A long pre-season lies ahead for the GIANTS but on the other side of the world another team sharing the club's name has already chalked up its first win.

The Dongguan GIANTS, who compete in the Guangdong Australian Football League in China, kicked off their season in style with a seven-point win over the HuiZhou Hawks.

The 30-man squad plays a modified version of the sport once a fortnight in a season that will run from October to December.

The GIANTS have been strong advocates of AFL in China, with their Multicultural Round match against Geelong this season broadcast in Mandarin. The GIANTS are also the only AFL club with a Chinese social media account on Weibo.

Darren Flanigan, former operations manager for AFL China, helped to establish the competition during his two-year stint in Hong Kong.

"It was great to see the Dongguan GIANTS win their first match after finishing bottom of the table last season," Flanigan said.

"Most of the players were still learning the rules of the game last year so they've come along way in such a short period of time.

"AFL interest in China continues to grow and it's a huge market which deserves our attention."

The Dongguan GIANTS captain ??? (Leighton) was among a number of players who took part in the International Cup in August.

"Leighton has already kicked five goals this season and continues to help educate other players in the team," Flanigan said.

"Hopefully he can step up and use his experience from the International Cup to inspire others to learn the game."