News & Resources
No rabbits but a few Demons
24/10/2007
Martin Boulton | October 19, 2007
The Age
VISITORS to the Great Wall of China had an unexpected taste of Australian culture this week when a group of Melbourne players gave them a lesson in Australian football.
During a visit to the spectacular Huang Ya Guan section of the Great Wall, Lynden Dunn, Brock McLean and Paul Wheatley were among nine players having a kick while taking in the sights.
As part of a 10-day trip to promote the game and develop business interests in the country, the Demons also are looking for two Chinese athletes to train with the club for two weeks in summer.
Former Melbourne player and AFL legend Ron Barassi, former Test cricketer Max Walker, Melbourne chief executive Steve Harris and several Melbourne-based business leaders are also on board the tour bus visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Suzhou.
"We had a bit of a kick on the Wall — everyone thought it was a bit strange, but it's fun to take a bit of Australia with us to China," Dunn told The Age.
"It's a networking trip, but maybe in 10 or 15 years' time, we might be able to have a Chinese draftee, just like the Irish boys at Collingwood.
"We've only been here a couple of days, but it's one of the most amazing things I've ever done."
The trip is a partnership between the club, the City of Melbourne, the Victorian Government, the Australia China Business Council, the AFL, AustCham, Austrade and other partners.
It kicked off with a reception at the Australian Embassy in Beijing and will include football clinics, business forums and cultural exchanges to strengthen ties between China and Melbourne.
Club officials visited Tianjin and Beijing in May to lay the groundwork for this month's visit.
The AFL has a youth ambassador in Tianjin and Australian football has been endorsed nationally as an approved physical exercise in Chinese schools. China is expected to take part in the AFL International Cup for the first time in 2008.
Harris said China was an increasingly popular place for Australian business and the opportunity to develop cultural and sporting links with Melbourne's sister city, Tianjin, also was growing.
"We'll try to find a couple of athletes to spend a few weeks with us over summer, just to encourage them and their colleagues and help lift the profile of what we do," he said.
"And the nine players we've got here with us were very keen to come, whereas perhaps in past years, it might have been a very mixed response.
"They've embraced it, they've got assignments in terms of leadership development and it's forcing them out of their comfort zone …"