Vietnam Swans

Stanno takes the Auskick boys for a kick as part of Fun Australia 2009

Willy, the Coach from the North, has written in with an update from Saturday’s Auskick session which is being run as part of Australia Education International’s Fun Australia 2009 campaign.

Here are a few photos of the all the action from the Fun Aussie Day.

MJ, Dan, Liam (Paddy’s little fella), and Stanno all came along to help out. Once again, the Vietnamese students were enthusiastic, keen to learn all about some different aspects of AFL and, above all else, get involved in having some fun.

Every Vietnam Swan that has ventured out has been super impressed with the student’s efforts. As Stanno commented whilst playing in the internal scratch match; “I backed off a little to give the young fella some room and then bang, he hit the after-burners and was gone!!”

AWESOME stuff…

To see some updated photos of Auskick at Fun Australia 2009, check out the Vietnam Swans Web Album.

Grand Final "pin up boy" and Swannies Captain, Monkey, writes the match report.

Swans Captain, Danny Monk, writes the match report for last weekend’s clash in Jakarta for the Kainey Cup against the Jakarta Bintangs. The “Monkey” fails to refer to himself in the match report – that says more about the selfless Captain’s modesty than his on field performance on the day.

Big stakes were on offer against Jakarta last weekend. If the Kainey Cup wasn’t enough to get the blood flowing, Big Drew’s Final send off (as a resident) had the select group of travelling Swannies pumped for the b-i-g occasion:

“You can’t trade in Experience”, was Drew’s message – and we had plenty of it: Rooster, Fabbo and Flyer had a fat book of tricks up forward and were only too willing to give the large crowd of Indonesian Auskickers a free footballing lesson.

Angry Dave and the Mr President of Saigon, Derrin, took young first gamer ‘Max’ and the rest of the backline under their collective wing and got angry together.

The midfielders often hidden in the Shadow of the Big Man, Drew, were keen to feed off his scraps for one last time. Heath’s first tour and first time away from the wife in about 5 years resembled a Pit Bull terrier just let off the chain and he wanted to eat some footy or anyone that stood in his way.

There were some terrific efforts in the first half. Class oozed from Smooth Louis and Boomer Van der Meer and Fabbo’s sticky fingers produced a quality contested grab which he professionally banged through the big sticks.

Rooster was in everything and as usual often left a trail of destruction in his wake. Flyer capitalized on this and swooped on a loose ball to give the big sticks a small fright while our (Lao) Elephant Import, Langas, had himself and his nose in absolutely everything that went near him.

Gus, the Spiritual Leader of the Club, was once again busting his well groomed 6 pack and constantly floated the idea of getting himself forward. Persistence will get the Birdman where he belongs soon, Gus.

Gerry, free from his American ‘Seponess’ was getting his hands on the ball at will on the wing and it was impossible to wipe the smile from Max’s face after being buried in the turf from a gang of Bintangs but then getting his own back. Angry Dave just simmered across half back eyeing that centre square.

Big Drew, the little bloke in the photo, moments before he left Saigon's No. 5 Bar last Thursday, bound for the airport and Australia.

The 2^nd half saw the rain come and the game slip away from the Swans. Heath when not wiping blood from his open wounds continued his fine form and was not ‘arguably’ the BOG, he simply was! Louis chipped in with a couple of awesome goals and Boomers Barrel in the wet had the Indonesian Auskickers reaching for their autograph books.

The effort by everyone involved could not be questioned and we all walk away from the game with that little bit more experience that cannot be traded in!

Thanks Drew for leading the way for so long and you’ve left some massive lime green boots to fill!

(Special thanks to Chris Batchelor (former Hanoian, now living in Jakarta) for lending a sneaker after an unfortunate blow out and our Indonesian Auskick graduates who added some much needed speed to our experienced team!)

The Vietnam Swans National President emails the Jakarta Bintangs hierarchy to thank the Club for hosting last weekend’s Kainey Cup in Jakarta.

Hi Tim, MJ and Michael

On behalf of the Vietnam Swans, I would like to thank the Jakarta Bintangs for hosting us on the weekend and for the hospitality extended. Please pass on our thanks to the rest of the Bintangs.

The Vietnam Swans had a great time and genuinely appreciated your efforts in ensuring that the weekend was so well organised. It was all good except for the fact that you retained the Kainey Cup.

Regardless of where Asian footy is in 5, 10 and 20 years from now, I think that people from our two clubs will look back at this weekend and say it was an important contribution to the growing story.

With the arrival of Air Asia on the HCMC – Jakarta route, hopefully we can really turn the Kainey Cup into something quite special.

DK, seriously awesome to see you again at the Kainey Cup which helps all the newcomers have a greater understanding and appreciation of what the Cup is all about.

Thanks again Bintangs and enjoy holding the Cup until next time we meet which, regrettably, will be when we take it back.

Regards, Phil

Phil Johns
National President
Vietnam Swans

Yesterday’s Jakarta Globe newspaper ran a story on the Kainey Cup entitled Jakarta Bintangs and Vietnam Swans pay tribute in Kainey Cup.

The article, by Paul Freeland, has been reproduced below:

As if having a trophy named after him was not enough, Dave Kainey also has his own catch phrase.

Kainey is credited as one of the driving forces behind creating the Jakarta Bintangs and Vietnam Swans, two of a growing number of Australian Rules football clubs around Asia. Those two clubs paid tribute to the man on Saturday when they contested the Kainey Cup in Cibubur.

“I wanted to use a successful model to found the Swans, so I used the Jakarta Bintangs” Kainey said. “[In Vietnam] they watched football on Friday nights on the TV. That was the club. Someone said I got football off the couch and into the paddock.”

Jakarta won the match 14.13 (97) to 4.8 (32) in slippery conditions at Buperta Park, though the event — in keeping with the ethos of the clubs — was as much about camaraderie as competition.

Vietnam was the first club outside of Indonesia to tour Jakarta this year, an indicator of the special relationship between the clubs. A team from Singapore was scheduled to visit in July but cancelled after the hotel bombings.

The match also marked the departure of Bintangs members Toby Linden, Michael Bourke and Marzio “Mazza” DaRe.

Kainey, a teacher by trade, also helped start the AusKick program which brings Australian Rules football to children throughout the country. More than 10,000 students have been through the Bintangs’ program, with 200 to 300 signed up in anticipation of a junior league.

“The way forward is for football clubs to spread the game among the local people and have sustainable programs. That is the way this game will grow,” Kainey said, adding clubs must also continue providing community service in the areas where they live.

Matt Jolly, coach and captain for the Bintangs, called the season a success despite the club not doing as well as it would have liked at the Asian AFL Championship in Malaysia. Jakarta finished the season with four trophies after victories in Bali, Balikpapan and Manila in addition to the Kainey Cup.

Jolly, who kicked five goals in the match, also hailed DaRe for his efforts.

“Mazza has been such a supporter, doing things behind the scenes for the club,” he said. “If this club didn’t have people like Mazza, we wouldn’t be here.”

For his part, DaRe said the club’s charitable work made his years in Jakarta worthwhile.

“We donated Rp 100 million [$10,500] to charities in Jakarta last year,” he said. “Being able to play in Jakarta and enjoy some contact with expats outside of work, all that plus the work that we do, makes it a very pleasurable experience.”

Archive | Copyright 2009 The Jakarta Globe

To read the original article, click here.

Last weekend, the Vietnam Swans made our first ever trip to Jakarta.

Prior to this match, the ledger read one victory each for the two times we have played previously.

The Jakarta Bintangs were convincing and retained the Kainey Cup 14.13 (97) to the Vietnam Swans’ 4.8 (32).

More to follow.

Jakarta Bintangs Vs Vietnam Swans, Jakarta, 31 October 2009

On Saturday (that’s tomorrow!), 31 October, 2009, the Vietnam Swans will play the Jakarta Bintangs for the Kainey Cup in Jakarta.

While the Jakarta Bintangs have travelled twice to Vietnam, this will be the Vietnam Swans inaugural tour to the archipelago.

The Swannies will take the opportunity to salute two fine Swannies, Drew Franklin (coach and player) and Patrick Stringer (player and umpire) who will soon leave Vietnam for Australia and China respectively.

The trip will also serve as a reunion with a number of former Swannies. Kris Van der Meer and Chris Batchelor, who both played for the Swannies at our first ever Asian Championships back in 2007 and now live in Jakarta, will wrap themselves in the red, white and black for the match this weekend. The indefatigable former Swans President, Dave Kainey, will fly in from Singapore as will the omnipresent Rooster.

When it comes to footy, both “special” and “cracker” are over-used adjectives. But this weekend will be both.

Melbourne Cup Calcutta, 2 November 2009

Meanwhile, hanging for some Melbourne Cup action? On Monday night in Saigon, all the action starts with the Saigon Australian Cricket Club’s Melbourne Cup Calcutta. It will commence on Monday night at Phatty’s. See the attached poster for full details.

In Hanoi, the place to be is Jaspas at Hanoi Towers, Level 4, 49 Hai Ba Trung Street.

When the HMAS DARWIN visited Saigon for the recent match against the Vietnam Swans, there Captain Coach, Catter, floated the idea of a Navy team playing in the 2010 Asian Champs. Vietnam Swans National President, Phil Johns, then forwarded the idea through to the presidents of the Asian footy Clubs for consideration.

Last week, the Vietnam Swans formally submitted our response to teh Asian Presidents. The email from the Swans National President has been reproduced below:

Last night, the Vietnam Swans formally discussed the idea of the Navy having a team at the Champs.

We thought the proposal was worth considering further for the following reasons:

While the navy doesn’t reside in Asia, it certainly spends a fair bit of time floating through Asia.

This year, it has toured for at least three matches in Asia (Vietnam, Singapore and Japan) (and the Army has played in Dili). Given touring is always hardest for teams in Asia, the Navy has done a fair job in this department! So in recent times, the Navy is already, effectively, an active club in Asia.

We weren’t sure how the presence of the Navy would detract from the good work being done in junior development anymore than the presence of other teams with expats (and on a personal note for the AFL, while it would be nice to have a billion Chinese playing footy, it’s probably not going to happen without the help of at least a few expats)

The HMAS DARWIN's Captain Coach, Catter

Countries are keen to host future matches at home against the Navy. Having the Navy play at the Champs would make them feel like an active part of the Asian footy community and therefore, when they do drop into Asian ports, they are probably going to be more likely to actively seek out games with the local team – which seems to be what we all want.

I’m not sure about what happened in Japan but both Singapore and Vietnam beat the navy when they played us recently. So, the navy is beatable. It should be possible to draw up some rules about eligibility which ensures they can’t pick a team from their potential pool of thousands that would smash anything in its path (and operational requirements and physical distances would automatically slash the size of the original pool)

The Navy can generate publicity back in Australia – which increases the potential level of interest of a Sammy Newman coming over which should increase the potential for sponsorship etc etc.

The Navy can generate publicity locally. In Vietnam, our footy match was mentioned in half a dozen local papers which doesn’t happen for other matches that we play (the exception being the Black Saturday match against the Geckos).

As part of the Navy’s charm offensive program, it does actively involve ambassadors and the hierarchy from the local government which gives us exposure to the big guns and it also generates local media attention. The Navy also does activities with underprivileged kids etc etc.

Potentially, the Navy can help out with logistics support to help the hosts of the Champs organise the event.

Now, the Vietnam Swans aren’t trying to do all the bidding on behalf of our poor, defenseless Australian Navy! Our background is that the two visits we have had from them in the last 18 months have been sensational (as it has with every other team that has visited Vietnam). They were a top bunch who spend a bit of time in Asia and just love playing footy. So, provided there is enough oval space for a growing number of teams, we thought that they would be very suitable. We didn’t see any negatives associated with their participation – as long as they weren’t pushing out an Asian based country.

In addition, there is the possibility that they can bring a number of other benefits to the table which we clubs are not able to do or aren’t able to do as well. And, thinking about what the Asian Champs might look like in 5,10, 20 years, the Navy’s support and influence could possibly be very important.

Recommendation

I would propose that China, as hosts of the 2010 Champs, invites the Navy to address the Presidents and then, we have a vote as to whether they should be included in the 2010 Asian Champs. Admitting a team is a big deal so perhaps a 2/3 majority if the proposal is to get up?

Currently, I have just conveyed the content of a conversation with Catter which, in a sense, has effectively made the Vietnam Swans/ me an unofficial spokesperson. This is unfair on Catter, the Navy personnel who would love to play footy, the Vietnam Swans and myself. Giving Catter the opportunity to address us would allow them to detail exactly what it is that they would be offering the Asian Champs.

Auskick, Fun Australia and the Swannies on the TV

Last Saturday, 24 October 2009, the Vietnam Swans took an Auskick clinic as part of the Fun Australia 2009 program organised by Australia Education International.

Last night on VCTV’s sports program, they ran a story on the day – just after discussing the latest at Manchester United, if you don’t mind!

Vietnam Swan, Mr Willy, the Auskick coach, says that the segment went for “at least 5 minutes – maybe even 6 or 7 minutes. And the footage of the kids doing the Auskick was amazing. I couldn’t believe it.”

The Vietnam Swans are now trying to track down the video of the segment.

Meanwhile, the online newspaper, Hoa Hoc Tro has run a story on the event. Click here to see some photos – some of which are reproduced below. Also, have a look at the Lonely Planet website for some other photos of the day.

Congratulations to Australia Education International and all the students who participated in the event. Well done to Vietnam Swans, Willy and Crazy Dan.

Photos, courtesy of Hoa Hoc Tro on line newspaper, of last Saturday's Fun Australia 2009

The Commanding Officer, Chris Smith tosses the coin prior to the match

Following the match between the Vietnam Swans and HMAS DARWIN on 29 September 2009, the ship’s Commanding Officer, Commander C.E. Smith CSM, RAN has written to the Vietnam Swans National President, Phil Johns, in a letter dated 2 October 2009, thanking the Vietnam Swans for our hospitality.

The letter is reproduced below:

Dear Phil

I am writing to thank you for the game of Australian Rules Football and the tremendous hospitality extended by the Vietnam Swans to HMAS DARWIN. During a deployment, sports provide a positive outlet for ship’s company and a way to engage the local community during port visits.

The letter from the Commanding Officer of the HMAS DARWIN, Chris Smith

Australian Rules Football encourages hard work, team work and courage which are the same virtues that the Royal Australian Navy seeks to develop in its sailors. This match contributed to the upholding of those qualities.

I wish you and all the members of the Swans the utmost of success for the future and I look forward to spreading the word back in Australia about how gracious a host the Swans are.

Yours aye

Chris

C.E. Smith
Commander, RAN
Commanding Officer
HMAS DARWIN

[Commander C.E. Smith then adds, in handwriting...]

Thanks again for the great hospitality and all the best to you and the team.

“Go the Swannies!”

The Vietnam Swans in Hanoi, led by Willy and Dan, teach some Aussie Rules for Australia Education International's "Fun Australia 2009"

Today in Hanoi, the Vietnam Swans teamed up with Australia Education International (AEI) to help celebrate Fun Australia 2009.

Leading the charge for the Swannies were Willy and “Crazy Dan”.

Willy has just filed the report below on a day that was an outstanding success.

G’day guys,

Just a brief one to let you know that (Crazy) Dan and I had an absolute ball at the Fun Aussie Day.

The 30 odd Vietnamese students all in Vietnam Swans / Aussie Embassy tops was amazing. It truly shows what we as a club can do to not only promote our great game of AFL, but, just as importantly, build up rapport with Vietnamese youth. They are a really awesome bunch of guys and super eager to learn more about our game. On top of this, as Dan commented, ‘Some of these guys can really play’.

I think as a club we need to seriously consider getting some of these young guys on board as we know they can potentially build up the club in Asia. If you think I’m pullin’ ya leg, ask Crazy Dan how good for a first hit out some of the guys were.

There was a professional photographer there so hopefully we will get some awesome shots and a TV camera crew interviewed the coach.

Next train’n session for Fun Australia 2009 is on November 7th. I will send out the email from the Aussie Embassy again, or check the Vietnam Swannies blog.

Have a great weekend.

Go you Swannies!!

Willy

Coming up on the Swannies website:

• Vietnam Swans receive letter from Commanding Officer of HMAS DARWIN thanking Swans for recent footy match
  
• Vietnam Swans email Asian Presidents arguing for inclusion of Navy at 2010 Asian Champs

The 2009 Fun Australia Group Photo from 24 November 2009 in Hanoi

Vietnam Swans National President, Phil “Fabbo” Johns, emailed this Swannies update (see below) to the party faithful last week.

Dear Swannies and Supporters

The AFL Grand Final Wrap

The 2009 AFL Grand Final went off with a bang all over Vietnam.

• In Hanoi, the Vietnam Swans Grand Final Party at JASPAS attracted a crowd of 150. JAFA, located in Ciputra, also reported strong numbers.
• In little ol’ Hue, Micky Francis’ Backpackers Hostel had 40 attend.
• Still to get numbers for Hoi An.
• In Nha Trang, 80 were reported at one pub.

• In Saigon, the Saigon Saints who have retired from active football duties, hosted their 11th, very impressive, Grand Final Brunch at the Sheraton. Just two years ago, the Saigon Saints had 300 attend. Now they have 400. Last year, the Vietnam Swans had 150 attend our inaugural Grand Final Party in Saigon. This year it increased by another 30 per cent to 200. So, in the last two years, the number attending an organised Grand Final Party in Saigon has actually doubled, increasing from 300 to 600 people. This fantastic growth now puts Saigon in a similar league to the likes of Singapore and Jakarta.

The Vietnam Swans 2010 AFL Grand Final Party in Saigon

These are impressive figures. Across Vietnam, volunteers are creating events around the AFL Grand Final – which is pulling in crowds. With a marketing spin, this natural energy and momentum created by an army of volunteers could be leveraged to promote “Australia” which, in turn, would indirectly help promote our respective Grand Final events.

In Saigon, the Australian Chamber of Commerce hosts the hugely successful Auscham Ball, coincidentally, on the AFL’s Preliminary Final weekend which is of course, the week before the Grand Final. These two events, the Auscham Ball and the Grand Final parties could become the unofficial bookends of an “Australia Week”. If other organisations with an Australian link ran their own promotions in that week; eg a wine shop flys in an Australian wine maker during “Australia Week” to promote their wines; a restaurant flys in an Australian Chef or just has a special promotion on Australian dishes; RMIT flys in an Australian guest lecturer who also gives a public lecture etc etc, all of them could “piggy back” the Australian momentum in that week… Through forward planning (eg don’t have the winemaker come out in August; have him come out in “Australia Week”), marketing expenditure should remain constant but the benefits could be multiplied. That would be great for those of us hosting Grand Final events and would be great for those interested in promoting their sales/PR of Australian products and services. Potentially, all very good…

Meanwhile, back to the Vietnam Swans Grand Final Parties, the Vietnam Swans, again, would like to thank our very generous sponsors who are listed on our Grand Final Party page.

HMAS DARWIN

Just three days after the AFL Grand Final, the Vietnam Swans were back playing footy in Saigon – this time, the Australian naval ship, HMAS DARWIN. Just as when we played the HMAS ANZAC a year earlier, it was a fantastic day and evening. As a bonus, we even managed our second win against the navy.

The match was played in great spirit and the teams/crews mixed exceptionally well afterwards. This mixing has become a signature of the Vietnam Swans with visiting teams. The following evening, half a dozen Vietnam Swans were invited to attend a cocktail party aboard the DARWIN. Drinks followed in the officers’ mess. We had a fantastic time – and judging by an email received from the DARWIN’s Arron “Catter” (who was our point of contact on the ship) a couple of days ago, so did they:

“It is ports like Saigon that make it all worthwhile. The game of footy was great but the highlight for me was when the two teams went out for the after match function. It is rare you get all ranks in the one area where everyone is having a genuinely great time. The Captain of the Ship had a ball. The cocktail party (the following night) was also great fun.”

In addition, the DARWIN left behind a spent shell, from one of their “big guns”, that has been engraved with, the “Phoenix Perpetual Trophy” (the phoenix is on the DARWIN’s crest). The Vietnam Swans will be the custodians of this trophy which will be played for every time the Navy visits Vietnam. The results of the first two matches have already been engraved on this trophy which is currently looking for a home where it can be displayed proudly. More to follow on this one.

For the Vietnam Swans, as a Club in its 6th year, developing a sense of history and tradition is extremely important – and this type of offering from the Navy (which is the master of tradition and symbolism) is absolute gold for us.

It’s a great reward for our players and supporters, current and past, who have so enthusiastically embraced the culture of always creating an event whenever a team visits. It’s a great culture and tradition that the Swannies have developed – and it is timely to recognise the massive contribution to our club culture made by some of the big names that have crafted and passed on the baton before us. The names include the likes of Micky Francis, Jarriod Dale, Dave Kainey, Daryl Taber, Scotty Stacey and a host of others.

Another thing about the Phoenix Trophy is that the Navy will now be actively seeking us out whenever they have a ship visiting Vietnam. That’s one more match and one more awwwwwwwwwwwwwesome event (that will be “awesome” spelt with 15 w’s).

Speeeecial thanks to RMIT University for giving us access to the footy field for the DARWIN match which would normally have been undergoing annual maintenance at that time.

Auskick in Hanoi

Spear headed by Willy in Hanoi, the Vietnam Swans have been running an Auskick program for more than a year at the Hanoi International School. The program is now attracting 20 students at each weekly session. In addition, next month, as part of the Australian Embassy’s Fun Australia campaign, three special Auskick days will be offered to students, aged 16-21, from 5 different schools in Hanoi.

Auscham, Big Day Out and the Swannies, Saigon

Auscham and the Vietnam Swans are currently in active discussion regarding a proposal to run an Auskick clinic and footy match as part of the Big Day Out festivities in Saigon on 30 January next year. Bring that on! Auscham’s BDO is a hugely successful event on Saigon’s social calendar attracting a massive crowd. To play in front of that crowd at RMIT will be ideal. Leverage… All good.

The Kainey Cup – call to arms

Dave Hadley bumps into Bruce McAvaney after the Navy Match in September.

On 31 October, we shall play for the Kainey Cup against the Jakarta Bintangs in Jakarta. This will be a “speeeeecial” match (speaking of “speeeecial”, see the photo to the side of Australian sports commentator, Bruce McAvaney (famous for his “speeecial” pronouncements) with Dave Hadley here in HCMC) for four important reasons:

The Kainey Cup is named in honour of Dave Kainey, now based in Singapore, who will be play fro the Swannies in that match

This will be the first time we have played Jakarta since we played the Craig Senger Tribute Match, in August, in honour of those who fell in the Jakarta bombings (Craig was also a Jakarta Bintang)

This will be Drew Franklin’s last match with the Vietnam Swans as a resident of Vietnam. Big Drew has been an outstanding coach and player since arriving in 2007. Also, off the field, at a critical time in the Club’s development, he secured two major cash sponsors, Linfox (still a sponsor) and Loscam (now replaced by Pest Free), for our new jumper. While players still buy their own jumper, we no longer need to rely on individuals to play the role of banker for the Club.

Kris Van der Meer, who played for the Swans in our first Asian Champs assault back in 2007 and now lives in Jakarta, will play for the Swannies in this match!

However, we still need more players for the trip so please contact Derrin, me or any of the other players for further details.

Dirt cheap – and direct flights from HCMC – are far more readily available than excuses… This will be the Swannies 25th not-to-be-missed event for 2009.

Stubby holder

The Vietnam Swans in Saigon are about to release a new stubby holder that is sponsored by Corsair Marine International (which builds 24ft, 28ft, 31ft and 37ft trimarans and 50ft catamarans in Saigon). The artwork has been finalised and a limited run is now in production (see attached artwork). The Vietnam Swans stubby holder is expected to make the ideal Christmas gift and drinking companion.

The Vietnam Swans Website

As always, for all the latest and freshest information on the Swannies, log onto www.vietnamswans.com.

Last month, we recorded 6,753 hits, our highest yet.

The Sign Off

Honk yer horn if you love the footy!

Former Captain Gus is lucky enough to have the looks to be a super model. In this photo, he wears the Vietnam Swans new training tops that have been sponsored by Crown Relocations

Thanks to the generous support of Crown Relocations, the Vietnam Swans now have training tops for our players as part of our membership package.

The tops carry our distinctive Aussie Ruler on the front who is about to kick the footy as well as the Swans and Crown Relocations logos.

On the back of the training top, we have put our other national sponsors’ logos.

Previously, the Vietnam Swans on the training track looked a bit like Brown’s Cows (which is also how we look on tour whenever our hapless organiser, regardless of whoever it is at the time, is trying to herd us onto the team bus). But now, with these smart tops, we can’t decide whether we look more like the bees’ knees or the duck’s nuts. Either way, it’s all good.

The Vietnam Swans thank Crown Relocations very much for their generous support.