- Suns have gone with a big ‘brand refresh’ for 2025
- New logo has several hidden meanings
The Gold Coast Suns’ new logo has gone over like a lead balloon with fans just days after the club’s CEO said he would be ‘gutted’ if it ended up being the final design.
When the new look was accidentally leaked online by the AFL earlier this week, fans started slamming it straight away – and they were joined in their dismay by team boss Mark Evans.
‘I’m not allowed to confirm whether that is the logo,’ he said.
‘If that was the logo, I’d be gutted, but there have been a few versions out there. Come down on Friday and we’ll unveil it here.’
The final design – which is almost identical to the version in the leak that Evans reacted to – was actually unveiled on Thursday night.
The Suns explained that the logo is meant to represent ‘the scorching Sun of the Gold Coast rising over the horizon’, with a footy at the centre of the emblem and a subtle G and C hidden within it ‘as a nod to our history and original logo’.
Gold Coast star Daniel Rioli is pictured modelling the club’s new look on Friday
Suns CEO Mark Evans (pictured) previously said he would be ‘gutted’ if a leaked version of the redesign turned out to be the real thing – and that’s exactly what happened
Pictured: The logo when it was accidentally leaked by the AFL earlier this week
What followed was a huge pile-on from footy fans who were overwhelmingly against the bold new look.
Many thought the design was lazy and hard to see because it’s only represented in shades of red on the team’s home strip, whereas the old version stood out more because it mixed red with yellow.
‘More effort went into these videos than the actual design of the logo and Guernsey,’ one fan wrote, referring to promo footage of Gold Coast stars wearing the new look.
‘This is embarrassing. People thought the hold jumper was too boring and now you have one where most of the time it just looks plain red,’ another commented.
‘Jumpers look blank. Can’t even see the logo. What a disaster,’ added a third.
‘Putrid. The most effective professional sports team logos, in principle, reveal three things: Who they are, where they’re from, and what they do. This logo spectacularly fails at all three. It looks like a knockoff ’70s retro TV network’s. What consulting firm OK’d this?!’ another fan wrote.
‘I did not think it was possible to create a worse logo than there current one lmao, I’m actually impressed how they managed to pull that off,’ a fifth commented.
Once the logo had been officially released, Evans changed his tune.
Gold Coast star Mac Andrew is pictured playing in the club’s previous strip this season
Plenty of footy fans agreed with this commenter who lashed out at the new look on X
‘We knew after 14 years with the same brand that it was time to update our look and feel to better represent how we have evolved and matured as a football club,’ he said in a statement.
‘Our new logo is modern, bold and innovative, with layers of context which speak to our history and purpose.
‘We’re excited to show the world our new brand, and tomorrow we will reveal our new guernsey and colour palette, marking the start of our new era.’
The reaction to the Suns’ new look comes after the Adelaide Crows were also blasted by fans when they released a fresh logo on November 7.
‘It’s like going from Windows 10 to Windows 98,’ posted a fan on X.
‘Was this part of a primary school contest?’ replied another.
‘Well done to whoever’s 10yo child put this together,’ said a third.
The club said it is excited with the new look, saying in a press release that designers were giving ‘a nod to the club’s heritage’ with the original ‘swooping’ crow, but added that the sharpened claws, beak, eye and wing brought a ‘modern look’.
