Article courtesy of the Gold Coast Bulletin, By Nick Smart

JUDGE us in September, not now, says Gold Coast Football Club chief executive Travis Auld.

Auld says the Gold Coast club cannot wait for the day that they can announce which uncontracted players they have secured for next year's AFL debut.

Unlike other football codes, the AFL has a rule in place where GCFC cannot announce who they have secured until the end of this season.

But Auld promised fans of the club their playing list would be worth the wait.

''It is only three or four months away from when we can actually start announcing our uncontracted players,'' he said.

''I have no doubt that when we do, the people of the Gold Coast are going to be proud of what we are going to put together.

''What we ask people to do is judge our success in building a list at the end of the season when we are in a position to publicly announce where we are at.

''I am confident we have made some very good progress and I feel good about where we are at.''
The club has been left bemused by the number of times they have been linked to players who have been re-signed by their current club.

The past few weeks have seen the likes of Western Bulldog Adam Cooney, Geelong's Joel Selwood, Essendon's Michael Hurley and Hawthorn's Lance Franklin all put pen to paper with their current clubs.

On each occasion it was reported that the GCFC had 'missed out.'

But Auld said the public perception as a result of the media coverage is far from reality.

''A lot of player managers have used the Gold Coast's entry in to the AFL as a way of trying to leverage better contracts for their players,'' said Auld.

''My only concern is our most important market is the people of the Gold Coast and we want them to understand and be confident in the football club we are building for them.

''My concern would be that they would read the articles and worry that we are not going to put together a competitive list.
''In fact, that couldn't be further from the truth.''

There are still some big fish who remain uncontracted, such as Geelong superstar and Brownlow Medallist Gary Ablett.
''We are very confident we will get some good uncontracted players,'' said Auld.

''The Gold Coast is an attractive place to live and we are also confident because we are putting together a model to build a very successful football club and playing list.''