president individually to gain their support for the bid. The VFL Commission voted unanimously to award the Cronin-Skase-QAFL bid the license. Recently retired Hawthorn footballer Peter Knights on October 27 was announced coach just weeks later getting the nod over candidates John Todd, Ron Barassi and Alex Jesaulenko. Millionaire and Qintex owner Christopher Skase was appointed deputy chairman. Qintex General Manager Ian Curtis was also appointed to the club's board. In December 1986, the branding and Brisbane Bears name was leaked to the public. The new marketing department intended for the bear mascot to resemble Dreamworld's mascot Kenny to appeal to children and tourists. They created two variations of the bear, a smiling bear for the VFL logo and an "angry bear" for games that would appear roaring for matches and many of the marketing and promotional materials for the club. however were still without a home ground, and a week later hastily nominated Carrara on the Gold Coast as a temporary venue with a capacity of 20,000 mooted through the use of temporary stands through the use of metal bleachers. The club unveiled a playing strip consisting of a gold with a maroon yoke and a triangular "BB" logo intended to represent a stylised map of the club's home state, Queensland, with the outline of a koala head appearing inside of the larger B. Maroon was chosen as the state colour of Queensland and gold as symbolic of the Queensland sunshine. Collingwood's Mark Williams was the new club's first player signing. Other marquee signings were Geoff Raines and Jim Edmond, however most of the other players were from the SANFL and the WAFL. Most notably there were few local Queenslanders in the side. Queenslanders were approached, however there were very few playing in the VFL level at the time. In search of a marquee Queenslander, the Bears approached up and coming Hawthorn Football Club full-forward Jason Dunstall was with a million dollar deal to spearhead the club, however declined. The Bears were exposed for their lack of local talent but among the local names in the inaugural squad were Gary Shaw, Frank Dunell, Tony Beckett, Darren Carlson, Allan Giffard and Stuart Glascott. However few of the Queenslanders in the side made an impact. The new club was given very little time in which to set itself up, with few players and no suitable home ground. On December 23, Carrara