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

[Lockhart Road]

Busted.
That's me in the middle, REH. The locale is Coyote on Lockhart Road. The time is just before we went back to the Rosedale in Causeway Bay to pick up the boys' kit, then quick ride to the Hong Kong Football Club for the Coaching Clinic, then the Reciprocal Membership Ceremony.
That's my Heineken orphaned (temporarily) at the right-hand side of the table.
Russell was at the left-hand end of the table, checking out the potential 2014 members flocking to and fro on Lockhart.
Unforgettable weekend. Matt Richardson asked me a couple of days ago if I'd recovered from it. I told him: "No I haven't. I never want to recover from a once-in-a-lifetime weekend like that one."

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Looking very dapper in your sombrero Lockhart Road.

Australians eating Mexican in a Hong Kong bar while drinking Dutch beer. Who says multiculturalism can't work?

 

[Lockhart Road]

Australians eating Mexican in a Hong Kong bar while drinking Dutch beer. Who says multiculturalism can't work?

Tom Logan just emailed to confirm the photo was in yesterday's Advertiser.

I'd warned the Toms to head for the hills before Darren Burgess saw it.

"Too late!" cried Tom Senior. Last seen heading into the Sand Pit. Never seen again.

Multiculturalism? Multimasochism, more like.

 

[Lockhart Road]

First PAFC Reciprocal Member visiting Hong Kong Football Club on Thursday (unless someone else nips in and gazumps him).
HKFC have photo-op set up in front of 2013 POWER strip, signed by first 22, framed and mounted on wall of passageway leading into Sportsmans Bar - lead strip in long line of international Soccer and Rugby shirts that stretches out of sight.
Will have a pic posted here soon as Mrs Road and I return from four days in Hanoi / Ha Long Bay on an ANZAC reunion 'behind enemy lines' with a dozen or so 9RAR mates, wives & partners. I'll miss the occasion at HKFC, unfortunately.

 

[Lockhart Road]

2013 Team-signed POWER strip on wall of Hong Kong Football Club, right outside HKFC Sportsmans Bar in prime position.

The inscription at foot of the frame reads:

PORT ADELAIDE FOOTBALL CLUB​

Est. 1870​

Australian Football League​

The most successful league football club in Australia with 37 League Premierships​

Reciprocal Rights partner with the Hong Kong Football Club​

2013 team signed playing shirt proudly presented to the Hong Kong Football Club by AFL Hall of Fame Member Russell Ebert on 27 Sept 2013.​

Photo immediately above shows first PAFC Reciprocal Member, Chris WALD, at the HKFC during his visit on Thursday, 17 October 2013. Chris is a Member resident in Victoria.
On Saturday, Chris sent the following message to Mark Pawley, GM at HKFC:
"Mark
Back home in Melbourne now. Just wanted to say thanks for last Thursday. I appreciated you taking the time to give me the guided tour of the club, along with the background on the history of the club etc. To say the club, its history and facilities are impressive is an understatement. Can't wait to visit again when I'm next in HK."

The POWER strip is facing, directly opposite, a New York Cosmos shirt, signed by PELE.
Next to the POWER strip is an autographed photo of Alan BALL, 72 caps for England 1965-1975 (EPL sides Blackpool, Everton and Arsenal).
Next to that, at far left, top photo, is a 1966 World Cup montage also signed by Alan Ball with notation: "To H.K.F.C. - My Best Wishes."
Further along the passageway to the left (out of sight) are a row of team-signed EPL shirts:
Blackburn Rovers - 2011
Liverpool FC - 2008-2009
Arsenal - 2003-2004
Manchester United - 2006 (presented by Eric Cantona)
Chelsea - 2007-2008

They are all now in prestigious company.

 

[Lockhart Road]

Perhaps someone can put a message through to Bill Vis that his company logo is on display in an international market.
No expectation this will mean extra from him on 2014 sponsorship; certainly no less.

 

[Lockhart Road]

 

[Lockhart Road]

To give a clearer idea on the actual size of our new Reciprocal Partner...
The panorama above was photographed from the Infield of Happy Valley Race Course end of 2010, looking north, showing the Hong Kong Football Club in the north-east corner. The three-storey building resembling a Mississippi riverboat is the Main Wing.
In front of it is the Sportsmans Bar, the smaller rotunda-like structure that is actually inside the racetrack, accessed by a tunnel from the Main Wing.
You can see the back of the South Stand facing the Main Pitch; the Hockey Pitch is out of picture to the left. Bowling green is in front of the Sportsmans Bar.
For more info, here again is the HKFC website home page: https://www.hkfc.com.hk/

 

[Lockhart Road]

https://www.hkfc.com.hk/sites/hkfc/files/pagefiles/1113_mag_web2a.pdf

Above link takes you to the Hong Kong Football Club's website and into the November issue of their CLUB Magazine.
A PDF file downloads.
Scroll to pages 16 to 19 and you'll find a pictorial article on PAFC, the Reciprocal Partnership with HKFC, AUSKICK Hong Kong, Russell Ebert, Tom Jonas and Tom Logan, Adelaide Oval....

 

[bomberclifford]

Can you introduce "Aussie rules on ice"?

West Coast and Collingwood trialled it for a few years but the results weren't that good.

 

[Power Raid]

West Coast and Collingwood trialled it for a few years but the results weren't that good.

I wouldn't describe it a "trialled"

 

[questionable]

https://www.hkfc.com.hk/sites/hkfc/files/pagefiles/1113_mag_web1_0.pdf

Above link takes you to the Hong Kong Football Club's website and into the November issue of their CLUB Magazine.
A PDF file downloads.
Scroll to pages 16 to 19 and you'll find a pictorial article on PAFC, the Reciprocal Partnership with HKFC, AUSKICK Hong Kong, Russell Ebert, Tom Jonas and Tom Logan, Adelaide Oval....

my jaw dropped when i saw what those auction items went for... then i realised they were HK$ which are worth 14 aussie cents. i didn't think anyone would pay $12k just for a guernsey signed by russell and brett ebert haha

great work on the whole thing though lockhart road. fantastic stuff

 

[Asgardian]

https://www.hkfc.com.hk/sites/hkfc/files/pagefiles/1113_mag_web1_0.pdf

Above link takes you to the Hong Kong Football Club's website and into the November issue of their CLUB Magazine.
A PDF file downloads.
Scroll to pages 16 to 19 and you'll find a pictorial article on PAFC, the Reciprocal Partnership with HKFC, AUSKICK Hong Kong, Russell Ebert, Tom Jonas and Tom Logan, Adelaide Oval....

LR, that link didn't work

https://www.hkfc.com.hk/sites/hkfc/files/pagefiles/1113_mag_web2a.pdf

That one did, pdf pages 18 - 21

 

[Lockhart Road]

LR, that link didn't work

https://www.hkfc.com.hk/sites/hkfc/files/pagefiles/1113_mag_web2a.pdf

That one did, pdf pages 18 - 21

Thanks, Asgardian - seems the link was changed at source, have now amended it:

https://www.hkfc.com.hk/sites/hkfc/files/pagefiles/1113_mag_web2a.pdf

 

[Lockhart Road]

PAFC have just invited AUSKICK HONG KONG to stage matches on Adelaide Oval during halftime of the Essendon game, Round 16, Saturday night, 5 July.

This will take place during the summer holiday break up here while many of the expat children / parents are in Australia.

This grand old Club of ours keeps on lining up the

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

What a ******* brilliant thing for our club to do. and well co-ordinated LR.

And how good will it be for officials from one of the big clubs, Essendon, to see this and if the club are smart will get ch 7 yes its one of the 4 games on free to air nationwide we get next year, to do a story on it. We then will get a whole lot of people wander how the * did Port organise that!

 

[questionable]

why do you want to give lessons on running a football club to our competitors? particularly ones that already have a huge leg up as it is. fortunately essendon's administration are the dumbest around. they won't learn anything from it.

which is fine by me

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

why do you want to give lessons on running a football club to our competitors? particularly ones that already have a huge leg up as it is. fortunately essendon's administration are the dumbest around. they won't learn anything from it.

which is fine by me

I don't want to give them lessons, just smack them between the eyes. Anyway the AFL will send them our way. KT last Wednesday night at the club 1870 event said the AFL are now telling the AFL clubs that are struggling to go and talk to Port and find out how they turned things around.

 

[questionable]

I don't want to give them lessons, just smack them between the eyes.

the only thing paul little will glean from it is the idea to use chinese child labour as strike busters if the AFLPA go after them for unsafe working conditions

 

[Lockhart Road]

why do you want to give lessons on running a football club to our competitors? particularly ones that already have a huge leg up as it is. fortunately essendon's administration are the dumbest around. they won't learn anything from it.

which is fine by me

I don't reckon there's any focus intended on our competitors - some of whom are too smug to bother taking any notice anyway - more on brand expansion, scoring with potential and existing sponsors and attracting interest from existing and new supporters and especially Club Members.

This in addition, as far as the Hong Kong project is concerned, in being seen to be going out of our way to help the AFL grow the game nationally and internationally. Friends in AFL House are friends indeed, especially when our home-town rivals, for want of an earthier noun, don't have them.

Over the last few months up here, especially since Russell Ebert and the Two Toms came to town, I'm impressed with a general and growing sentiment among the AUSKICK HK community that even if the children and parents don't follow Port Adelaide as first preference right now, we're elevating ourselves to runners-up which means stealing a march on sixteen other AFL clubs.

Leon Cameron was up here a couple of weeks ago, sounding out the Hong Kong Football Club for a pre-season training gig next year. He was shown the team-signed Power strip on the wall outside the Sportsman's Bar... and, I'm told, left the building muttering to himself.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Leon Cameron was up here a couple of weeks ago, sounding out the Hong Kong Football Club for a pre-season training gig next year. He was shown the team-signed Power strip on the wall outside the Sportsman's Bar... and, I'm told, left the building muttering to himself.

Now I think that correctly fits the definition of ironic. Cameron turns down Port for the coaching gig, before he go to GWS they didn't take Wingard, after he does, they give us Jake Neade for nothing, they fail to take Wines and leave him for us and now this. What next?

 

[Lockhart Road]

Further to my post/s above, the new story has just been uploaded onto the home page of the AUSKICK Hong Kong website by His Football Eminence, the Head Coach - who is, believe it or not, a Carlton man, all 6' 5" of him.

Previous Head Coach was Darren Flanigan, ex-Geelong ruckman and team-mate in 1990 of Ken Hinkley and Garry Hocking. Flanners is now at AFL HQ Victoria, and is well aware of what we're doing up here.

Link: http://www.auskick-hk.com/

 

[questionable]

I don't reckon there's any focus intended on our competitors - some of whom are too smug to bother taking any notice anyway - more on brand expansion, scoring with potential and existing sponsors and attracting interest from existing and new supporters and especially Club Members.

This in addition, as far as the Hong Kong project is concerned, in being seen to be going out of our way to help the AFL grow the game nationally and internationally. Friends in AFL House are friends indeed, especially when our home-town rivals, for want of an earthier noun, don't have them.

oh absolutely. my post was just a glib response to REH's enthusiasm to shove it in the other clubs' faces. not meant to be taken seriously.

the whole thing is fantastic and you deserve a lot of credit


and lol @ leon cameron

 

[Lockhart Road]

oh absolutely. my post was just a glib response to REH's enthusiasm to shove it in the other clubs' faces. not meant to be taken seriously.

From personal experience, REH's enthusiasm is something to be taken VERY seriously.

And thank you for the credit, mate. But seriously - that word again - without our Club, and its incredible 2013-and-onwards attitude, we'd have nothing to talk about on this.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Now I think that correctly fits the definition of ironic. Cameron turns down Port for the coaching gig, before he go to GWS they didn't take Wingard, after he does, they give us Jake Neade for nothing, they fail to take Wines and leave him for us and now this. What next?

They did trade us the picks we needed to get the Polec deal done. So he should now blossom at Port and pick 21 will turn out to be a diamond in the rough.

Lockhart Road let's split the difference and say Port Adelaide and its supporters, working together to grow the pie.