Archive for April, 2008
More jumper designs
Posted by Vietnam Swans on April 30, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
New Swans jumpers – the latest!
Posted by Vietnam Swans on April 28, 2008
have listened to the feedback from the crowd in the outer. We told them to harden the duck up – and they did. The Swan is graceful but evil; dignified but daring. And, if you look closely, the shape of the neck resembles the shape of Vietnam.
She’s a bewdy, mate.
Have a look at versions 6 a, b and c – and then post a comment voting for your personal favourite. Any last minute suggestions? We need to write “Viet Nam” on the back and we need a space on the front for a sponsor.
For a closer look, have a look at the in pdf detail.
Posted in Asian Footy | 5 Comments »
Ms Triumph trumps Swans’ Blog
Posted by Vietnam Swans on April 27, 2008
Last week, the Swans Blog had its 30,000th hit (today it’s rocketing along on 31,604). This is an unprecedented number for the Swans Blog.
Taking advantage of the bragging rights associated with such lofty heights, the Swans Blog was talking to a friend who works for Triumph (her place of employment is of relevance to this story as we share the same club/corporate colours of red and white).
Ms Triumph started her personal blog 5 months prior to the Swans’ – and has had 110,000 more hits than us! Further, the only people who can see her blog must have an exclusive invitation! The Swans Blog by contrast will let anyone, anywhere. any time log on to our site. Sadly, we have just 20 per cent of her number of hits.
Speaking of hits, while researching this story, the Swans Blog discovered Triumph’s “My Chopsticks Bra” (see side photo). The My Chopsticks Bra was unveiled in Japan on 7 November. It features a pair of (nice) cups that resemble bowls of rice and miso soup and a pair of collapsible chop sticks that tuck into either side.
As you may be aware, Japanese consumers are becoming more aware of the negative impact that disposable chopsticks have on the environment. While it is becoming increasingly trendy for people to reduce waste by carrying around their own reusable chopsticks, Japanese consumers still go through an estimated (90,000 tons) of disposable chopsticks each year. This amounts to 200 pairs per person and is an unheard of statistic.
According to the highly respected , Triumph lingerie model, Yuko Ishida, who ordinarily carries around a pair of her own chopsticks, says she hopes people will think of the environment when they see this bra, adding that “the chopsticks on the sides help add a little extra volume to your bust.”
The My Chpsticks Bra sounds like a beauty.
Posted in Unheard of | 1 Comment »
Hanoi Vs Saigon – Photos
Posted by Vietnam Swans on April 27, 2008
Last weekend, 19 April 2008, was the match between the Hanoi Swans and Saigon Saints. It was played in Nha Trang which was a first for AFL football in Vietnam.
History went on to record that the strong finishing Saigon went on to record a victory. Pago, President of the Saigon Rugby Club and President of the Saigon Saints in an earlier era quickly – and helpfully – pointed out that Saigon remains undefeated to the northerners.
The photos above have been kindly supplied by Big Joe and Little Lek. Click on the photos to enlarge.
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Anzac Day Dawn Service in HCMC
Posted by Vietnam Swans on April 24, 2008
The Australian and New Zealand Consulates will jointly host an Anzac Day service at 7:00am on Friday 25 April 2008, on the 8th floor of the Majestic Hotel, 1 Dong Khoi, District 1, HCMC.
Australian citizens wishing to attend are asked to register via email to: . Those attending may be required to present their passport or other photo identification on the day.
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Anzac Day in Vietnam
Posted by Vietnam Swans on April 23, 2008
25 April 2008 marks the 93rd anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli.
In Hanoi, the Australian Embassy (you will need to produce photo ID to be admitted) will hold the traditional Dawn Service. It will kick off at 4.30am with a Gunfire Breakfast of rum and coffee. The actual service will commence at 5am and will be followed by a complimentary breakfast 9but no more rum, sorry).
At 7am people will start to think about the day’s work ahead of them while others will pile onto the bus for a day’s golf at Chi Linh Golf Course.
Meanwhile, back at the Embassy, a live telecast of the Anzac Ceremony at Gallipoli will start at 10am. 11.30am there will be pies and sausage rolls followed by the Collingwood Vs Essendon match at the MCG. At 5 pm, the Monthly Matildas drinks bash begins and dinner will be served by Al Frescos at 6pm.
In HCMC, people can leave in the wee hours (eg 3am) for the Dawn Service at Long Tan. To attend this service you need to go with an organised tour. Contact the Australian Consulate for details.
The Saigon Rugby Football Club will be having a BBQ & Two-Up on the rooftop at Pepperonis (111Bui Vien Street, D1). Please book by Wednesday 23 April… oh, only 29 minutes left to book.
Finally, the Jakarta Bintangs who played the Lao Elephants (and won) last weekend, move on to Thailand. They will play the Thailand Tigers this weekend for the annual Anzac Day match.
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The 9th Annual Asian Championships…
Posted by Vietnam Swans on April 22, 2008
The 9th Annual Asian Australian Football Championships is approaching – and the Vietnam Swans have just received an official invitation from hosts, the Singapore Wombats. It will be held on 6 September 2008 at the Singapore Polo Club. According to the blurb, the Polo Club is located in the rain forest belt of Singapore and it’s facilities and playing surfaces are “unsurpassed” in Singapore. Last year, the Polo Club hosted the 2007 Asian Gaelic Games which featured over 600 competitors on 3 fields.
With these facilities, the Singapore Wombats hope to involve even more teams than last year’s ten teams. The game format is likely to be:
- 4-5 preliminary matches to determine which two teams will play off in the Grand Final
- 14-16 players per match with a restricted number on the bench
- 12-15 minute halves for each preliminary match
- Grand Final to be 14-16 per side playing 2×20 minute halves
The proposed schedule is:
Friday 5 August 2008
- Day: Asian Championships Golf Day
- Evening: Asian Championships Opening
Saturday 6 September
- Day: Asian AFL Championships
- Evening: Asian Championships Sportsman & Awards Night
Sunday 7 September
- Asian Champs Brunch and Live AFL Football Finals
For full details click on the
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Big Bad Barry’s global audience
Posted by Vietnam Swans on April 21, 2008
You may not have heard that Barry Hall who plays with the Sydney Swans – not the Vietnam Swans despite the similar jumpers – has become famous around the world. He unleashed a fairly decent left hook on an unsuspecting opponent and teh TV cameras beamed the images around the world.
has posted an article with excerpts from papers in Denmark and the United States. Click on the link to read the posting. So here’s the choice: do something outrageous and get global exposure. Just play footy and get minimal exposure. You decide.
For those who would like to see again, click on the You Tube link.
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Saigon triumphs over north
Posted by Vietnam Swans on April 20, 2008
Last Saturday, the Saigon Saints took on the Hanoi Swans in Nha Trang. This was the first time these two teams have met outside Saigon and it is hoped that the Nha Trang fixture will become a regular on the Vietnam AFL calendar.
The match was played on a soccer pitch and therefore, given the size constraints of the ground, the rules were modified so that goals could only be scored from within the 30m line (to stop players bombing goals from the centre) and there were no points.
The teams ran onto the ground with 9 players each. By 3 Quarter time, the scores were 6 goals to Hanoi and 8 goals to Saigon. The stage was set for a big last quarter.
Alas, with three of the Swans stars effectively out of action (Potsy with a back, Willy with a hamstring and Pat suffering from heat exhaustion) and the return of Drew (after suffering a cut to the lip in the 2nd Quarter which required 5 stitches), the Saints kicked away adding another 7 unanswered goals. So the final score was Hanoi 6 goals and 15 goals to the Sainters.
In the rugby match that followed, the Saigon Geckoes easily accounted for the Nha Trang Sharks.
Absolutely top weekend and a special thanks to Symmo who shouldered most of the organisational responsibility, Jess for the Louisianne and Pago and the rugby clubs for allowing us to combine codes on the day.
More photos to follow.
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
New sample designs for Swans jumpers
Posted by Vietnam Swans on April 16, 2008
Leaving no stone unturned, the Vietnam Swans have enlisted the support of to design a new footy jumper (see below or attached for greater resolution).
The brief was to build upon what others before had suggested and to:
- Steer clear of obvious red & white colouring (clashes with Japan’s and Singapore’s colours)
- Give it a “Vietnam” feel so that it is recognized as such in Australia
- Give it an Australian feel so that it is recognized as such in Vietnam
- Recognise the Vietnam Swans past (the Saigon Saints had red white and black; the Hanoi Swans red & white and the Hanoi Hawks brown and gold)
The Swans Blog thinks has come up with some really interesting designs to challenge us with (although we’re with Chopper Reid re the Swan on the front; we need to “harden the duck up”).
Start talking quickly about our perfect jumper. Post a comment below so everyone can see it. We need new jumpers before the 31 May against the Singapore Wombats so time is of the essence.
To see the sample designs in greater resolution, click on
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
Tipstars – Round 4 Wrap – Tony or Paul?
Posted by Vietnam Swans on April 15, 2008
Holly Hell – what a round we witnessed on the weekend. Some big efforts from the guns up forward. Fevolution (7 goals) , Bradshaw (5 goals) and Richo (4 goals and match winner) – and an absolute brain fade from Big Bad Barry Hall – that without doubt has been blown out of proportion. Although Staker still thinks he was hit by a herd of Elephants! Some are saying it is the worst hit of all time? Anyone heard of Neville Bruns – perhaps someone should ask him?
To the tips – the standout this week was “The Bloke” – the only tipstar to pick 7 which moves him 2 points clear at the top of the leader board, he was one of only a handful to pick the Tigers to beat Freo- Danny Armstrong (Richmond supporter) of CBA fame is 0-2 when the Tigers have won this year. But Danny was the only tipstar to correctly select the margin of 30 points for Friday nights match.
There was plenty of movement throughout the leader board. Dunstall and Lockett may have been 2 of the best goal kickers of all time – but as tipstars, “Jason Dunstall walks on water” and “Lockett1300″ could put more time into researching the game instead of coming up with creative names. They are in the bottom seven with a few other big names – “Andy Wall, Hawksfan, John Tatnell, Damo and the Vietnam Swans”
So the ladder is starting to open a little. A few suprises last week has meant than tipping is getting a little harder – how long will it take for Port to win a match? How did the Vietnam Swan tipstar know that Barry Hall would get 8 weeks and how will it affect Sydney? The Tigers are they the real deal or a 1 week wonder?
Almost forgot to mention – celebrity tipstar Tony Morwood continues to impress holding down 2nd position again this week. The Tipstar was able to find an old Scanlons footy card of the champ, or so I thought. Apparently on the photo shoot Tony was unable to tame that classic 80’s mullet and asked his brother to stand in.
Happy tipping for round 5 – Vietnam Swans Tipstar
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Farewell to Sam
Posted by Vietnam Swans on April 12, 2008
Next weekend, Hanoi will play Saigon in Nha Trang. It will also be Sam Grigg’s last appearance for the Swans as a resident of Vietnam.
Sam, a gun midfielder, played in the Swans first ever appearance at the Asian Champs last year. He was also the Swans first ever player to be asked by the field umpire to spend some time in the sin bin. Hi sin was trying to remove an opponent’s hat during the match. The footy oval is a place for real men. No place for people who need to wear hats to keep the sun out of their eyes argued Sam.
Next week’s match will start at approximately 12 noon. The oval has been booked between 11am and 2pm for the AFL match and a rugby match.
Posted in Farewell | Leave a Comment »