‍Australian Rules football made its top-flight debut at the far-flung frontier of Shanghai on Sunday, with Port Adelaide Power celebrating a dominant 72-point win over the Gold Coast Suns for a welcome return on their huge Chinese investment.

Backed by Chinese property and mining companies, Port shelled out some 3 million Australian dollars (2.21 million US dollars) of the estimated 4 million Australian dollars cost of the match, the Australian Football League's first regular season game outside its home market and New Zealand.

The Power paid the Suns 500,000 Australian dollars to shift their home match away from the Gold Coast to the Jiangwan Stadium in northern Shanghai, while the AFL and Australia's tourism authority also backed the push for a slice of China's huge market.

A bruising, high-tempo game played on cricket ground-sized pitches, AFL is followed with religious fervor in Australia's southern states but is almost unknown overseas and often baffling to the uninitiated.

There was undoubtedly some confusion in the crowd of 10,000 at the stadium and for those who tuned in to one of the three local TV channels that broadcast the match.

"They're certainly watching, there's a bit of ooh-ing and ahh-ing," AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said of the local spectators in the terraces.

"I don't know if they're getting it," he laughed in a TV interview during the half-time break.

"They're gasping, I think they love the hard hits and it's a pretty entertaining game of footy."

On that score, McLachlan was being generous, with the one-sided contest no great showcase for a sport that can be breath-taking when played at a high level.

After a scrappy opening littered with skill errors, Port quickly took control and blew the Suns away, booting 16 goals to four in the 110-38 win.

Rangy Power forward Justin Westhoff can claim the best goal ever kicked in China with a brilliant volley late in the second quarter that somehow dribbled through the goal-posts from the tightest of angles.

"I think I just pulled it out of my backside but I'll take it," the bearded veteran said of the goal.

A 147-year-old team that won the national championship in 2004, Port sponsor a fledgling Australian Rules amateur league in southern China and have pushed AFL programs at over a dozen local schools.

Seeing little room to grow at home, Port launched their China engagement strategy in 2014 and claim it has already reaped 6 million Australian dollars  in new revenues.

Port declared the match a success months ago, and about 5,000 of their fans traveled to Shanghai.

They joined a crowd of expats and curious locals at the stadium, where loudspeakers blared music by Australian rock band AC/DC before play started.

Port promoted the match as a bridge between Australian and Chinese interests, and reminders of commercial goals were everywhere, with Australian wine, almonds and universities advertised on LED screens around the stadium.

"The opportunity is enormous," said McLachlan.

"It's the opportunity of speaking to Chinese companies who are wanting to do business in Australia and trying to talk to the million Australians of Chinese descent.

"We want to have a relationship with them for our game to grow. We want to invest in this long-term and the aim is (for) this not to be a one-off."

As the game wore on, some local spectators turned to their smartphones for a diversion but Port and the AFL will have been encouraged by the enthusiasm of the newly converted fans.

Alex Liu, a 23-year-old Chinese, became familiar with AFL on a trip to Sydney and Adelaide, and thinking the Power players handsome, pledged her allegiance.

"I hope more AFL games will come to China and more Chinese fans will learn about this game and enjoy the game," she told Reuters outside the stadium before the match.

Jerry Yu was another Power supporter at the ground, the 35-year-old having been introduced to the game by his boss at an Australian company.

"It must be a historic day for the AFL as it's the first time to have a game in China," he said.

"It's also the first time for AFL to have a league game out of Australia. So as a super fan of AFL, I want to witness this history by myself."

(Source: Reuters)