Gary Ablett won the toss, the Gold Coast Suns' fans - wrapped in their shiny new club scarves - cheered, the players got in a huddle and yelled encouragement to each other, high-fives were exchanged, Josh Fraser, Daniel Harris, David Swallow and Ablett took up their position in the square for the opening bounce ..... and then the game started.

And so began the longest two-and-half-hours of coach Guy McKenna's life.

Because his fledgling outfit was belted off the park so comprehensively tonight in its AFL debut that one wonders - even allowing for stagefright, nerves and the unique nature of the contest - whether they'll crack it for a win at all in their first season.

When the final siren blew to signal an end to the mayhem, the new boys - for that is what they are - were obliterated by Carlton by 119 points - 26.25 (171) to 7.10 (52).

During the week, some had recalled the Brisbane Bears' defeat of North Melbourne in their first appearance in 1987 and, subsequent to that, Adelaide's emotional victory over Hawthorn in the Crows' AFL debut. They thought the Suns might be able to conjure a similar first-up upset. But there was a difference between those two teams and this Gold Coast one: they were represented by men.

It took barely five minutes before the true men-versus-boys nature of the match was revealed.

At a regulation push-and-shove before the opening siren, Brett Thornton - no-one's idea of a he-man - pushed young South Australian Sebastian Tape so hard in the chest it looked as if the teenager might be stretchered off with the AFL's first known case of whiplash.

After the opening bounce, the ball was quickly spirited forward by Carlton where Shaun Hampson snapped a point, then Jarrad Waite goalled - all within the opening minute.

Gold Coast's rugby-league convert Karmichael Hunt had lined up on Hampson in defence, conceding a good 15 centimetres in height to the resting ruckman. Nathan Bock was minding Waite.

After that opening flurry, and with the play all in Carlton's forward half, Thornton kicked the second goal.

The Suns' ruckman Zac Smith - a likely-looking sort - then grabbed the ball out of a ruck contest on a rare foray forward and snapped Gold Coast's first score in AFL competition - a point. At last, they were on the board.

But that proved a mirage. Andrew Walker marked and slotted through the Blues' third, 30 seconds later Jeff Garlett goalled on the run after a sloppy Ablett handball, then Thornton - no-one's idea of precision sharpshooter either - threaded through a banana from the right pocket.

By this time, everyone decked out in the red-and-gold of Gold Coast realised they had come to watch not a game of Aussie Rules but the footballing equivalent of an evening at the abattoir. It was a slaughter.

And it all started from the centre bounce where the Suns were being mauled by Carlton's rotation of on-ballers, led of course, by Chris Judd, Bryce Gibbs and Marc Murphy.

Midway through the quarter, the Suns' Charlie Dixon, a big lump of a lad from Cairns, became the player whose name will forever crop up in pub trivia quizzes when he ran on to a clever pass and guided through Gold Coast's first goal.

But when the siren blew, the scoreboard read: 1.1 (7) to 9.5 (59). And, the only point of interest after that, was whether Gold Coast's youngsters could relax, get into their stride and show us what they were capable of. Which they did briefly in the third quarter, piling on three unanswered goals, but that was about the end of the good news. They kicked just one more for the match.

Still, there were a few positives for McKenna and his coaching panel: Swallow lived up to expectations in the midfield, while Michael Rischitelli and Harris were also busy. Two big men, Smith and Dixon showed promise, while Brandon Matera and Trent McKenzie also caught the eye.

Ablett picked up 23 possessions and laid six tackles but he was given very little room to move, and very little protection from his teammates. And this is the existence he will have to get used to now, away from the Geelong midfield where he had half a dozen champions to help shoulder the load.

On the flip side, Josh Fraser looked slow and, against Hampson and Warnock, too easily pushed aside. And Karmichael Hunt finished with two kicks, three handballs, no marks - but plenty of cramp in his calf muscles.

It was not an auspicious debut for the former Brisbane Bronco and high-profile NRL recruit and - even though he is clearly a long-term project - it gave ammunition to those (such as Wayne Carey, on this website) who suggested he was an expensive gimmick.

It's clear this assembly of the game's best young talent will be a major force in two or three years' time and, given their youth, will be around near the top of the ladder for a long time. But this first season is going to be a painful one.

Next stop for the Suns: Etihad Stadium for next Saturday's match with the Western Bulldogs. And that shapes as a contest every bit as ugly as tonight's.