Australia Network (AN) has been the official media sponsor of the Vietnam Swans’ AFL Grand Final Parties over the previous two years.

AN has just emailed the Swannies inviting us to be involved in its ‘September to Remember’ AFL Grand Final Competition to support the 2013 AFL season broadcast on Australia Network.

The lucky winner of Australia Network’s AFL Grand Final Competition will win two 2013 AFL Grand Final tickets, flights with Qantas to Melbourne and two nights’ accommodation.

Prize packs including official AFL merchandise (to the value of AUS$75.00), will also be drawn for 10 lucky runners-up.

• To ENTER, please complete the AFL Grand Final competition registration form by .
• To VIEW Australia Network’s Facebook page, .

BREAKING NEWS – Swannies’ 2013 AFL Grand Final Parties, Saigon & Hanoi

The Vietnam Swans in Saigon have just confirmed that our 2013 AFL Grand Final Party shall again be held at the . Tick, tick… Boom! It’s going to go off – especially this year when it is held on the ground floor of Boomarang for the first time. (Hanoi details are currently being locked in.) More to follow!

Jesse Richardson is the Creator/Producer of the first ever Australian Rules web series, White Lines, which will be released next month in August. White Lines is based in the world of professional Australian Rules football.

Jesse has just written to this website asking for our support in helping to spread the news. He writes that, “In the world of professional Australian Rules football, nothing speaks louder than courage, longer than success and more everlasting than premiership glory.

“For the Rams AFC, however, success comes at a cost – a coach on the ropes, a captain just holding on, a rookie struggling to make his own way and a wayward superstar on his last chance.

“In season 2013 the Rams AFC discover that when football and life collide there’s always a price to pay inside the White Lines.

“A season to define them. One chance to be remembered.

“Legends will fall. History will be made. September awaits…”

The eight part series was filmed in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Click on the video clip above to see the newly released trailer and “Like” White Line’s .

Help spread the word about Aussie Rules!

The Vietnam Swans are delighted to confirm that the Malaysian Warriors shall play in next year’s ANZAC Friendship Match in Vung Tau, to be held on 26 April, 2014.

On behalf of the Vietnam Swans, National President, Phil Johns, invited the Malaysians after they toured Saigon on 20 July 2013.

President elect of the Warriors, Shaun Di Gregorio wrote that:

“The Malaysia Warriors are honoured to be invited by the Vietnam Swans to participate in the 2014 Anzac Friendship Match.

“It’s a great example of the Asian Football League showcasing our great game, while paying our respects to the Diggers who fought and died in our region. It’s a fantastic initiative and one that we are all proud to be a part of”, concluded Gregorio.

The ANZAC Friendship Match has been played in Vung Tau Vietnam (where the diggers used to play from 1966-71) since 2010. The first match was played between Saigon and Hanoi but since then, international teams, Hong Kong, China and Jakarta have toured.

Proceeds from the day are donated to Swim Vietnam, Water Safety Vietnam and the Vung Tau Orphanage.

In Asia, ANZAC Matches are also played in Kanchanaburi, Thailand and Balikpapan, Borneo.

Ron Vernon, 1968 Premiership player in the Vietnam Football League has just forwarded some photos of him enjoying a cold beer with good friend, Wayne (“the wog”) Zahra in Wayne’s Bar, Townsville in Far North Queensland.

What makes Wayne’s Bar particularly special is that it is now sporting a couple of Swannies’ banners that hang on the wall.

One is a club banner of the angry cartoon swan (see far left in photo). The second is a combined Swannies / Tommy’s Bar banner from the ANZAC Weekend (see inset and far right in photo).

Go and bend a banana at Wayne’s Bar if you love the Swannies in Townsville!

The Thailand Tigers have released the prospectus for the 2013 Asian Championships to be held on 17 August 2013.

This year, 13 teams – the highest number of teams ever – will compete. The teams are:

• Bali Geckos
• Cambodian Eagles
• China Reds
• Hong Kong Dragons
• Jakarta Bintangs
• Laos Elephants
• Malaysian Warriors
• Singapore Wombats
• Thailand Tigers
• Vietnam Swans
• Philippine Eagles
• Tokyo Goannas
• Macau Lightning

Duration of games

• Preliminary Matches: 2 x 10 minute halves, with a 5 minute half time break (change of ends)
• Semi Finals: 2 x 15 minute halves, with a 10 minute half time break
• Grand Final: 2 x 20 minute halves, with a 10 minute half time break

Break Between Games

Teams will need to leave the field immediately after the final siren, as only five minutes will be available between the preliminary games. Teams will need to be ready to take the field immediately after the preceding game has finished.

Number of Players per Team

16 players on the field and a maximum of 10 interchange players. A maximum of 26 players per game.

Qualification for Finals

A player must have played in at least two preliminary games to be eligible to play in the finals.

Fixture

• Thailand – Bali, China, Cambodia, Laos
• Hong Kong - Macau, Japan, China, Jakarta
• Bali – Jakarta, Thailand, Japan, China
• Jakarta – Bali, Macau, Malaysia, Hong Kong
• Laos – Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand
• Malaysia – Laos, Singapore, Jakatrta, Philippines
• Singapore – Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Macau
• Vietnam – Singapore, Philippines, Cambodia, Japan
• Philippines – Malaysia, Vietnam, Macau, China
• Cambodia – Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos
• China – Thailand, Hong Kong, Bali, Philippines
• Japan – Cambodia, Hong Kong, Bali, Vietnam
• Macau – Hong Kong, Jakarta, Philippines, Singapore

Download the full prospectus

To download the full prospectus, click onto .

BREAKING NEWS!!

2013 Asian Champs Draw.

The Vietnam Swans will play Singapore, Philippines, Japan and Cambodia in the preliminary rounds.

More to follow.

A huge turn out of Asian Presidents and Club representatives is expected to attend the Inaugural Asian Presidents’ Summit in Bangkok next Saturday, 27 July 2013.

Confirmed clubs attending are:

1. Cambodian Eagles
2. China Reds
3. Guangzhou Scorpions
4. Hong Kong Dragons
5. Jakarta Bintangs
6. Malaysian Warriors
7. Philippine Eagles
8. Singapore Sharks (Auskick and Masters)
9. Singapore Wombats
10. Thailand Tigers
11. Timor Leste
12. Vietnam Swans

Each club around Asia, irrespective of whether they were able to attend the meeting on Saturday, was asked to nominate approximately five key things they would like to see in Asian footy in five years time (the figure of five was not rigidly enforced. Some clubs submitted four points while others submitted six points).

Clubs had the freedom to choose absolutely anything they liked.

When the lists were compiled, they basically fell into seven different categories (in situations where there was considerable overlap between categories, the point was put in the category that seemed most relevant/appropriate). The number in brackets refers to the number of times a point was made that fell under that particular category.

The categories and number of times issues were raised are:

1. Coordination and structure in Asian footy (20)
2. AFL involvement (11)
3. Auskick (7)
4. Local development of nationals (6)
5. Sponsors and sponsorship (6)
6. Asian Championships (4)
7. Venues / grounds (1)

It would appear at this stage that the Asian clubs have similar perspectives on what is important for Asian footy.

Swannies Footnote:

The Swannies submitted six points on what we would like to se in Asian footy in six years’ time; namely,

1. A regional Asian Football Council / League that coordinates within (including constitution, standard of conduct, rules, hosting etc) and offers a single point of contact for the external world on regional matters.
2. Regional Kangaroo Football (Auskick) with appropriate training, resources, marketing.
3. Regional and leagues sponsorships
4. Regional complementary leagues that allow joint marketing (eg all clubs wearing Asian Footy badge, playing on Super Saturday – esp before Champs), resourcing (eg footballs, playing kit) and the possibility of games between leagues (eg play off between each league’s winning teams).
5. Ensure that the Asian Champs remains the FA Cup of Asian football. Consideration to be given to its timing (ideally, after the regular season) and the logistics of hosting the event.
6. Regional standards and support for umpires and coaching personnel to raise the overall standard.

The Vietnam Swans will be represented at the meeting by Club President, Phil Johns and Mark Stennett who will chair the meeting.

American Michael (Weissbluth) was one of the Swannies’ dozen celebrated farewells in Saigon last month.

Michael had decided that the time was right to continue his career in South America – but not before he dropped into his hometown of Chicago where he has just met the .

Yesterday, the Swannies received the following email from “Vietnam Michael”.

July is the ‘off’ month in the North American season because of the 4th of July and people make a lot of holidays in this month. So tonight’s training with the was just an informal thing akin to what (former Swannies Skipper) Dukesy was hosting at his school in Saigon on Tuesday nights. The pitch was hard and uneven. We were right beside the great Lake Michigan.

The wind was super strong and kindly assisted us, actually.

The lads were really fantastically good. The Chicago Swans won last year’s division. One American had returned from Perth where he played footy. He was in a semi-professional league (what we Yanks call ‘farm leagues’ for baseball and other sports).

Evidently, there are former AFL professionals on the Chicago Swans team as well as guys who have gone on to be professionals in Oz! There was only one fellow from Oz; the rest were Yanks.

They were really keen to hear about the footy scene in Asia and about the Swannies.

I was deeply pleased to see that there was a lot of chatter: compliments, encouragement, advice, etc. I think the sport draws power from these habits.

I learned something new: in the North American leagues, only half the men on the field can be from Oz. Otherwise people would fly in their mates and whale on a bunch of inept Yanks!

Editor’s note: From all the Swannies in Vietnam, “G’day” and best wishes to American Michael and all the Chicago Swans!

Footnotes:

• Swannie, Paul “Livin’ the Dream” Koch, previously lived in San Diego. Not only has Paul been the inspiration behind Powelldaddy, he was also one of the key inspirations behind the establishment of the San Diego Lions – one of the first Aussie Rules clubs in the USA.
• American Michael says that “the guy in the photo (see above) to the left of me is wearing a Chicago Swans shirt! It has the four stars in it of our city’s flag. The stars represent four important events in this great city’s history.”
• One of the things the Vietnam Swans often refer to is “Australia’s Signature Sport Connecting Communities”. This story provides further evidence. Of awesomeness.
• Go you Swans and Swannies!

For further information on the Chicago Swans: visit the Chicago Swans’ and .

To see more Classic Swannies’ Shots, .

Swannie superstar, Gus, is rarely out of the news. Just yesterday he appeared on this website in a photograph that attempted to recreate a photo he was in five years earlier.

Today, we post a photo of Gus modelling the Swannies brand new club jumper back in May, 2008. The photo was taken in Hanoi prior to our match against the Singapore Wombats.

Recently, Shannon “Shag” Leahy forwarded a couple of photos to this website of two AFL players who appear to be doing a bit of modelling themselves – on Gus!

Judge for yourself in the photos above: there’s Hawthorn’s David Hale and Adelaide’s Jason Porplyzia.

Shag offered the following suggestion: “Could be time for another Powelldaddy… Who looks more like Gus?”

It doesn’t happen often but this website has felt compelled (yet again…) to bring back a photo of Miss Australia, Laura Dundovic from the time she visited Saigon in June 2008. Ms Laura was in Vietnam, primarily, to meet the Swannies (after all, she’s only human) but also to compete for the Miss Universe crown.

On Saturday, after the Vietnam Swans played the Malaysian Warriors in Saigon, intentionally or otherwise, the Swannies recreated that classic shot with Laura where eight Swannies (actually, just five were players and the other three were blow ins) carried Miss Australia at the foot of the stairs in the foyer of Saigon’s New World Hotel.

This time, eight Swannies (all of them ridgy didge current Swannies’ players) carried a woman named Ms Lisa Truong* (the Swannies’ personal trainer) in a similar style as we did with Miss Australia five years ago.

And there’s another constant in the two photos… Gus. (Left photo: Gus is second from right. Right photo, he is third from right.)

* Footnote: Special thanks to JR for advising that the “woman in the photo is Ms. Lisa Truong, the Swannies’ personal trainer. She has trained each member in the photo, hence our awesome bodies clearly demonstrated by Mark Harbison and JR…”

To see more photos of:

• The weekend’s match between the Vietnam Swans and Malaysian Warriors, .
• Miss Australia, Laura Dundovic meeting the Swannies in 2008, .

Mark Stennett has been busily taking photos again; this time, at the weekend’s match between the Vietnam Swans and Malaysian Warriors in Saigon.

Mark’s match day photos can be seen on the Swannies or on .

Also, check out Asha Phillips’ photos of the Ladies’ Day tent, put on by the Alfrescoe’s Group on or .

Manu Devant is a 21yo French medical student who arrived in Vietnam for a month. In that time, he has hit the ground running for the Swannies joining the Vung Tau trip, challenging fellow Swannie Dave O’Shea (and Queensland junior champion) to an 800m race – and he played his first ever footy match on the weekend against the Malaysian Warriors.

It was a short, whirlwind time with the Swannies, but a good one. Manu, who will leave Vietnam this week, explains more below.

Dear Swannies,

I’m just recovering my hang over of last night and I’m already drunk… But it’s perfect because my English is better when I am drunk!! That’s why, I write this mail with lots of feeling and emotions.

I have to thank you all.

I have lived lots of wonderful things because of sport (you can trust me as I am 21 years, so lots of experience!!)… But you are one of my favorite moments!!!

The match of Saturday against Malaysia, even if we lost, was a great moment for me.

I already said that, but you are the funniest and most friendly team I had never met. That’s why I would like to thank you.

Special mentions to:

• Andy Glendinning (Coach), Phil “Fabbo” Johns (National President), and Nick Shiells (Saigon President): because you are the boss, and you trusted in me, you let me play and enjoy.  IT S A REALLY GREAT GIFT FOR ME!!  And if everybody is so friendly, I think it’s because of you.
• Billy Crang (CoCaptain): because you made me discover and enjoy!!
• Josh Lee: the same like Billy… And because I remember your face for my first training: “No, it’s not rugby… But it’s better so come with us!!” I was right to trust you!!
• Rikka Boulton: because you took time to learn me the rules of this crazy game
• Mark “Frenchie” Bremond: just because you are the one fooking Frenchie I met in this fooking Australian sport!!! Merci mon poulet, j’espere te revoir bientot!!!
• Dave O’Shea: you are a fooking good runner… But I am better. I lost (our 800m race last weekend) because we took off our shoes. See you for a new race.
• Irish John Redmond: just because you are young (but that beard, I’m jealous), and because I enjoyed to see your Irish face!!!

I thank every Swan!!

I’m sorry for defeat, and for players who bet on me for the race against Dave…

I will do all I can to join you in Thailand, in the middle of August for the Asian Champs, to have more fun!!!

I don’t know if I love footy or if I love you Swannies!!!! You are the best part of my month in Saigon.

All my best regards.

Take care each others. Let’s go on in the same way,

Cheers mates,

Manu