The popular Daryl Taber returns with another hard hitting, opinionated and controversial edition of Taber Talk. While his ability to read the play like a newspaper is well known, less well known is how he will cope from next month when his tour of Vietnam officially finishes. From the Taber Talk Think Tank to his Carlton Tanks back in Oz, teh Swannies wish him well.

In an historical Asian football occasion, the Laos football and netball teams toured for the first time. The United Nations International School, Hanoi was the venue.

Making up the three-way tournament would be Vietnams’ newest rivals, more aptly put drinking buddies, the Thailand Tigers.  Some interesting events on the journey over shaped the action on the field. Weekly international jet setter and retiring Tigers’ coach, Fish, was refused entry to the plane, unlike his team, because of a lack of preparation in the form of a visa! Crikey, how’s he going to survive back in Sydney without his assistants?

The Laos Lads almost gang tackled the 5 Irish Gaelic footballers at the airport when hearing their distinctive accent. The detailed conversation at the terminal went something like this. From Laos, “Wanna play Footy?” The Irish lads replied, “Fooken Oath”.

But on arrival in Hanoi…“Here’s our new smashing, pink strip.” “Ah, Fook Off!”

However they took the field with the enthusiasm of a herd of stampeding elephants – until they noticed that “all the big fooking Aussies were wearing mouth guards and we didn’t have any”.

The Vietnam Swans hardly had a touch in the first 10 minutes. Fittingly, Elephants’ Prez, Marty Sharples kicked the history-making first goal for Laos, quickly followed by their second from a ginger-headed Gaelic lad with his first ever kick! Game on!  At half-time the Elephants held the lead. “All the fooking Aussies went off the ground looking for water and we Irish went looking for sunscreen”. 

In the second half, the Swans slowly but surely wore them down to get home by nine points.