’

Click here for GCFC membership information and to join.