St Kilda CEO Matt Finnis says he wants a strong presence of Saints fans in China, when they battle Port Adelaide there next season.
It was announced today St Kilda will become the first Victorian side to play for premiership points in China, taking over from Gold Coast as the Power’s opponent in the fixture.
Finnis has explained what the Saints fans get out of the international match, hoping they can make the trip.
SAINTS OFF TO CHINA TO FACE POWER IN 2019
“We want to make sure there is a strong red, white and black presence in the stadium at Shanghai to make some more noise than what the Power supporters will do,” Finnis told SEN’s Whateley.
“We think for our fans, they will still get to see 11 home games in Melbourne through the way in which we structure their membership, we have got a good travelling audience, a good travelling fan base.
“They’ve been across the ditch, they’ve been to all states in Australia and we think it is a great chance for them to come on this journey and experience footy in a new part of the world, which is an increasingly important region of the world for Australia.”
Saints legend Nick Dal Santo thinks it is a great decision for the club, telling SEN Breakfast he believes it will bring strong commercial benefits.
Listen to Matt Finnis' chat with Gerard Whateley on SEN's Whateley in the player below