Tomorrow the boys in Saigon will set off to Vung Tau for the 2013 ANZAC Boot Camp.

The ANZAC Boot Camp, which kicked off last year for the first time, announces that the season proper has well and truly commenced and the count down is on for the ANZAC Friendship Match which will be held on 27 April 2013 and played against the Jakarta Bintangs.

Meanwhile, Hanoi will also run it’s first Boot Camp.

Hanoi President, Dan Hopkins reports that,

“On Saturday, we will have the inaugural Hanoi ANZAC Boot Camp to officially get together to kick off the season. The day will kick off at 11am at the Oz embassy where we will have a range of fitness activities and a game of netball Vs the Oi’s. We will leave the embassy and do a small activity/obstacle course around Hanoi and will finish up at one of our many sponsors, Jaspas, for a beer or two to rehydrate at approx 3.30pm.

“This has been arranged to get everybody together of all fitness levels for a fun afternoon and to introduce the new guys to the Swannie culture.”

For a reminder of what the ANZAC Friendship Weekend is all about, have a look at last year’s documentary which contains a number of interviews with key people, including veterans.

On 18 February, 2013, the Bairnsdale Advertiser (country Victoria) published an article by Jan Burrows titled, .

The article is reproduced below.

For those readers who read with interest the story last year of the ANZAC Friendship Aussie Rules Footy Match between Vietnam and China in which a former Bairnsdale resident played, then the latest news is that there has been a significant happening in Asia with the birth of the East Asian Australian Football League (EAAFL).

The concept has been raised a number of times over the years and recently a formal proposal was put together.

A week ago [26 January], the Cambodian Eagles hosted a match against the Vietnam Swans in Phnom Penh in the inaugural round of the EAAFL, the Eagles coming out convincing victors,

This is a pilot year for the league, a gathering of database and finding the best way to establish a competition, taking in the peculiarities and issues of playing Aussie Rules in Asia. Travelling expenses are a major factor, especially for those clubs in far flung corners such as East Timor, Bali, Beijing and Japan.

It is hoped this initial step will develop into a robust Asian League.

In the meantime, the big ANZAC Weekend match is on schedule, this year between the Vietnam Swans and Jakarta Bintangs to be held at Vung Tau [on Saturday, 27 April, 2013].

This has been scheduled as  the third match of the EAAFL for season 2013 involving the Swannies, the second will be against Malaysia late March.

Ninety people have already indicated they will travel to Vung Tau [from Australia] for what has become an important ANZAC Day occasion.

Vung Tau is of significant importance for Viet Vets being the former base of the Australian army during the Vietnam War and where the Australian forces often spent their rest and recreation leave.

President of the Vietnam Swans Phil Johns has been instrumental in setting up the Asian League and on a recent trip to Australia had meetings with the AFL Chairman, the Sydney Swans’ CEO and the president of the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia.

The Swannies raise funds for Swim Vietnam, a worthy cause to teach Vietnamese children to swim and help to lower the high incidence of young children drowning.

Related items of interest

• Click here for more articles in the media about the Vietnam Swans.
• Click here for more information about the 2013 ANZAC Friendship Match
• for the EAAFL’s official website (Malaysia beat Thailand last weekend in KL).

Saigon President, Nick Shiells, who was elected President for the balance of 2012 as well as 2013 (following the early departure of Sam Conroy who relocated to the USA), outlines the positions up for grabs at the Saigon Annual General Meeting to be held at the Spotted Cow, on Thursday, 28 February, 2013.

Saigon President
Nick Shiells is locked in for 2013 as voted last year.

Treasury
Ensuring that the club finances are in order and this task will become more onerous with more tours in 2013 and the imminent incorporation of the Club.

Secretary
Attending all committee meetings and taking the minutes of the meetings.  The secretary has a responsibility to provide input on various topics that arise at the meetings.

Committee Member – Events
Responsible for events including ANZAC Friendship Weekend, Grand Final Party, Christmas Party, Best & Fairest, Sponsors Dinner etc.  This is a massive task and will be ably supported with the formation of sub committees for these big name events.  However we need someone to step up to the plate and take on the role of events manager.

Committee Member – Sponsorship
Securing new sponsors, retaining existing sponsors and meeting with sponsors to ensure that they are leveraging the Swannies and both parties are getting a “Nguyen-Nguyen” (“win-win”) out of the relationship.

Committee Member – Merchandise
Ensuring that respective kits/merch are ordered and distributed to both player and social members, ensuring that events are supplied with enough merchandise for sale and ensuring that our club owned inventory is accounted for. Recommended this person has a car and driver.

Committee Member – Logistics
Making sure that grounds are booked, water and other items are at the ready for consumption during training and that there are footballs to kick.  This is a crucial role and recommended that this person has a car and driver.

Committee Member – Player recruitment
In 2013, we are losing 4 of our top 5 in the Best and Fairest count from 2012.  Therefore this new position is vital and simple: find talented players and get them involved in the Club.  Make all new players feel welcome and ensure that they know that they have just joined the best club in the world.

Committee Member – Marketing/Graphic Design
Designing banners, posters, trophies, shirts and other items that require graphic design skill. Being a small club, looking good is very important.

Committee Member – Tours (In bound/Out bound)
This role requires one with the ability to ‘herd cats’.  Essentially it is sending out emails to determine who is attending events, booking hotels, booking buses, researching flights, communicating with the opposition team to organise things.  Ensuring that we retain our reputation for being great hosts and awesome travellers.

Committee Members
Potentially two additional resources on a committee level that can be allocated to assist in any role or sub for a committee member in a time of absence. To be discussed at the AGM. Or just to prevent us getting too thin on the big events such as Grand Final, etc.

Coach
To be announced on Thursday.

Captain
To be announced on Thursday.

Coaching Panel
Responsible for player issues, selection issues and determining a leadership group of 6 players. Coaching Panel is a three member group that comprises Saigon Pres, Coach  and Captain.

Leadership Group
To be announced at a later date by the coaching panel with discussion and the role of the leadership group will be to set an example of fitness and the effort and manner in which we conduct ourselves on and of the field.

The first job of any elected committee member is to select a non-committee member to act as their back up/supporting role in the event that they leave the country during the year or for a short period where they are out of action.

This is not a spectator event. If you have nominations please reply to me () and I will contact those nominated to attend. However, following the committee meeting, it would be awesome for us to celebrate at the Spotted Cow’s bar downstairs if anyone is not keen for a position but keen for a few beers.

You are free to nominate yourself or nominate anyone else for as many positions as you like.  Time to nominate closes at 1pm on Thursday, 28 Feb – 6 hours before the AGM.

If you are unable to attend please nominate to me your proxy.

Look forward to seeing you all there. Your Club needs you!

Swannies Mark Stennett and Nick Shiells took footy to the students of RMIT University in Saigon on Thursday. Mark tells us more below.

The Vietnam Swans were very pleased to have been asked to set up a stall at yesterday’s “Clubs’ Day” at RMIT University in Saigon.

Although the Vietnam Swans are not an official RMIT Club, it showed the fantastic relationship we have with RMIT whereby they wanted us there to present our great game to the students.

We were more than happy to attend.

Myself and Saigon President (who is currently acting National President), Nick Shields, attended on behalf of the Swans with the aim of showcasing what the Swans have to offer and hopefully sign up a few local recruits.

Whilst knowledge of our great game was not strong, interest was high as we kicked the Sherrin around so the students could showcase their form… and there was definitely some encouraging talent out there!

With a new list of recruits we hope to see some fresh faces at training in the coming weeks.

On Thursday 21 February 2013, the Herald Sun published a highly inaccurate article by Aaron Langmaid titled,

The article referred to Round 1 of the South China Australian Football League which was played in Macau on Australia Day, 26 January.

Jon Hopper, President of the , the Club that organised the event, provides a detailed response below explaining exactly what happened on the day and the other positive initiatives undertaken by the competing clubs in their local communities.

The yesterday reproduced the Scorpions’ response in the interests of clearing up these inaccuracies that unfairly undermine the efforts of our volunteer clubs around the Asian region.

In a gesture of support, the Vietnam Swans and a number of other Asian footy clubs have agreed to reproduce the Scorpions’ open letter on our respective websites. See below.

[Update: last night, the journalist advised that he "may revisit (the article) for an online update and clarification within the next week."]

As President of The Guangzhou Scorpions Australian Rules Football Club, the hosts of the Australia Day Aussie Rules carnival that is at the centre of this alleged incident I feel compelled to respond to the comments made and correct the inaccuracies in the recent Herald Sun / news.com.au article  as well as the subsequent dialogue that has ensued across various social networking platforms.

Firstly and most importantly there was absolutely no abuse or racism of any player, official or spectator during the days events and the assertions being made are completely inaccurate. The video clip that is at the centre of the issue shows a Guangzhou Scorpions player on the receiving end of some pretty serious sledging from an unseen spectator, it would be fair to say that the language used is profane and would be deemed inappropriate by many. However the word heard on the vision audio is “fat” and it is clearly being directed at a specific player, with his guernsey number being called out several times during the clip. The comment was in no way racist and most importantly in the context of these discussions was certainly not directed at a Chinese player, as is being suggested.

There are more than 2 hours of video clips posted of the days games. Should those that have chosen to enter this debate take the time to review all the available vision, as opposed to a selected 1:17 clip, they will see 6 Aussie rules teams consisting of players from more than 10 countries participating and celebrating the game of Australian rules football. A truly multicultural day in which old friendships were cemented and new ones created in the best traditions of sports all over the world.

The Australia Day celebrations and footy carnival that took place in Guangzhou China on January 26th were organised and hosted by The Guangzhou Scorpions and volunteers from the Australian community. It was not has been reported hosted by the Australian Consulate and while Ms. Jill Collins Australian Consul General in Guangzhou was present and was kind enough to say a few words she was not there in any official capacity. She is simply a Scorpions fan.

The Australia Day footy carnival was the first round of the 2013 South China Australian Football League (SCAFL). SCAFL was created two years ago as a way to promote the game in the region and to provide a platform and structure around which regular games between local teams could be organised. From it’s inception SCAFL has been about the promotion of the game as much as it has been about expat Australians playing football. A minimum 25% non Australian rule was put in place to ensure that all teams embraced this concept. I am proud to say that all teams within SCAFL have far surpassed this minimum requirement with teams on occasion fielding squads that have more non Australians than Australians.

Beyond the Australia Day event The Guangzhou Scorpions fully supports the activities of the AFL in the region and last year played a small part in assisting with the AFL talent academy. Subsequently we have been the vehicle through which those young athletes choosing to pursue their interest in our game have been able to play. Providing kits, transportation, refreshments and hiring match venues. Without the input of The Scorpions and specifically the expats that have contributed their time and money to keep the club running these young athletes would have no opportunity to play Aussie rules and would now be kicking a soccer ball around or shooting hoops. These are the same expats now being accused of racism and exclusion, nothing could be further from the truth.

In addition the SCAFL teams from both Hong Kong and Macau both help run active and very strong Auskick programmes bringing together young players from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. Again something that should be and is celebrated. In an upcoming SCAFL round to be played in Hong Kong on May 18th the seniors will be joined by Auskickers from Macau, Hong Kong, China and Singapore.

The Dongguan Football Club players and management were invited to the Australia Day celebration as guests of The Guangzhou Scorpions. The idea was to give these young men an opportunity to experience the atmosphere of a real game and possibly participate for the first time in a live match situation. Prior to this they had not played a single game. When this idea was floated to the other SCAFL clubs I am again proud to say that they embraced the concept whole heartedly and without exception welcomed players from the DFC into their teams, encouraged them and gave them serious game time.

While DFC are not currently part of SCAFL they were offered the opportunity to join in 2014 should they meet the required eligibility criteria. These are very simple; they must to be able to host games, currently they do not have a suitable oval and they must be able to field a team for the away games to be played in Hong Kong and Macau. All involved understand that this difficult for a team of local Chinese students however SCAFL is in reality an “international” competition that is hosted across three regions Hong Kong, Macau and China allowing all participating teams to host games in their home towns. So the ability to travel is essential.

Every team commented on the great attitude the DFC boys showed, their enthusiasm and on occasions their footy skills. A number of the teams went as far as to throw out an open invitation for the DFC boys to join them whenever SCAFL was in China. The consensus was how great it was to see so many local Chinese participating in the game. In this respect the management of the DFC should be commended, in all other areas their attitude and actions leave me bewildered.

While it is unclear to me what the underlying agenda of the DFC management is. I am absolutely clear on the agenda of The Guangzhou Scorpions and other SCAFL teams.

Put simply it is to promote the game of Australian Rules Football in Southern China and in conjunction with the other Asian footy clubs across the whole of the Asian region.

Given that we are all volunteers that have full time responsibilities and give of time freely and generously I am proud of the way that we have gone about and what has been achieved since the inception of SCAFL. It has been a pleasure to see the game grow during this time.

Our club, our league and our game are open to anybody that wishes to join us in this great game. Any suggestions that this is not the case are simply not true.

Jon Hopper
President The Guangzhou Scorpions Australian Rules Football Club

, major sponsor of the Asian Championships in Thailand, has just announced that it will be a Silver Sponsor of the Vietnam Swans in 2013!

To kick off their sponsorship of the Swannies, they will hold a free information seminar at the Sofitel Plaza in Le Duan Boulevarde, D1, HCMC aimed at Aussie Expats. At the seminar, where there will be free food and beverages, you will learn property investment strategies and build significant tax credits for your return to Australia.

Essentials

• Date: Tuesday 26 February
• Time: 6.30pm
• Beverages (incl. wine and beer) and finger food supplied
• Venue: Sofitel Plaza, Le Duan Boulevarde, D1, HCMC
• Further information: Greg Shand,
• Website:

National President of the Vietnam Swans, Phil Johns, sincerely thanked Expat Property Planners for their sponsorship of the Vietnam Swans.

“For those Asian footy clubs that compete at the Asian Championships in Thailand, we have all seen first hand what marvellous support Expat Property Planners have provided for footy in this part of the world”, said Johns. “To have Expat Property Planners now become a direct sponsor of the Vietnam Swans is an exciting development.

“I trust that as many Swannies and friends as possible can attend the free seminar next Tuesday in HCMC. It’s a great opportunity to learn about property investment strategies back home as an expat.”

The Vietnam Swans are delighted to announce that has become a Silver Sponsor of the Club for 2013 and beyond.

In Vietnam, Norfolk Engineering is led by Vietnam Swans’ member, Kyle Hackenberg.

Kyle says that his “team of highly skilled professionals are proud to support the Vietnam Swans Australian Rules Football Club and your wonderful list of charities across Vietnam”.

Swans’ National President, Phil Johns added that “It is a great vote of confidence in our Club whenever one of our members is able to secure a sponsorship from the company they work for.

“The Swannies sincerely thank Norfolk Engineering Vietnam for its generous support and we very much look forward to actively promoting Norfolk Engineering through our significant and growing network.”

Norfolk Engineering Vietnam

Norfolk Engineering Vietnam is part of ODG/Haden and the Norfolk Group in Australia; an integrated engineering firm and a leading provider of integrated electrical, fire protection, communications, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), mechanical engineering and property services in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

ODG/Haden and The Norfolk Group operates through key brands: O’Donnell Griffin with over 100 years of electrical experience; Haden Engineering established in 1816 and a world leader in mechanical engineering and HVAC, Resolve FM, Metalbuilt, Energy Products International and Norfolk Engineering Vietnam.

In Australia; Norfolk is number one in specialty electrical engineering services and in non-residential HVAC maintenance services.  Norfolk provides integrated engineering solutions by delivering expertise, commitment and results, through great people who make it happen.

In Vietnam, Norfolk Engineering manages a growing a list of “blue chip” multinational clients ensuring that their mission critical environments are stable with no interruption to services and or manufacturing plant, equipment and systems.  The breadth of industries Norfolk Engineering’s international clients cover in Vietnam include tertiary education, medical device manufacturing and distribution, telecommunications manufacturing as well as the world’s largest electronic chip manufacturer.

Norfolk Engineering’s core business in Vietnam is long term maintenance and operations contract facilities management services, managing sustainable maintenance services covering scheduled preventative, predictive maintenance services and corrective / reactive maintenance services and operations for its “blue Chip” mission critical clients within Hanoi and HCMC.

Norfolk Engineering Vietnam also provides unique technical due diligence consulting services and gap analysis reporting covering maintenance and operational services s of electrical systems (incl. high and medium voltage), mechanical systems (wet and dry), HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning), instrumentation and control, building management software systems, fire protection services, water treatment and waste water management, energy management and general building maintenance including safety and quality control processes and documentation.

Norfolk Engineering also assists clients through the “testing and commissioning” stages before final acceptance for all technical equipment and systems of their newly built factories and buildings before full operations commence.

Further information

Official Club Legend, Dave “Flyer” Kainey is also a legend at the races in Singapore.

On 30 March last year, the Flyer’s Excel n Strike was first past the post at the Singapore Turf Club. Possibly the most famous Swannie of all, Gus, was also trackside to witness the historic occasion. After the victory, Gus asked the trainer whether we were all looking at the next Black Caviar (to which the Flyer snapped, “Shut up Gus. Who said you could talk to the trainer? It’s not even your horse!” Click here for the full story.).

This week, the Flyer returned to the Singapore Turf Club – this time to watch a second horse he part owns, Dazzling Dame. (For the record, Gus was not invited on this occasion.)

In the lead up to the big race, the official word was that “Dazzling Dame is back at it this Monday, 11 February in Race No. 7 at 3:55pm. She has drawn Barrier No. 5 so we can expect her to jump well and hopefully get a nice position on settling. With a little cover in the run and a solid start we would like to think she will be working to the line a lot stronger (than previously)”

Former Hanoi Prez, Mark “Willy” Williams, now back in Melbourne, picks up the story after the Race in an email to the Flyer:

“Daaaaaazzzling flame!! You would not believe it, I was down the local putting a few bets on and saw the Singapore races. Without pay’n too much attention, I boxed the three favourites and, BANG, out of nowhere comes this horse No. 9!!

“Look up at the screen: DAZZLING DAME!!!! It was pay’n something like $90 odd plus in Sydney and some $50 or more here in Melbourne.

“Unbelievable mate but awesome for you!! Congrats.

“Go you Swannies!!”

When it comes to temples and cathedrals, it’s not uncommon to find Swannies there already.

Last week, for example, Mark Stennett’s son was seen at a temple in Bayan, Myanmar (Burma) sporting a retro Swannies’ look.

Meanwhile, in Melbourne last Friday, a number of Swannies were seen at the footy cathedral in Melbourne, Etihad Stadium for the AFL’s NAB Cup. Among the Swannies luminaries were Josh Little (former coach) Mark “Willy” Williams (former Hanoi Prez), Phil Johns (Vietnam Prez) and Derrin Limbrick (former Saigon Prez). Unseen in this photo but not forgotten was Dave “Angry” Hadley who was also at the game.

Go you Swannies!

On 13 February, 2013, Troy Thompson’s article, was published on World Footy News. AFL TV will include free coverage of this year’s NAB Cup for viewers outside Australia and New Zealand.

Below is an excerpt of Troy’s article.

The AFL today (13 February) announced the launch of a new international subscription service, AFLTV, offering overseas fans unprecedented viewing access to AFL matches.

Developed in conjunction with Rightster, the online video distribution and marketing specialist, AFLTV is an innovative subscription service providing access to live and on demand AFL games to fans outside of Australia and New Zealand.

This is the only international service that offers exclusive access to every single 2013 Toyota AFL season match live and on–demand across multiple devices – desktop, phone and tablet – with a range of new purchasing options designed to accommodate the differing needs of international AFL fans.

For the first time, international fans have the choice of a range of purchasing options, including a full Season Pass, a Weekly Pass, a Monthly Recurring Pass, Finals packages and a Grand Final pass. Furthermore, AFL fans in Australia can purchase passes as gifts for others as well as pre-prepare their subscription while planning an overseas trip. As an added bonus, full Season Pass subscribers will also be able to watch the AFL Brownlow Medal Count, the Four ‘N Twenty All Australian Awards and the AFL Hall of Fame events live.

AFLTV is separate to the domestic AFL Live App and AFL Club Apps that were successfully launched in 2012 and saw over 1.3 million downloads in its first year. As part of the AFLTV subscription service, Rightster provides live customer and technical support to fans during all 2013 Toyota AFL season matches.

AFL Deputy CEO, Gillon McLachlan, said AFL fans abroad would be the big winners following the launch of AFLTV.

“AFLTV realises the various wants of our international fans and ensures they’re able to watch every game of the 2013 Toyota AFL season, anywhere in the world,” Mr McLachlan said.

“This subscription service provides fans with unprecedented viewing and purchase options and will continue to showcase the game to a global audience.

“Rightster has a proven track record when it comes to providing digital distribution solutions for major sports around the world and we’re pleased to have their expertise and experience.”

…AFLTV can be accessed at:

To celebrate the launch of AFLTV, those AFL fans located outside Australia or New Zealand will be able to enjoy free access to the full AFLTV service for the duration of the 2013 NAB Cup.

We’ve all returned after the TET Lunar New Year holidays. Booooo!

But, the good news is that Polldaddy’s also back! Yayyyyy!

Last week, a Swannie was seen at the Studley Park Boat House in Melbourne, sipping a latte.

But before he could sip his latte, he had to take a “Boooo-merang” buzzer at the time of ordering. When the latte was ready, the “Boomerang” buzzed and he went and collected it.

Now, Polldaddy wants to find out who the mystery Swannie was – and we only have a photo of his hand.

Cast your vote now!

On 7 March, a new Aussie Rules film, , will be released.

As the says, “Legendary actor Jack Thompson reprises his role as a football coach three decades after The Club, in new film Blinder which explores our country’s love affair with the greatest sport in the world.

“Shot around Torquay in Victoria (Ed’s note; Torquay is home of one of the Swannies’ most celebrated former captains, Monkey), Victoria, the story follows an ex-footballer who, embracing the life lessons his coach once taught him, reignites an old flame after a long absence away from his home town.

“There’s nothing more tightly-knit than a small town footy club. So when a scandal blows apart the Torquay Tigers, lives are thrown into chaos. After ten years away, one-time Torquay legend Tom Dunn (Ackland) returns to face his demons and pull the club back together. To reunite their team and rebuild their lives Tom and his mates will have to dig deep, face up to past mistakes and rekindle their love of football. After everything is done and dusted, it’s not about giving your best, it’s about doing your best.

“Directed by Richard Gray (Summer Coda, Mine Games), written by Scott Didier and co-written by Richard and Michele Gray, the film is produced by the three as well as AFL greats Glenn Archer, Adrian Gleeson and Sam Kekovich. Producing credits also go to Virginia Kay and US based Chris Lemole and Mike Gillespie.”

Interestingly, Glenn Archer is the son of a Vietnam Veteran and attended the ANZAC Dawn Service at the Long Tan Cross with his father in 2009.

Watch out for Blinder!