In preparation for the club's entry into the league, Gold Coast was provided with a range of recruitment concessions by the AFL, including additional selections in the 2010 AFL draft, early access to recruit underaged players,[nb 2] and access to existing clubs' out-of-contract players in the preceding offseason.[5] The club was also allowed to operate with an increased playing list size and salary cap in its first four seasons, before these allowances were reduced to be in line with the existing AFL clubs from 2015 as planned.[5]
The maximum playing list size of each AFL club is 47 players, consisting of 38–40 senior-listed players and the remainder as rookie-listed players.[7][nb 3] Rookie players receive a reduced salary in comparison to senior-listed players, and are not necessarily automatically eligible for selection in games.[9] As every club is required to make a minimum of three changes to its list at the end of each season,[10] not every player necessarily makes a senior appearance for the club before being removed from the playing list.
Since its first competitive appearance, 112 players have represented the club in an AFL premiership match.[11] The premiership competition is inclusive of home-and-away and finals series matches only, and does not include pre-season matches or representative games (such as State of Origin or International rules football).[12] As of the conclusion of the 2018 season, the player with the highest individual games tally for Gold Coast is Jarrod Harbrow, who has played 220 matches for the club since 2011.[11]Tom Lynch has scored the most goals for the club, attaining 254 goals in his 131 matches.[13]
Players
Table headers and key
Order
Players are listed according to the date of their debut for the club.
Seasons
The yearspan of the player's appearances for Gold Coast.
^Due to the uneven number of teams in the league in 2011, Gold Coast had a bye in the first round of the season.[4]
^Gold Coast was granted special dispensation to recruit up to twelve players, born between 1 January and 30 April 1992, at the end of 2009.[5] Since these players were aged 17 at the time, they were younger than the minimum draft age of 18 years old.[6]
^"Regulations"(PDF). AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. February 2015. p. 12. Archived(PDF) from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
^ ab"Tom Lynch". AFL Tables. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
^"David Swallow". AFL Tables. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
^"Suns select Swallow at number one". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. AAP. 18 November 2010. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
^"2019 guernsey numbers". goldcoastfc.com.au. Gold Coast Football Club. 3 December 2018. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
^ abcdWhiting, Michael (5 September 2011). "Sun sets on Ablett". AFL.com.au. BigPond. Archived from the original on 25 October 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2018.