Website launched to critical acclaim

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Posted by rrburns 2201 days ago under News
  The Dragons have set the standard in Asian football in recent years but one gaping hole in the organisation was the lack of a website.
It is hoped the launch in early 2006 of this slick new website will mirror a similarly polished performance on (and off) the field this year. It is not the first foray into the online world for the Dragons, but their previous site was as dire as the Port Power theme song and last updated around the time Peter Bosustow was kicking goals and taking hangs for Carlton.

Now, along with all the latest match and tour reports, player profiles and off-field news that will be regularly added to the website, players have also lost another excuse to get out of training. No longer can the bleating cry of, "I wasn't sure training was still on," be heard. Information on when and where training will be held will be updated on the site weekly, and in the case of bad weather, an hourly update will be on the site to advise whether training is still on. There are also maps of our training ground locations.
For the sports historians amongst you, the new site has an extensive archive of past tours and stirring recollections of the team's formative years. An interview with club founder Ray Wood also offers an insight into the gestation and birth of the Dragon.
There's nothing worse than getting caught out by a television audience of millions, miming the lyrics to the Dragons song after another superb victory. So for the newbies, the lyrics to the club's anthem are notated and your homework assigned.
In order to keep the sight looking dynamic, all readers are encouraged to write stories or make suggestions about potential content ideas. Simply email the relevant committee members (see Club Info) with your ideas (and email any accompanying photos as 200kb size files or smaller).
Our next objective with the website is to develop an intuitive email system that will make the organisation of tours less of a nightmare and spare those not able to travel the agony of receiving the stream of related emails from the gloating buggers who are going.
Like any successful club, we need funds to survive. Visiting the website links of our sponsors is one small way you can support your club.
Finally, special thanks for their patience and persistence in getting this deceptively complicated project finished goes to the team at Compelite. Dan Cheung and Marc Edwards were industrious and creative in constructing the site and, in dealing with a constant stream or requests for alterations and updates, as patient as Freo supporters waiting for a flag.

Craig 'Bogan' Francis

Hellfire Pass opens season 2006

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Posted by rrburns 2203 days ago under News
A rusting relic from WWII in Kanchanaburi

The first tour of the year is confirmed and is a must for all patriots.

Bangkok (Hellfire Pass): 29th April (away - confirmed)
Singapore in Hong Kong: 20th May (home - TBA)
Japan: 10th June or KL: 10th June (away - TBA)
Singapore: Late July (away - TBA)
Champs in Jakarta (or Bangkok): 19th Aug - TBA (away)
Shanghai: Early October (away - TBA)

(With the exception of Hellfire Pass, the above are tentative tour dates only and subject to change).

The Dragons will be making their first visit to Hellfire Pass for the annual Anzac tournament hosted by the Thailand Tigers. It is renouned both for its uniqueness on the Asian football circuit and the obvious sentiment attached to playing in front of Diggers who endured one of the toughest chapters in Australia's wartime history.

The tournament is played in Kanchanaburi, a couple of hours west of Bangkok. The Dragons will fly out on Friday, April 28 and return on the public holiday Monday, May 1.

Thailand, for the record, have made a winning start to the new season, defeating Malaysia in late December, 13.0-78 to 5.2-32, following another victory in Vietnam over Hanoi. They have publicly set their sights on the Dragons and Wombats.

The railway that cost more than 90,000 lives

The following excerpt is from the Hellfire Pass Official Memorial Website, and is compulsory reading for any prospective tourers.

In 1942, Japan put itself under pressure as it widened its hold on the Far East, as its forces had to be supplied. Burma had a natural supply line for its troops, the Irrawaddy River which runs the full length of Burma and boats could therefore supply the Japanese forces pushing towards India, but this was slow.

The Burmese railway also ran the full length of Burma, the only problem being there was no line between Malaya and Burma, this had to be bridged quickly. If this was joined to Malaya the Japanese forces could be supplied quickly and could carry on with the invasion of India.

The route ran on the east bank of the Mae Khlong River from Bangkok until it reached the Khwae Noi River, the track was then to cross the Mae Khlong and hug the east bank of the Khwae Noi until it reached the mountains in the north and cross the mountains at Three Pagodas Pass. It would then snake out of the mountains towards Thanbyuzayat.

We recommend you consult your atlas for clarity

Kanchanaburi today

With this plan the river was a great advantage as it could help supply materials and the labour force needed to build the railway.

In peace time, plans to build a railway from Bangkok to Burma had been shelved because of the cost involved. Now, with over 100,000 prisoners taken in its advance, Japan had a workforce, to do with as it pleased.

A railway could now be built to help supply its forces on the Burma front and its advance into India for little cost to themselves, this was to prove a huge deficit in prisoners lives.

On 8 August 1942, the Prime Minister signed an agreement with the Japanese representative General Sheji Poriya to build the railway. The Japanese hoped that the single meter gauge railway would be able to transport 3000 tons of supplies and strategic materials a day.

The Death Railway branched off from the existing southern railway and headed towards Kanchanaburi. The first fifty-five km from Nong Pladuk to Kanchanaburi were easy to construct because of the flat terrain. The rest of the way was hell though and that is how it earned its nickname.

When the first survey on the railway was completed it was estimated that it would take five years to build. The principal engineer was S.O. No. Construction began in October of 1942 and it was finished in August of 1943. The railway was put into use on 25 October 1943. With two tracks, one starting from Thanbyuzayat in Burma and the other from Nong Pladuk met at Nieke just south of Three Pagodas Pass.

This is only estimate of the human lives that perished building the death railway:

Workers on the Death Railway/ Total Forced Labour Deaths
Asian Labourers 200,000; +/- 80,000
British POW's 30,000; 6,540
Dutch POW's 18,000; 2,830
Australian POW's 13,000; 2,710
American POW's 700; 356
Korean & Japanese soldiers 15,000; 1,000

Dragons stumble in quest for threepeat

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Posted by rrburns 2206 days ago under News
Capt. Rigg calls the shots as Sam Greenland and Ben Davis take note

by Michael 'Farmer' Robertson.
The Dragons travelled to Manila in September to compete in the 6th annual Asian Championships.

Having won the past two years and travelled unbeaten all year, the Dragons went in as firm favourites and were justifiably confident. Too confident.

Their hopes of a three-peat were dealt a major blow in the first game of the day with a heart-breaking one point loss to the Bali Geckos. The Dragons led for most of the game and seemed to be in control. Unfortunately it was not to be as Bali managed to snag a goal in the dying seconds to take victory.

Next up the Dragons took on the Thailand Tigers. The Dragons were a much improved unit against the Tigers and used the ball much more efficiently. The game produced a 20 point win for the Dragons.

Next up was Singapore. The Dragons were bouyed at watching Bali lose a close one to Japan in the preceding game. A win over Singapore would have given us a fighting chance of progressing to the final.

The playing group were all fired up. The training services department had done a good job in the preparations, and the stage was set. The intensity of the game was clear for all to see, with neither side scoring for the first six minutes. A few fights broke out around the ground showing that there was no love lost between the two teams.

Singapore were first to break the deadlock with a clever goal. A couple of points followed for Singapore to see them go in with an 8 point lead at half time.

An early goal to Singapore in the second half saw them extend their lead. It was going to be tough for the Dragons from here. The Dragons did start to win more of the ball and were making less errors. A goal to Rob Tucker with five minutes remianing offered the Dragons some hope. But Singapore tightened up and managed to hold on for an eight point win.

The Dragons could not make the final.

The Dragons final match was against the host Philippine Eagles side. The game was a bit of a mismatch, and the Dragons used the opportunity to rest a few players to allow everyone to have a decent run. Faulks and Long Hair were good for the Dragons up front and Riggsy was starring in the centre. The final score was Dragons 6.8 to the Philippines double bagel.

The beers then started to flow for the Dragons as we watched the other teams complete their round robin games. The most interesting thing was seeing who would play Singapore in the final. Japan had not lost a game coming into their last match against against Thailand. A win would put Japan in the final and a loss would have seen Bali progress. Thailand won the game in a thriller, meaning Bali went through to their first grand final.

In the final, a brave and weary Bali, who had travelled with the bare minimum squad, put on a good show in the first half, and were only down by 3 points. However, this was short lived as Singapore turned it on in the second half and cruised to an easy win and their second Asian crown.

Thanks to Will Hamilton for organising the tour and for coaching, Riggsy the skipper, Russ the head of the training services department and Nick Hyland for running the changes. Congratulations also to Macca and Officer Byrne for making the All Asian team of the tournament. Riggsy created a dubious piece of history by winning player of the tournament, but failing to win selection in the All Asian side.

Founding father Ray Wood reflects

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Posted by rrburns 2206 days ago under News
 
Ray the Super-ruler
Curious Dragon: What years did you live in Hong Kong, and where did you work?
Ray Wood: I arrived in the British Colony of Hong Kong in September 1989 (just prior to the Hawthorn v Geelong Grand Final) and returned home to "Sports Lovers Paradise" in December 1992.
I'm a qualified Real Estate Valuer & Land Economist and was employed in the Rating & Valuation Department of the Hong Kong Government based in Causeway Bay and we lived at "Jardine's Lookout". Working for the Government was like working in a British/Chinese bureaucratic nightmarish time warp but it did allow me plenty of time to get the "Mighty Dragons" off the ground, assist on the committee of "The Australian Association of Hong Kong" where ever possible and go out to lunch a lot.

CD: I understand that you were inspirational in establishing the club. Can you explain how the idea came about and what your involvement was?

RW: It was at a AAHK Sundowners in about March 1990 when I was having a beer with a couple of blokes on the committee at that time and they we were talking about Rugby Union in Hong Kong. I asked them if the Association had ever considered attempting to organise any "Aussie Rules" in the Colony only to be advised in no uncertain terms that there was no one to organise it unless I was silly enough to attempt it as no one would be interested in participating any way. Well that was the proverbial red rag to a big ugly bull like me and the rest is history.

CD: A lot has been said about your magnificent efforts in the establishment of the club, but very little about your football ability. Was there any, and where did you play?

RW: My individual football ability could only be described as quite incredible but mainly existed in my own head being a true "Legend in my own Lunchtime". I played 90% of my career at full forward where I fully utilised my greatest attribute (my big arse) to take many a specky and kick (nearly without exception) truly through the big sticks. Unfortunately the majority of the time it was through the big sticks right next to the even bigger sticks but there were some very memorable behinds scored over the decades.
On a serious note I played for the Ormond (A Grade) Amateur Football Club in Melbourne from 1970 - 1986 (mainly reserves) and was lucky enough to be part of 6 winning premiership teams. Captained the reserve side, Club
Vice President and was awarded Life Membership in 1982 of what has to be one of Australia's greatest clubs. I then played for Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast 1988-1989, Hong Kong Dragons 1990-1992 then back to the Gold Coast playing for the Gold Coast Super/Master Rules Club serving as President 1999-2002 and retiring as a player at the age of fifty last September after Captain - Coaching the Queensland State over 50's (Super Seniors Team) at last years national carnival held in Cairns.

CD: In your opinion, who was the best footballer at the Dragons in your time at the club?

RW: There were a swag of them really and many had previously played at the top levels in Australia. Names like John Dillon, Ric Reddell, Colin Reid, Paul Devereux, Bruce Brown, Garth Mc Lardie and Glen Fliesher all come to mind. There was one however who consistently stood out above everybody else and that of course is Will Hamilton, who I think played his last game with the Dragons this year - 2005 (Ed: Correct, but never say never). Will was one of those naturals who was quick, took huge grabs, kicked the ball a country mile and could win the game off his on boot if he wanted to. Just imagine what he could have been like if he didn't smoke and drink? Off the field the greatest Dragon was without doubt the infamous Paul Hart for all his tireless work and splendour.

CD: I am sure you are proud that the best and fairest award has been named in your honour given your contribution to the club. Let me know your thoughts when this was announced.

ANS: Yeah you blokes really caught me on that one, I was quite honestly gob- smacked but being the shy individual I am, I gratefully accepted the huge accolade. One of the most memorable and proudest nights in my life was when I returned to Honkers at the end of June 2003 and met all the current Dragons at the AAHK Dinner Dance at the Wanchai Convention. The reception I received will remain with me forever as will the taste of your crocodile skin boots "Farm".

CD: Now that you are living back in Australia, what do you do with your time?

RW: I still have a 9-5 job as the Principal Property Officer of the Gold Coast City Council and also dabble in real estate developments both in SE Qld & Vic.However I'm in the throes of moving back to Victoria due to superior medical services for my beautiful but severely disabled 10 year old daughter Inga. She together with my wife Kym and 14 year old son Tom have already moved back down there and I'm toughing out on the Gold Coast until I sort some properties out up here. I am looking forward to becoming heavily involved again with my beloved Ormond Amateur Football Club in Melbourne to assist them in any way I can in regaining their rightful place at the top of the A Grade VAFA Ladder.

CD: What other past or present Dragons do you still keep in regular contact with?

RW: Most the blokes I mentioned above as great ex Dragon players obviously. I reckon there has got to be a few free beers there somewhere.

CD: You may be aware that fellow club legend Tom Dooley has recently taken over the coaching role of the Jakarta Bintangs after several years in the football wilderness. Do you ever get the itch to join the Dragons on a tour for one last coaching effort?

RW: The stories I could tell you (but won't) about young Grant (Tom) Dooley - didn't he do us all proud with his efforts involved with the Jakarta terrorist bombing. Yeah it's great to see what he is doing with the Bintangs and I wish him every success. As for me I just love the great game of Aussie Rules and hope to have the chance of joining the Dragons in the next few years at home or on tour and would love to help out in any capacity I can be of use.

Ray Wood was talking to Michael 'Farmer 'Robertson, the self-professed Most Powerful Man in Asian Football