It’s a sluggish late morning at the gloriously sun-bathed Circle on Cavill.

The eateries are post-breakfast and pre-lunch. Occasionally a salt-caked, towel-draped traveller lazily wanders past. Shoppers drift here and there looking for something to buy. All the while the bass-heavy soundtrack of a fashion TV show blares down from the huge screen above.

Then, just a tick after noon, things change.

The lunch-time crowd begins to saunter in.

And so does the red and gold.

A yellow t-shirt here. A pair of red of shorts there.

There’s even a few keen beans sporting early bird purchases from the GCFC merchandise range.

And in the space of just a few short minutes, the space turns from sleepy to expectant.

They don’t have to wait long. The players soon arrive.

The young shy kids look nervous. Some rib each other and push and shove in the way young blokes do.

The introduction of few Sherrins and Senior Coach Guy McKenna’s whistle seems to settle things down. On the grass, a group of players relax into the odd body-bobbing rhythm of a circular handball drill. Stab passes spit left and right in front of the Uno Korean BBQ.

‘What’s all this?’ says a young Japanese surfer dude, skin the colour of chocolate, hair pointing skyward.

I tell him.

He smiles.

‘Ah. Football. Is good for a team here.’

I know what he means.

‘I like Dockers,’ he says.

Whoever would have thought?

McKenna’s whistle signals an end to the ball flinging.

From the stage, a local radio announcer sets the formalities in motion.

‘How exciting it is to be here to launch the fourth sporting team from the Gold Coast into its national competition,’ he says.

I think it through. Four of them. In Australia’s fifth biggest city. I throw in world surfing champs Mick Fanning and Steph Gilmore.

Yep. Punches above its weight, this place.

There’s a video charting the club’s rapid rise from idea to fruition. The player’s heads are tilted towards the screen. Their young, keen faces are stirring reminder of the importance of daring to dream.

Club President, John Witheriff speaks next. His speech is short, but it oozes the passion and pride you’d expect from a man who’s travelled the whole journey.

‘This is a special day,’ he says before asking Gold Coasters to take ownership of their new club, to become members, to support the team, to ‘Rise Up’ as one.

It’s a neat bridge into the Rise Up campaign video, a stirring montage of sparkling Gold Coast beaches, perfect curling surf, screaming footy fans and the sort of pure, unbridled athleticism that Australia’s own game is renowned for.

When the tape finishes team vice captain Charlie Dixon pulls a black curtain away from a striking promotional shot of the GCFC squad emerging from the Pacific Ocean. The curtain snags. Dixon tugs at it for a bit, but it’s no use. The thing’s quite obviously stuck. He improvises by flipping the curtain over the back.

Witheriff seizes the moment.

‘That sums up our club nicely,’ he says. ‘We are determined, we are persistent, and we make it in the end.’

Guy McKenna, GCFC’s Senior Coach, has his turn at the lectern.

His message could have been lifted from a three quarter time address: the scores are level, the game’s been tough and hard, his player’s legs are weary.

‘Make no mistake. This is your club. These are your colours. This is your team. This is a call to arms.’

Down in the crowd, Dan - a Bombers man from Reservoir originally, but now an ex-pat in Ashmore - sings the coach’s praises.

‘He was a gun as a player and he’ll be a gun coach. Those West Coast blokes from the early 90’s just have an edge about them.’

His mate, hidden behind a pair of Oakley sunglasses, says nothing.

I get the impression he’ll take some convincing.

Dan must have sensed it too. He gives his mate a backhander across the shoulder.

‘You wait, mate. They’ll be pantsin’ your Pies off before you can say boo!’

After the speeches are done, the coach and the president answer questions from what – in Gold Coast terms – is a genuine media throng.

McKenna is peppered about marquis players, free agency and immediate expectations. Witheriff keeps things big picture with messages about the club in the community and a journey only just beginning.

And for a second we could be in Melbourne, or Perth, or Adelaide, where footy is everything and nothing else matters.