Strategy Port Adelaide International Partnership: Hong Kong Football Club & AusKick HK

[Lockhart Road]

http://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong...end-russell-ebert-seals-deal-australian-rules

Front page of this morning's South China Morning Post carries this story.

Port Adelaide Football Club and the Hong Kong Football Club are now in partnership.

This provides PAFC with a base to foster the AUSKICK programme in Hong Kong and a launching pad into the China AFL market.

Russell Ebert, Tom Jonas and Tom Logan were magnificent ambassadors for our Club at the HKFC yesterday. PAFC is to be congratulated on this ground-breaking initiative, which has far-reaching benefits to so many football parties, plus one hell of a future.

More to follow....

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Thought this deserved its own thread Lockhart Road.

And humble as you are I will flag your tremendous contribution to getting this off the ground.

 

[Lockhart Road]

Thought this deserved its own thread Lockhart Road.

And humble as you are I will flag your tremendous contribution to getting this off the ground.

Very many thanks, Ford.
Thanks also to REH and Rexie J. for their support for and priceless advice on this venture.

Today Russell and the two Toms are joining Mrs Road, her son and daughter-in-law, all wearing 2013 POWER MEMBER badges, and yours truly of course, along with five other PAFC Members (one being the renowned Ken The Ken, 2014 PAFC Member), at the Port Adelaide Football Club table at the Grand Final Lunch in the Renaissance Harbour View Hotel in Wanchai North.

The Lunch is organized by the Australian Association of HK, Australian Chamber of Commerce, AUSKICK HK and other institutions every GF Day. Attendance expected to be 300 to 350.

Russell and the Toms will be interviewed during the proceedings, and emcee Dom Dunn (Carlton, unfortunately, but swinging our way) will be calling on Russ for expert comments at breaks in the game for the footy education of those present.

Agsain, more to follow...

 

[Dobie G]

Good stuff, thanks for the info Lockhart Road, a great initiative by Port.

Sheedy was talking about China, Port is doing.

 

[Enviable Tradition]

International academy players here we come.

Now we just need to encourage them to do a few more of those selective breeding programs like they did for Yao Ming!

 

[Jumbo]

Tom Jones

Great stuff by the club!

 

[Steve Dore]

Well done Lockhart Road

..... Russell and the Toms ...

Punk, death metal?

 

[Natman]

Is this the first international club partnership by an AFL club?

 

[Lockhart Road]

Is this the first international club partnership by an AFL club?

Can only speak for PAFC. We are the ground-breakers in Hong Kong.
Other clubs have made probes into China before, and there is an AFL youth academy in Guangzhou (Canton) which we will now seek to link up with.
In 2007 Melbourne played an exhibition match in Shanghai. We seek to go one better and do it better, whatever we do.
Having Hong Kong Football Club as an official partner provides PAFC with a launching pad into China and North Asia - something like setting up a Space Station before sending Neil Armstrong alias Keith Thomas in the Casual Capsule to set foot on, and plant the black, white, teal and silver flag on, the surface of the Moon.
I repeat, more to follow...

 

[Portmanteau]

Australian Rules football: It's not unusual.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

View attachment 31391

Australian Rules football: It's not unusual.

Dear Lord it looks like something out of Mars Attacks!

 

[Dobie G]

Can only speak for PAFC. We are the ground-breakers in Hong Kong.

Having Hong Kong Football Club as an official partner provides PAFC with a launching pad into China and North Asia - something like setting up a Space Station before sending Neil Armstrong alias Keith Thomas in the Casual Capsule to set foot on, and plant the black, white, teal and silver flag on, the surface of the Moon.
I repeat, more to follow...

KT lands on the moon.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

From little things big things grow.

Well done Lockhart Road on getting this off the ground with the HKFC and then convincing the PAFC to get onboard with the possibilities this reciprocal arrangement could deliver down the track.

LR has kept me in the loop of what was being developed. Jay Schulz was all ready to go over until he was reminded he is getting married next week and it might be a tight squeeze. That gives you an idea of the commitment for the cause.

Well done to the club on see the possibilities and throwing their support behind it and getting Russell and the Toms to go to HK for the clinic and function. I doubt 2 or 3 years ago the club would have understood the benefits of this arrangement.

 

[tribey]

Is this the first international club partnership by an AFL club?

Essendon has previously had an affiliation with Man Utd, a lot of the clubs have loose affiliations with USAFL teams (ours is Kansas City Power) and Collingwood whacked off Rob Lowe.

 

[Power Raid]

another positive step

 

[Asgardian]

Great stuff Lockhart Road

 

[faquito]

I endorse this partnership.

 

[Lockhart Road]

Jay Schulz was all ready to go over until he was reminded he is getting married next week and it might be a tight squeeze. That gives you an idea of the commitment for the cause.

Absolutely right, REH. Jay was ruled ineligible for the trip to Hong Kong. Getting married a week after the Grand Final had him handing over the responsibilities to Tom Logan.

Tom was deemed to be eligible due to the fact he is getting married two weeks after the Grand Final.

 

[Dalphonso]

Is this the first international club partnership by an AFL club?

Eddie Magoo has probably had a partnership with the World planned for Collingwood

 

[Lockhart Road]

 

[Lockhart Road]

The Great Man and the Two Toms made it safely out of Hong Kong on CX105 last night, after a group debriefing on their visit held at Mes Amis on Lockhart Road. The clientele on the scene had never seen anything like it. Neither... despite all my experience at people-watching in Hong Kong... had I.

As coincidence would have it, Sunday, 29 September 2013 was Mrs Road's and my 34th wedding anniversary. Accordingly, the Moet flowed amongst the amber fluid. Ken The Ken was in his Pro Drinkers' Corner and came over to add some extra weight to the table, having sat next to Russell Ebert at the GF Lunch the day before and had his 2014 PAFC MEMBER badge metaphorically autographed.

Star of the night was 'Tom Jones'. Just ask Julia and Lisa, the two American lasses at the next table. Julia is an ex-Florida university cheerleader, and sure proved it when TJ finally learnt the words of What's New, Pussycat? and demonstrated his new singing skills. Lisa has Japanese parents and a sudden respect for and, in particular, a sudden passion for Port Adelaide defenders, not to mention love-from-a-safe-distance for a certain Hall of Famer.

Tom Logan kept trying to point out to the lasses that he's getting married in four weeks, not two after all. The message finally got through. Focus switched to rock star TJ after that. No pix on this post, sorry. Russell will be editing them on his return to Allan Scott Power HQ and those that survive the director's cut will be a feature presentation at a future function at the Port Club. Or not.

These three days with Russell, Tom Junior and Tom Senior - Hong Kong debutantes, but not any more - have been, even for me, indescribable.
Mrs Road loved having the guys with us and is now Port Adelaide for life. Er... more accurately, Russell Ebert for life.
I expect that publicity from the PAFC angle will shortly begin, and I'm looking forward to assisting with something bigger, louder and even more spectacular, in 2014... and thereafter.

What I will post here is a voluminous THANK YOU, MATES to Matt Richardson, Keith Thomas and all the crew at PAFC who sanctioned this pioneering venture, threw their complete support into it, and made it such an - indescribable - success. The benefits, I am certain, will become evident in as short a space of time as we can, collectively, make it.

Love your Club, everyone! I sure do.

 

[5um0F1]

I just love the way we are pushing our brand well outside the boundaries of pissantville.
The clubs vision is clearly bigger than our postcode.

Glad we don't rely on the shitty little local rag, suspicious paper bags, crusty dust ridden old boys club and demented old ladies cooking apricot slices for our club to progress..

 

[Power Raid]

I just love the way we are pushing our brand well outside the boundaries of pissantville.
The clubs vision is clearly bigger than our postcode.

Glad we don't rely on the shitty little local rag, suspicious paper bags, crusty dust ridden old boys club and demented old ladies cooking apricot slices for our club to progress..

This is the secret.....think big

 

[faquito]

...

Star of the night was 'Tom Jones'. Just ask Julia and Lisa, the two American lasses at the next table. Julia is an ex-Florida university cheerleader, and sure proved it when TJ finally learnt the words of What's New, Pussycat? and demonstrated his new singing skills. Lisa has Japanese parents and a sudden respect for and, in particular, a sudden passion for Port Adelaide defenders, not to mention love-from-a-safe-distance for a certain Hall of Famer.

Tom Logan kept trying to point out to the lasses that he's getting married in four weeks, not two after all. The message finally got through. Focus switched to rock star TJ after that.

...

You mean a young 6'2 elite Australian athlete with blonde hair and a beaming white smile was popular amongst tourists and the locals in Hong Kong? Who would've thought

Congratulations (Gung hei) on a successful partnership event and the 34th wedding anniversary LR

 

[Lockhart Road]

You mean a young 6'2 elite Australian athlete with blonde hair and a beaming white smile was popular amongst tourists and the locals in Hong Kong? Who would've thought

Congratulations (Gung hei) on a successful partnership event and the 34th wedding anniversary LR

Thank you very much, mate. Ho daw jeh sai!

Mrs Road was an integral member of the group over the three days, and the visit would have been less of a personal success for Russell, Tom Sr. and Tom Jr. if not for her.