LAST week I asked whether Gold Coast were capable of responding to their shock loss against Newcastle.

They certainly answered the question with an impressive display despite missing two of their three attacking superstars for most of the match. 

Fans have been begging for the likes of Minniecon, Caravella and Milson to start having a greater influence and in the absence of Culina and (for all but 18 minutes) Porter they showed glimpses that they are indeed capable. 

One question that I've been asking for a little longer still remains unanswered after the weekend's match, however. 

 I'm not referring to whether Clive Palmer will ever stop offering his 12 months worth of footballing wisdom to the likes of Pim Verbeek.  I'm not referring to whether opposition fans will finally acknowledge that Shane Smeltz's Johnny Warren medal last season was deserved.  I'm referring to the question of crowds. 

The 6,800 figure against Sydney was by no means disgraceful.  Indeed, it outperformed Canberra and only just fell short of the marks set by Townsville and Wellington on the weekend.  Perhaps more importantly, it outperforms the last crowd to rock up to Suncorp to watch those mighty fighting Oranges in action.  But most people would argue it's not good enough for a team that is playing better than any other in the league and was facing the only undefeated side in a top-of-the-table clash. 

While not entirely happy with the workload being placed by the public on the Skilled Stadium staff, I think the crowd number against Sydney was actually pretty good when you consider the crowded sporting weekend Queensland has just had.  For those who aren't aware, the following football matches of various codes took place in the state competing with the GCU match:

  • Rugby Union: the Wallabies hosting the Springboks on Saturday night at Suncorp,
  • AFL: Brisbane Lions hosting Carlton on Saturday night in an elimination final at the Gabba,
  • NRL: Gold Coast Titans away against Manly on Saturday night in a critical final round of the season,
  • NRL: Brisbane Broncos hosting Canberra on Sunday night in a critical final round of the season at Suncorp,
  • Football: Australia away against South Korea on Saturday night, and,
  • Football: the Fury hosting the Roar on Saturday night in a battle to determine the second best team in Queensland in Townsville.

Add to that list the Australian cricket team playing England in a one-day match on Friday night, the various other NRL and AFL teams playing in critical matches at the back-end of the season and a host of international football matches featuring teams with a high level of support in Australia such as Italy, Greece, Scotland, England and Japan and you realise just how easily GC United could be pushed to the fringes. 

History shows low crowds early on aren't a reason to panic.  In the first HAL season Central Coast took until their third game (played at the end of September) to break the 6,000 mark.  Now they are considered the ideal model for a regional club in terms of attracting a fan base.  The then Queensland Roar, on the other hand, had over 20,000 attend their debut match and got similarly big crowds against Sydney and Melbourne early on, but by the end of the season were barely breaking the 10,000 mark and currently seem a long way short of even that.   

The GC United plan is to build a long-term base of fans capable of being sustained regardless of what is happening in the NRL, AFL and union. 

 If they're still top of the ladder in 3 months time and still not getting fans through the gate then maybe they should be worried.  But for now, they'll be quite content to be drawing crowds comparable to teams in larger markets despite the massive competition for the average punter's attention at present.