Chen Shaoliang (right) in his Team China guernsey, alongside Port Adelaide footballer Jackson Trengove (middle), during a visit to South Australia in 2014. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Three months later, Chen was on a plane to Melbourne, Australia – his first ever overseas trip – to show his worth at the 2012 draft camp. He and nine other international prospects competed alongside Australian youths who'd trained their whole childhoods for that moment. Chen had been training for 10 days.

"Because I had joined the training camp, I knew how to handball and kick and what the game rules were … (but) I did a lot of mistakes," Chen laughs.

"First I thought there might be too much body contact; I thought I would not be good at the game. But after a few games, I really enjoyed the body contact and the big ground and the teamwork."

The fire had been lit.

Needless to say, Chen – or "jumping" Chen as he was about to be known – wasn't recruited that year, but returned home with a burning desire to play in the AFL.

A desire which often meant he'd take a three-hour train ride from his home in Chaozhou to Guangzhou, where he'd helped form the Guangzhou Scorpions in the Port Adelaide-sponsored Southern China AFL competition.

A desire which saw him invited to Melbourne again in 2013 for a four-week stint playing in local Australian leagues.

And a desire which led to him captaining China's very own national Australian rules team, at the 2014 International AFL Cup.

All the while, Port Adelaide was watching. And so too, were Chen's countrymen.

As his teammate and Scorpions vice president Zhang Hao attests, "footy" has captured China's attention.

"This sport is not easy to play compared to others – it's a very strong, very ‘man' sport," Zhang says. "Not like soccer – they stay (lying) on the ground a long time, but in footy you need to step up again and support your teammates.

"This is one reason why I love this (sport)."

Meanwhile, Chen's love for the sport is facing its first real test.

Less than a fortnight after arriving at Port Adelaide's base in South Australia, during just his second training session and before he had even played a game, Chen tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee – an injury that has put him on the sidelines for twelve months.

"I felt hurt, but I thought it was not so severe," Chen recalls. "Later after a scan, I knew that feeling was wrong and I had to have surgery.

"I felt so sorry about (losing) that opportunity, but I kept strong, always keep strong."

With a two-year contract, the clock is ticking on Chen's dream. He still hopes to play for Port Adelaide's reserves team, the "Magpies" in the SANFL, and even the Port Adelaide "Power" in the big league: the AFL.

"I'm trying to train hard and learn more about the game," Chen says.

"I will stay in Port Adelaide and play next year.

"If I play well, hopefully I'm good enough to go into the higher levels."

If not, Chen still sees a future in Australian Rules – and a future for the sport, in China. He says he will return home to promote the game and hopefully work for the AFL, or Port Adelaide, as a full-time ambassador.

But Chen's old friends don't want to see him back, just yet.

"Chen is extremely eager to play the game," Zhang says.

"All of us hope to see him on the ground."