WHILE there's going to be a lot of hoopla surrounding the AFL's China experiment over the next fortnight, arguably the most important thing to get right is the grass, and the League is adamant it's ready. 

Using experts in the field, affiliated with those responsible for some AFL surfaces, the League has worked for months to ensure the turf at Shanghai's Jiangwan Stadium is spot on. 

"It's ready to go, it hasn't been used for a while now," League operations executive Travis Auld told AFL.com.au. 

"We took ownership of the surface quite a number of months ago. 

"We've had two full-time local staff working on the grass for quite some time, by all reports it's as good any surface going around. 

"We're obviously quite pedantic about the surface and so we've invested a significant amount of time and money."   

The arena itself is actually 250 metres in length, way too long for the AFL.

The League has installed temporary stands at both ends of the venue.

"It's effectively starting from scratch, but that allows us to create an AFL atmosphere," Auld said.

Port Adelaide and Gold Coast will play for premiership points in Shanghai on Sunday, May 14, but the build-up between the two clubs has been soured by a spat over jumpers. 

Finally resolved this week, the Suns will wear their 'traditional' red and yellow jumper, and are expected to garner a fair bit of local support because their colours match with the Chinese national flag. 

But the AFL isn't fazed by the saga, Auld dismissing it as 'banter' that has at least helped generate a storyline going into the game.

"I'm confident that Port Adelaide have done an enormous amount of work in that market leading up to this game," he said.  

"The game is part of a much bigger strategy for Port Adelaide."