A few photos from the Shanghai Showdown

[hardtack 10,627]

I have uploaded a few of my photos from the Shanghai Showdown to Flickr, so rather than linking so they show here, I'm just providing a guest link to my Flickr account... follow this link:

My Flickr

The photos have been organised into groups:

"Jiangwan Stadium, Yangpu District, Shanghai"

"Training Saturday 16th October 2010"

"In the Rooms before the game"

"It's Showtime!!"

"After the game presentation and "mingle""

I also have to acknowledge Chris Connolly for his great help in helping me with tickets to the game and in allowing me into the rooms to photograph... over both days he made sure he could help me as much as possible and needed absolutely no prompting... a wonderful person! It is little wonder that there are so many quality people at the club now, with guys like Chris and Jimmy as their mentors/sources of inspiration. So if you happen to be reading this Chris, thank you so much for your invaluable assistance.

[Red Sox 2]

These are great.

Thanks for sharing.

[Dinosaur Rover 197]

I have uploaded a few of my photos from the Shanghai Showdown to Flickr, so rather than linking so they show here, I'm just providing a guest link to my Flickr account... follow this link:

My Flickr

The photos have been organised into groups:

"Jiangwan Stadium, Yangpu District, Shanghai"

"Training Saturday 16th October 2010"

"In the Rooms before the game"

"It's Showtime!!"

"After the game presentation and "mingle""

I also have to acknowledge Chris Connolly for his great help in helping me with tickets to the game and in allowing me into the rooms to photograph... over both days he made sure he could help me as much as possible and needed absolutely no prompting... a wonderful person! It is little wonder that there are so many quality people at the club now, with guys like Chris and Jimmy as their mentors/sources of inspiration. So if you happen to be reading this Chris, thank you so much for your invaluable assistance.

Thanks for this well done.

Must be a great experience for all involved.

[Sir Why You Little 37,143]

My Flickr

Thanks Mate, those photo's are superb, Well done. Hope you get to do the same when we next win the Grand Final!

[DemonDing 56]

is it just me or does the red on those jumpers finally look right? nice dark shade of red they look awesome, not much of a fam of those new tshirts though there crap!!

[Dr. Mubutu 866]

not much of a fam of those new tshirts though there crap!!

Agreed.

Next to the Reebok polo shirts they look decidedly pink. Hopefully NB have improvements to their colour palette before they manufacture the guernseys!

Edit: Also, thanks Hardtack! Some excellent shots in there. (Good to see that the mo is coming along nicely as well...)

Edited October 20, 2010 by Dr. Mubutu

[Deestroy All 14,266]

is it just me or does the red on those jumpers finally look right? nice dark shade of red they look awesome, not much of a fam of those new tshirts though there crap!!

If it is a new red then it's a tad late, we're New Balance now, those jumpers are still Reebok.

Excellent photos! Thanks for the effort and for sharing.

"Dean does DeNiro" is exactly what I was thinking, classic.

[Red Sox 2]

is it just me or does the red on those jumpers finally look right? nice dark shade of red they look awesome, not much of a fam of those new tshirts though there crap!!

Reckon or at least hope that they were maybe just quickly mocked up for the trip?

[praha 11,240]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNUUPAepznk

[Roost It 1,434]

is it just me or does the red on those jumpers finally look right? nice dark shade of red they look awesome, not much of a fam of those new tshirts though there crap!!

ditto the jumper

[John Crow Batty 8,879]

I have uploaded a few of my photos from the Shanghai Showdown to Flickr, so rather than linking so they show here, I'm just providing a guest link to my Flickr account... follow this link:

My Flickr

The photos have been organised into groups:

"Jiangwan Stadium, Yangpu District, Shanghai"

"Training Saturday 16th October 2010"

"In the Rooms before the game"

"It's Showtime!!"

"After the game presentation and "mingle""

I also have to acknowledge Chris Connolly for his great help in helping me with tickets to the game and in allowing me into the rooms to photograph... over both days he made sure he could help me as much as possible and needed absolutely no prompting... a wonderful person! It is little wonder that there are so many quality people at the club now, with guys like Chris and Jimmy as their mentors/sources of inspiration. So if you happen to be reading this Chris, thank you so much for your invaluable assistance.

Great pics and thank you. Lyndon Dunn got to do something with the bum fluff under his nose. Either make it pencil like or get rid of it. Can you tell us more about the stadium. How does it shape up to AFL standards? To me it looks very long but perhaps not wide enough.

[hardtack 10,627]

Can you tell us more about the stadium. How does it shape up to AFL standards? To me it looks very long but perhaps not wide enough.

I heard a couple of team officials commenting on how big a ground it was. I got to walk around on it on the Saturday and overall the surface was very good; but this seems to be something that maybe they are good at over there... on the Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur leg of my flight home, I was seated next to an expat Australian who lives in KL who played in the Asia Cup on the Saturday (won by Dubai in a final against Singapore) and he was telling me that the ground they played on was built from scratch in just 6 weeks and that the surface was superb.

I commented to Scott West that I thought the surface wasn't too shabby and that it was certainly better than Etihad... to which he responded that even his back yard was better than Etihad.

The stadium itself was definitely not up to AFL standards, but it is a "heritage" building which I believe means it cannot be altered. It is said to seat 10,000 people, so I get the feeling (if that 10,000 figure is correct) that the crowd was not 7,000 as reported, because there is no way it was almost three quarters full... more like half-full I would think.

Edited October 20, 2010 by hardtack

[dazzledavey36 55,361]

anyone see the one of liam jurrah goin up for a hanger

[John Crow Batty 8,879]

I heard a couple of team officials commenting on how big a ground it was. I got to walk around on it on the Saturday and overall the surface was very good; but this seems to be something that maybe they are good at over there... on the Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur leg of my flight home, I was seated next to an expat Australian who lives in KL who played in the Asia Cup on the Saturday (won by Dubai in a final against Singapore) and he was telling me that the ground they played on was built from scratch in just 6 weeks and that the surface was superb.

I commented to Scott West that I thought the surface wasn't too shabby and that it was certainly better than Etihad... to which he responded that even his back yard was better than Etihad.

The stadium itself was definitely not up to AFL standards, but it is a "heritage" building which I believe means it cannot be altered. It is said to seat 10,000 people, so I get the feeling (if that 10,000 figure is correct) that the crowd was not 7,000 as reported, because there is no way it was almost three quarters full... more like half-full I would think.

Thanks for that. IMO the biggest problem for our game to establish itself overseas is the lack of suitable grounds. Theres nothing worse than our game being played on a soccer pitch, small cricket or baseball ground as in many exhibition games played in the past. From the footage I saw the game looked good. This is an opportunity for the the AFL. They should pull their finger out and exploit it if they want to get into China. As s a heritage site it would be obsolete for any of the more popular sports in China at the moment. From the pictures the stadium looks like a cross between the coliseum and Tianamen Square with all that Stalinist art deco architecture. Would be a great backdrop for our game.

[Dreamin' Demon 10]

The only overseas destinations that have ready made grounds to suit our dimensions are Commonwealth countries, where cricket is played. It doesn't matter the size of the cricket ground - the oval shape is always there.

After all, our game began on a cricket ground.

[Deemolition Man 0]

anyone see the one of liam jurrah goin up for a hanger

Yeah I liked that very much... Cheers for the pics was good to get a feel of what was happening. A bit more enjoyable than old pixelation town

[John Crow Batty 8,879]

The only overseas destinations that have ready made grounds to suit our dimensions are Commonwealth countries, where cricket is played. It doesn't matter the size of the cricket ground - the oval shape is always there.

After all, our game began on a cricket ground.

Cricket grounds overseas are all sorts of weird shapes and sizes and usually far smaller than Australian grounds. In particular the older ones. Oval ones are just another variation. The London Oval ground used to be ideal but a few years ago they reduced its size to make it just another small oval ground. But there would be quite a few that are suitable. The climate is another factor. Imagine trying to play our game in places like India, Sri Lanka, West Indies and parts of Pakistan with their oppressive climates. The most ideal time to play will also conflict with the local cricket season. A big turnoff to get the game going for the locals who would think it insane to play a punishing game like ours during the day. Could only play there at night. The big hurling grounds in Ireland would be ideal but as we've seen the Irish are not much interested unless we play that silly hybrid game on their terms.

At least in Shanghai the weather is OK for half the year and this ground suits. Besides the Greater Shanghai area has a population of around 18-20 million in an area smaller than Melbourne and its suburbs. A perfect place to start a grass roots competition if we could overcome the logistical and cultural factors and get enough Chinese interested in the game.

Edited October 20, 2010 by america de cali

[H_T 3,049]

Thanks for sharing the update & photos hardtack. How were the pies & VB's ? Hot & Cold ?

[WonnaJurah 5]

good to see Mike, i mean Max Walker still supports the dees

[hardtack 10,627]

Thanks for sharing the update & photos hardtack. How were the pies & VB's ? Hot & Cold ?

Haha... no HT, I didn't get to try either I'm afraid. In fact, I don't think I even saw a pie or a can of VB around the place, but did see a few people carting in cases of Pure Blonde. It was hard enough wielding a new 120-400mm lens without the added degree of difficulty that a skin-full would have thrown into the mix :-)

[TonyMelb 7]

good to see Mike, i mean Max Walker still supports the dees

Wonna. Tangles always has been supportive since he finished playing for the MFC. Was great for the current young players that former greats such as Max, The Ox and Gary Hardeman were involved.

A great post and thanks for the photos. Clearly a great time for all those lucky to have gone

[Eth 4]

Liking the photo of Dean De Niro.

[Hobbits's 17]

Liking the photo of Dean De Niro.

future captain & coach ?

[Red Sox 2]

It's been good to read the China diaries being posted at MFC website. They like to stop and pause for Grand Old Flag renditions quite often.

I thought this was the domain of drunken suburban post grand final celebrations and footy trips!

Good to see the passion is being displayed around the world.

[jayceebee31 761]

Thanks Hardtack and calabreseboy for sharing your spoils both photos and you tube.Also noticed Davey already showing of his Red- new balance tee,I presume .

Edited October 22, 2010 by jayceebee31