FORMER Brisbane Bears and Lions player Richard Champion says the AFL has learned from its past mistakes on the Gold Coast and the community is ready for a club of its own.

While Saturday’s match between North Melbourne and West Coast attracted a small crowd of 6354 on a cold and stormy evening at Carrara, Champion says a Gold Coast team is viable – provided locals feel a sense of ownership of the club.

Champion, whose 200-game AFL career spanned 10 years with Brisbane, experienced the struggles of the first Queensland side to enter the national competition when he joined the Bears in 1991. He was also at the centre of the controversial Bears’ merger with Melbourne club Fitzroy prior to the 1997 season – again, a first in VFL/AFL history.

“I’m very excited about it (the current Gold Coast team bid). I think it’s going to be a real success story for the AFL,” Champion told afl.com.au.

“I actually think the Kangaroos turning down the offer from the AFL will be beneficial in the long run to the success of the (North Melbourne) club.

“And I say that because I think the landscape has changed a lot on the coast since those Bears days.”

Champion, who still lives in Brisbane, said the Lions had created the blueprint for success in Queensland. Under the direction of former Brisbane Lions chairman Graham Downie – one of three heading the Gold Coast Football Club committee – local input in naming the side would stamp it as a Gold Coast team rather than relocating a Melbourne side and asking Queenslanders to support it.

“I hope the Kangaroos are successful in standing alone and can continue the way that they’re going. Things happen for a reason, and I really think it’s going to be of benefit to the new Gold Coast side with the way it’s panned out,” Champion said.

In the late 1980s and early ‘90s, the Bears struggled for attendances at their Carrara base, a problem exacerbated by lacklustre on-field performances and off-field financial difficulties. While the team secured key player signings including Collingwood captain Mark Williams and Brownlow medallist Brad Hardie, the majority of players were recruited from the SANFL and WAFL, or came from the VFL and were nursing long-term injuries or on the verge of retirement. The resultant team consisting of a few big-name players and a largely inexperienced list meant prospects for long-term viability were poor.

Champion believes the new Gold Coast team needs time to bond and grow naturally rather than rely on a few high-profile players, even if that meant it was not highly competitive at the outset.

“Obviously, they’d love to get a couple of marquee signings,” he said.

“But I don’t think you can be heading down the road of signing big names in their 30s. I just think they’d be better off starting off with a group of players who are passionate about playing, who are highly skilled and drilled and can build on something rather than relying on a couple of big names that have only got one or two years left, because they’re not really going to be the future of the club.

“It would be great for them to be able to name a captain who’s got three or four good years left in them but who is passionate about the Gold Coast, who really wants the club to be a success, and then get some mid-tier players along.

“(They need) some players that are instantly recognisable in the AFL world – I think they definitely need that – but then just rely on the normal pathways of juniors that are coming through.”

He said while the club could choose from the ever-growing pool of future AFL players in Queensland, the team would get its fair share of junior players from around the nation who would jump at the chance for selection.

“It doesn’t matter where teenagers are from these days. They just want to play AFL footy, and I don’t think they’re really fussed about who they play for. They’re just thankful for the opportunity.”

“Manage it right and market it right and I think they’ll be just as successful as any team in the competition.”