MELBOURNE, Australia -- The scene couldn’t have been further from Michigan’s famed Big House, a stadium regularly packed with 100,000-plus screaming Wolverines fans.

No, this was a windswept, suburban Australian rules football oval on the outer fringes of Melbourne.

Sandwiched between a busy highway and a construction site, the oval -- Heatherbrae Reserve, to be specific -- was the venue for the Michigan satellite camp, the first of its kind ever held in Australia.

The Wolverines coaches arrived in Melbourne after a similar camp in Samoa, breaking new ground in the hope of unearthing a diamond in the rough (and, of course, spreading the Michigan brand).

For some 130-plus amateur gridiron players, this Friday evening was as close as they would ever get to college football and the NFL. Some had flown in from different states and even New Zealand, such was their determination to be a part of it.

Australian hopefuls are all ears as @umichfootball coaches speak at the satellite training camp in Melbourne. pic.twitter.com/ivaXKLLLc4 — ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) June 3, 2016

Hopefuls arrived of all shapes and sizes -- men, women and juniors alike, some bringing their own pads and helmets, others arriving with nothing more than a sense of ambition and adventure.

A few looked the part in wearing NFL and college football apparel, but the amateur nature of the event was apparent in the myriad sports represented -- there were AFL shorts and woolen hats, NBA jerseys, NRL (National Rugby League) jumpers, and T-shirts and shorts more often seen on the street than on a football field.

This was a slice of America, but it was definitely still Melbourne -- Aussie-rules goalposts stood upright at each end of the oval, with a handful of oblivious local children kicking an AFL ball as the camp started.

On a bitterly cold night -- well, cold for Melburnians but positively mild for the Michigan coaching staff -- the collection of passionate players went through their paces under the watchful eye of six Michigan coaches as well as former Wolverines punter Blake O’Neill, who is now working for the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I still speak to the Michigan guys regularly and heard they were coming over, and I was going to be back home [in Melbourne] anyway, so I was definitely keen to come along,” O’Neill said.

“It’s so good to see so many people here getting involved.”

A handful of interested onlookers and inquisitive media members watched in driving rain as the players -- with numbers scrawled on thick yellow tape stretched across their arms -- tried to take in whatever the coaches barked at them.

One industrious spectator arrived in his sports-equipment van, setting up a stall in the hope of selling the odd American football. Sales weren’t strong, but the rusted-on gridiron fan said he couldn’t miss the opportunity to attend such an important occasion.

Another observer stood out from the rest thanks to the Michigan-branded cap proudly perched on his head.

Chicago native and Michigan graduate Alex Prosperi, on holiday in Australia, had flown into Melbourne the previous night and was told about the camp from friends back home.

He reached out to tight ends/assistant special-teams coach Jay Harbaugh -- son of Michigan head coach Jim -- via Twitter, wanting to make sure the camp was open to the public. The lifelong Wolverines fan then sat on a train for more than an hour and a half and walked to the wrong oval before finally getting a unique taste of the team he’d supported so passionately for so long.

“Wherever you go, go blue,” Prosperi said. “I can’t believe I’m on the other side of the world and watching a Michigan camp.”

As far as the players went, it’s unlikely any will be seriously looked at to join the Michigan program.

Some showcased impressive physical gifts and skills. Most didn’t. But their intensity remained strong -- they trained for three full hours: sprinting, squatting, jumping, throwing, catching and completing one-on-one drills. They also slipped, dropped catches and missed tackles.

But that wasn’t an issue, according to Michigan linebackers and special-teams coach Chris Partridge.

“It was an unbelievable, unique experience,” Patridge said. “To come halfway across the world and share what we think is the greatest game in the world was really special. To see so many here have so much pride and passion for it was incredible.

“I hope we can come out here every year. It’s an amazing opportunity, and it’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Sam Weller, president of Gridiron Victoria, who helped host the event, said it was an important stepping stone in cultivating the sport in Australia.

“The sport has already come so far in the past few years, and something like this is really huge,” Weller said. “There’s so much passion on show here -- the players and the coaches, men and women ... [and] for the Michigan guys to see people on the other side of the world with so much passion who love their sport, it is just fantastic.”

As rain began to fall and later intensified, the night finished with exhausted but exhilarated players huddled around the Michigan coaches, who all expressed a genuine appreciation of the effort and attitude on display. As the group prepared to disperse, they made one last effort, shouting in unison a famous Harbaugh-ism: “Who’s got it better than us?”