The Swans Blog was not Jokin’ Alan Joyce when we said we had a second instalment of “Top 10 Clues re the existence of AFL rocket scientists”. To find out which AFL scientist may already have had a nuclear fuel rod inserted through their ears, read below. The list is displayed alphabetically in chronological order for your convenience.

11.        “I’ve never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body.” (Luke Darcy)

12.        “He scored that goal after only 22 seconds - totally against the run of play.” (Dermott Brereton)

13.        “We actually got the winning goal three minutes from the end but then they scored.” (Ben Cousins, West Coast Eagles)

14.        “That kick was absolutely unique, except for the one before it which was identical.” (Dermott Brereton)

15.        “I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.” (Shane Wakelin)

16.        “Sure there have been injuries and deaths in football - but none of them serious.” (Adrian Anderson)

17.        “If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again.”(Andrew Demetriou)

18.        “I would not say he (Chris Judd) is the best centreman in the AFL but there are none better.” (Dermott Brereton)

19.        “I never comment on umpires and I’m not going to break the habit of a lifetime for that prat.” (Terry Wallace)

20.        Garry Lyon: “Have you ever thought of writing your autobiography?” David Scwartz: “On what?”

continues to deliver the goods and makes good regular reading. Yesterday they posted a story with a link to the VFL video,  which can now be seen on the .

The camera goes and visits North Melbourne and Ronald Dale Barassi in the lead up to the 1979 season. You get footage of Barassi addressing the players (and this year’s theme is ”get a little bit of dirt on your hands”) and taking training sessions - using some drills that our Super Savvy Coach is banned from seeing.

There’s also some footage of the season’s opener against Carlton.

It’s a great insight. Check out on the ABC’s website - and don’t forget to visit on a regular basis.

In an article titled, “” that appeared in yesterday’s Age newspaper, Greg Baum looked at Geelong’s prospects at the business end of the season. 

“Geelong sits four games clear on top of the ladder and is already the minor premier. It has won 14 games in a row, the second-longest winning streak in the club’s history and one of the 12 longest by any club. The previous three clubs to compile similar sequences — Carlton 1995, Essendon 2000 and the Brisbane Lions 2002 — all won premierships, emphatically.”

The story looks good. But Baum then points out Geelong’s well known flip side:

“Geelong has not won the flag since 1963. Among clubs of the former VFL, only Footscray is more starved. In the interim, the Cats have lost five grand finals, also losing six preliminary finals.”

In conclusion, Baum thinks “a defeat now for the Cats would be a hitch, not a crisis. But Geelong knows that its biggest threat at the moment is Geelong. So do punters.”

The Swans Blog decided to get to the bottom of this story and contacted Bomber Thompson for his own thoughts. According to Bomber, Cats’ supporters should not worry. He spoke reassuringly and enthusiastically about the Cats, and described their recent form as “priceless”.

Meanwhile, for those Vietnam Swans in Hanoi, training will be on tonight as usual at Dead Cat Stadium, commencing at 7.15pm. Only 2 1/2 weeks before the Hong Kong Dragons get here.

Is there anyone out there in the la la land of AFL who should be called a genius? Mick Malthouse doesn’t think so. Daryl Taber has just forwarded to the Swans Blog a bit of evidence that supports Mick’s claim about there being a dearth of rocket scientists. Below are the Top 10 Examples (and soon we will also post another Top 10 - Wait a minute, is that two Top 10’s or 1 Top 20?)

 1.         “Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.” (Mick Malthouse)

2.         “I’m going to graduate on time, no matter how long it takes.” Peter Bell, Fremantle - on his University Law studies

3.         “You guys line up alphabetically by height.” and “You guys pair up in groups of three, then line up in a circle.” Barry Hall Sydney Captain at Training

4.         Brock Maclean (Melbourne) on whether he had visited the Pyramids during his visit to Egypt: “I can’t really remember the names of the clubs that we went to.”

5.         “He’s a guy who gets up at six o’clock in the morning regardless of what time it is.” Kevin Sheedy on James Hird

6.         Jonathan Brown, on night Grand Finals vs Day Games “It’s basically the same, just darker.” (Ed’s note: Hearin’ ya, Jonathon)

7.         Ron Barassi talking about Gary Cowton “I told him, ‘Son, what is it with you. Is it ignorance or apathy?’ He said, ‘Barass, I don’t know and I don’t care.’ “

8.         Barry Hall (Sydney) when asked about the upcoming season: “I want to kick 70 or 80 goals this season, whichever comes first.” 

9.         “Luke Hodge - the 21 year old, who turned 22 a few weeks ago.” (Dermott Brereton)

10.        “Chad had done a bit of mental arithmetic with a calculator.” (Mark Williams)

And don’t forget, the other Top 10 is coming very soon. Stay tuned for that one!

This afternoon in Hanoi, superstar of the 1970’s Countdown TV show, Ian “Molly” Meldrum, officially launched the Vietnam Swans Grand Final Countdown Clock. 

The Countdown Clock will appear in the sidebar of the Swans Blog and is expected to generate significant interest not only in Vietnam but across the region and the universe.

According to the Countdown Clock, there are just 53 days to go before the Grand Final on the 29th September.

When asked for a single word to describe the Countdown Clock sensation, Molly replied, “Awwwwwwwwwwesome”.

The 2007 Saigon Saints Vietnam Airlines AFL Grand Final Brunch’s campaign has officially kicked off with the announcement that they have recruited Rod Ashman as their special guest speaker.

For those of you who aren’t fully familiar with Rod Ashman, Rod used to play for the Eaglehawk Football Club (near Bendigo, Victoria) and managed to pick up the Best and Fairest in 1972…

But as well as Eaglehawk, Rod went on to play 230 games for Carlton and played in their back to back premiership teams in 1981 and 1982. He was also named in Carlton’s Team of the Century as a forward pocket (apparently for the Blues Team of the 21st Century, the selectors are still waiting to see who plays in 2099 before committing).

The 2007 Saigon Saints Vietnam Airlines AFL Grand Final Brunch will be held on Saturday 29 September at the Legend Hotel. As well as Rod Ashman, it will feature a live telecast of the Grand Final on big screens, free flow wine and beer, a full day buffet and raffles - all for just 600,000VND (USD38).

All proceeds from the event will go to the Loreto Vietnam-Australia Program.

The event has a maximum of 240 guests (30 were turned away last year) and already 120 tickets have been allocated for sponsors and those travelling from Vung Tau and Australia.

The remaining tickets go on sale on 1 September - but the - which played a big part in the Vietnam Swans inaugural campaign at the Asian Champs - also has access to tickets.

For those wanting to sign up, the SRFC Prez, Chris “Fines Master” Pago. Or, contact Darren Cotter the organiser of the Grand Final Day on   

Whatever you do, if you’re going to be in Saigon on 29 September, there’s only one place you will want to be: at the 2007 Saigon Saints Vietnam Airlines AFL Grand Final Brunch.

PS Keep your eyes peeled for the revolutionary Countdown Clock to the AFL Grand Final on the Swans Blog. It’s set to appear soon and is expected to be awwwwwwesome. 

A “Priceless!” clipping from the West Australian on Saturday 21 July, 2007:

• Cost of the West Australian newspaper - $1.90
• Price of a footy - $110
• The annual salary of the Dockers’ Paul Hasleby - $230,000
• Realising the West Australian has published over a million copies of the paper with your little weener dick hangin’ out the side of your daks- Priceless!

Wednesday, 8.32am, Vietnam Standard Time - In breaking news, it has just been announced that Essendon’s Coach of 27 years has been sacked.

The Vietnam Swans hierarchy has held an emergency meeting to discuss the coaching position and the future of Scotty Stacey, sometimes referred to as the Little Guy.

In a prepared statement, the Swans board said that having taken the Swans to their first ever appearance at the Asian Champs, Scotty could decide his own future.

It seems like there’s nothing but harmony down there at Dead Cat (Hanoi) and RMIT (Saigon).

Now that we’ve got the Asian Champs out of the way, the Vietnam Swans can really get started. Here’s a taste of what’s coming up:

Saturday 1 September: Vietnam Swans Vs Hong Kong Dragons, HCMC

Saturday 29 September: 2007 AFL Grand Final Party, HCMC & Hanoi

Saturday 6 October: Box Hill North, Narita Cup, Tokyo (an invitation has been extended to any Swans member to join the Box Hill North team)

Saturday 20 October: Vietnam Swans Vs Brunei Sharks, HCMC

Saturday 17 November: Vietnam Swans Vs Thailand Tigers, Hanoi

As always, it’s all good.

You may recall the recent story about the Broadbeach Cats giving the Vietnam Swans a plug on their website.

Well, the Swans Blog has just learnt that ex Hanoi Swan, Rick Trewavas “is happy to report that Skilts (Bobby Skilton) and Barry Round (former South Melbourne ruckman) were guests of honour at the Broadbeach Cat’s recent luncheon (Roundy’s son is the captain at Broadbeach) and it was my pleasure to pick the boys up at the airport and host them for lunch.

“I’m honking - Go Swannies!”

At this stage, it’s not clear whether discussion about the Vietnam Swans dominated proceedings at the Cat’s luncheon.