The AFL's second foray into China didn't appear to capture the imagination of the locals like the administrators might have hoped.
Just like last year, Port Adelaide and Gold Coast met at Shanghai's Jiangwan Stadium, with a fairly sparsely-populated crowd turning up.
Admittedly, the weather was pretty ordinary and those that did turn up were kitted out in ponchos and umbrellas, but the vast sections of empty seats would have to be a concern for those spearheading the venture.
In the build-up to the game we heard the AFL, Port Adelaide and Gold Coast all assure us that the game would be a sellout.
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We were told the 11,500 capacity of the stadium was due to be packed, with around half of those set to be locals.
As it turned out, a lot of them came dressed as empty seats.
The official crowd figure given was 10,689.
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan spoke to Fox Footy at half-time about the match and the future of footy in China.
The boss was unsurprisingly upbeat about the situation.
"(The weather is) a bit disappointing, at least it's cool for the players and it's a good game," McLachlan said.
"There's about 10,100 and something here and there's a lot of locals which is good and they've stayed and endured the wet conditions and it's a good game.
"It's a great venue to watch the footy and it's great to come here...some good corporate stuff and facilities.
"It feels like it's consolidated this year, we sold it out well and there's a lot of trade and other stuff here, we've got great government representation so I actually think it's got real legs this year.
"The Victorian trade minister is here who's keen to get a Victorian team up here next year...that's what's happened now is Victorian teams and politicians wanting to get involved."
Viewers at home weren't convinced.
The @AFL have done a terrific job getting a crowd of this size in a city of only 24.2 million.#AFLSunsPower #Shanghai
— Sergio Paradise (@serge_para) May 19, 2018
The @afl. Number 1 in making up crowd numbers around the planet #AFLSunsPower
— Darrell James (@Darrelljames74) May 19, 2018
The @AFL would put the Chinese Communist Party to shame with their bullshit crowd figures.#FakeNews #AFLSunsPower
— ECP (@ECP641) May 19, 2018
#AFL would be pretty happy with the crowd for the #AFLSunsPower game. Looks like just short of a billion people didn’t show up. #AFL @JunktimeAFLPod
— adam rozenbachs (@arozenbachs) May 19, 2018
So much for “sold out” venue for #AFLSunsPower in #Shanghai. Empty seats everywhere and I’d guess 5000 fans in a city of 24 million. Doubt #FIFA are losing sleep @AFL
— Nigel Benton (@futbaldad) May 19, 2018
So the question is, how long will the AFL persevere with the China experiment?
Port Adelaide chairman David Koch is one of the architects of the Shanghai game so he's unlikely to ditch it anytime soon.
Replacing Gold Coast with a more strongly-supported team from Victoria may increase the expat numbers turning up, but as it stands the appetite isn't there among the locals.
AFL general manager of China and India Dave Stevenson recently said a game in China would be played for the "foreseeable future" and Power chief executive Keith Thomas doubled down on his club's commitment to the project.
Chinese billionaire Gui Guojie is backing the match and has reportedly committed to at least 2023, but the two offerings so far must have the backers worried.
On the field, the game never reached any great heights.
Port ran out 40-point winners in a fairly scrappy match.
Power captain Travis Boak took out the Shanghai Medal as best-on-ground for his 28 disposals, six tackles and a goal.
Young midfielder Sam Powell-Pepper had an eventful day, kicking two goals and making 10 tackles, while also bowling an umpire over and upsetting the opposition with his trademark physicality.
Highlights here.
Port head into their bye at 6-3, sneaking into the top four for now.
As for the Suns, they slip to 3-6, leaving them 15th on the ladder.
