JAMES Sicily has never played in the AFL China Cup, but there is an intercepting defender for the Xiamen Foxes who they liken to the Hawthorn co-captain in that part of the world. 

Six teams from across the People's Republic of China feature in the competition, but the team based in the province of Fujian train twice a week, every week, all year. They love footy in Xiamen. 

AFL is growing steadily in China, but flourishing in Melbourne's Chinese community to the point where this Saturday there will be a Mandarin broadcast of the game between Hawthorn and Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium on Kayo Sports and Fox Footy.

The game has been promoted on Chinese social media platforms RedNote (Xiaohongshu) and WeChat, as part of the AFL's Cultural Heritage Series.

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Hawthorn has set the standard for social media use in recent years, but this year it established a presence on RedNote to boost its brand visibility and engagement in the Chinese Community. The Hawks heartland has a strong presence in Monash, Whitehorse and Manningham, where over 428,000 Chinese Australians reside.

Connor Downie played two games for the Hawks across two seasons on the list after being selected out of the club's Next Generation Academy at the end of 2020.

The 23-year-old's mum was born in China and moved to Australia when she was 24, while his dad grew up in Traralgon. He was introduced to football in kindergarten and grew up playing in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. 

Downie's Chinese heritage has always been important to him, but it wasn't until he saw Lin Jong playing for the Western Bulldogs that he realised that it was possible to play AFL. 

Adelaide recruit Callum Ah Chee and Fremantle utility Bailey Banfield are two other current AFL players with Chinese descent, while in AFLW Sophie Li became the first ever premiership player in either competition, Joanna Lin played for Collingwood and Carlton star Darcy Vescio has an Italian and Chinese background.

Downie is now playing for Port Melbourne in the VFL and on weekends working for Phillips Coaching during the week, where he is helping grow the game in different areas of Victoria and in China.

"It is definitely growing (in the Chinese community). I remember when I was playing junior footy, I was probably one of the only Chinese kids playing footy. But now that I'm coaching across the state, I'm seeing a lot more people with a Chinese background, or not even just Chinese, Asian background participating, which is cool. So it definitely is growing," Downie told AFL.com.au. 

"I think it's probably an important market for the AFL to get into because I think especially in the eastern suburbs where I grew up around Whitehorse and Manningham, I think around a third of the population of young people is of Asian descent. So in terms of the grassroots, it's something that I think is important, and it's definitely something that I've seen grow from my time playing when I was a kid to now that I'm coaching."

Downie travelled to China last year to visit family, explore the country and promote AFL during the AFL China Cup while he was there through the League's International Development Manager Simon Highfield. He also pulled the boots on.

"I went to China last year for a couple of purposes, one was to visit some family, because I got some family over there and do a bit of travel myself, but they also had the China Cup on. It's basically a bit of a tournament that they hold every year, where they play a round robin type day," he said.

"I got invited to play and had a good time there. I did a few coaching clinics over there just trying to promote the game through Phillips Coaching. One of them was with Xiamen Foxes, who are a team of basically all uni students aged probably between 19 and mid-20s. They all train like twice a week for literally 52 weeks of the year and just love it. They just loved the game. One of them was wearing a Hawks guernsey and taking all these intercept marks getting called Sicily. It was good, it was cool to see."

Downie progressed through Hawthorn's Next Generation Academy and played for the Eastern Ranges and Vic Metro before being selected at pick No.35 in the 2020 draft. Jong was his inspiration, now he loves seeing young Essendon defender of Vietnamese descent Jayden Nguyen carrying the baton for footballers with Asian descent. 

"It's pretty cool. When I was growing up, seeing someone like Lin Jong play footy was really inspiring. At the time when I got drafted, I was really keen on following his footsteps, and I still am, for sure, in terms of playing at the highest level," he said.

"But seeing someone else come through like Jayden has been pretty cool. I'm excited to see hopefully a lot more Asian players playing footy in the AFL in the next few years. I definitely think there will be."

Downie spent his first three years out of the AFL system playing for North Melbourne's VFL side, but after an interrupted 2025 campaign, he is thriving at Port Melbourne after an off-season move and hasn't given up on making it back. 

"I definitely am (aiming to get back in the AFL system). I think it's probably something that when I first got to delisted from Hawthorn, I was really adamant on wanting to get back in the AFL … that's my only thing," he said.

"But I think a few years out of the system playing at North Melbourne and I just really wanted to enjoy my footy again. I think sometimes you can really focus on all you want to do is get back in the League, but sometimes that probably takes away from the performance. So for me, the goal is still there, but there's other things in my life that I'm passionate about, and if I'm playing good footy and the opportunity arises and I deserve it, then I'll definitely want to jump back in, but at the same time, I just want to play good footy and just give myself the best chance by just enjoying it."

Watch the Hawthorn v Port Adelaide match with Mandarin commentary/graphics via the Kayo Sports app/website or Channel 503 on Foxtel, available from 4.15PM AEST on Saturday.

You can also access the stream through the AFL app or website by navigating to the Matches tab, selecting the Hawthorn v Port Adelaide match centre, and tapping the Listen button, where you can find the Kayo Sports Mandarin Commentary option.