Large sections of seating were empty and the game was a wet-weather scrap but Gillon McLachlan declared the AFL's second Chinese expedition a success after Port Adelaide's 40-point win over Gold Coast in Shanghai.
The Power on Saturday maintained their Shanghai supremacy, backing up last year's inaugural triumph with an 11.16 (82) to 6.6 (42) victory at Jiangwan Stadium.
Officials had been expecting a sellout crowd of about 11,000 and came close to hitting that number with an official attendance of 10,689 - slightly higher than last year.
But there was no hiding the empty blocks of seating directly in line with the television cameras broadcasting the match back to a skeptical Australian public.
Persistent showers throughout the day most likely contributed to the empty seats, with the temperature dropping from the high 30s earlier in the week to just 21 degrees.
McLachlan noted many spectators had flocked to hospitality tents and much of the crowd had been missed by the cameras.
"The game was sold out, it was raining and there's hospitality marquees behind the grandstands ... that's what happens," the AFL chief told reporters.
"People are critical but we're playing in Shanghai with 10,500 people ... this was a paddock 18 months ago.
"I really think today it feels different to last year in the sense that people you're talking to - in terms of business people, football fans, politicians - everyone feels a lot of momentum and a lot of energy around the game, whereas it did feel a bit unknown last year and a bit one-off.
"I thought today was pretty good."
The inexperienced Suns showed plenty of spirit to prevent a repeat of the one-sided affair that was last year's match in Shanghai.
But Stuart Dew's men struggled to make it count on the scoreboard, managing just two majors after quarter-time.
Port also had issues in front of goal with Sam Powell-Pepper and Jake Neade both missing shots from simple positions.
Despite that, McLachlan was pleased with the quality of the game.
"I thought it was a pretty good game of footy," he said.
"Everyone knows the injuries the Suns have got. All their three key forwards are out. But I thought they battled manfully and we saw some talent there, and it was a tight game of footy."
