No worries about their pink strip clashing with any other team jumpers.

A new team has arrived on the international roster, with the discovery in the jungles of south-east Asia of the Laos Elephants.

The team recently travelled to Hanoi where it was part of a tri-nations tournament involving the Vietnam Swan and the Thailand Tigers. The Lao lads seem to have made a reasonable fist of things, although they lost both games. The Tigers won comfortably in both their matches to win the series.
1. Vietnam Swans 5.2.32 def. Lao Elephants 3.5.23

2. Lao Elephants 4.4.28 def by Thailand Tigers 10.3.63

3. Vietnam Swans 3.0.18 def by Thailand Tigers 12.6.78

Word from the Mekong is that the Laos team train at the 'world famous sandpit' and operate under the banner 'Pants down, Trunks up'.

Asia's newest footy side had 13 players make the trip from the Lao PDR to pull on the pink and grey jumper (pictured above), augmented by eight curious Irishmen who had seen them carrying a Sherrin at the airport and decided to come along for a kick.

The Elephants went down to the Vietnam Swans by nine points in their first-ever match, a gallant effort in extreme heat and humidity with a number of players (not least the Irish) having never played competitive footy before. In the following two games, the Thailand Tigers proved themselves a long way ahead of their Indochinese regional rivals, defeating the Swans 85-21 and the Elephants 63-28.

In a side note for trivia buffs, international footy identity "the Big Rooster" both designed the jumper and took the field for the Elephants, meaning he has now played for teams from 19 countries.

Bintangs struggle

The Brunei Sharks are also lurking around the place, with a game scheduled against Vietnam.

Another post-Champs tour result is in. The Jakarta Bintangs travelled to Singapore last month and lost a close tussle. Final score: Bintangs 9.11 (65) to Wombats 12.14 (86).

The Bali Geckos earlier retained the Java-Bali Cup for the third year in a row, beating home nation rivals Jakarta.
Bali Geckos 14 15 99
Jakarta Bintangs 7 16 58.

The Japanese grand final.

Dingoes bark in Japan, Bali win 9s
The Japan AFL's Top League expanded to outside the Tokyo area this year with the arrival of the Osaka Dingoes bringing the numer of clubs to six. The Dingoes made the local Grand Final but lost to the Tokyo Goannas by 24 points.

Bali beat the Singapore Wombats in the final Bali 9s in front of an impressive crowd that included the Geelong Premiership team. The Geckos are now preparing to host the 2008 Bali 9s Masters, to be held June 7.

China news
In other Chinese footy news, the two expat-based mainland clubs clashed in Shanghai on the weekend of November 10, with the Beijing Bombers having their first-ever away win over the Shanghai Tigers.

At the grassroots level, the Tianjin Normal University (TJNU) footy club has recently branched out to form a club at its Yangcun campus, the newbies debuting last week in an all-Chinese three-team tournament in Tianjin.

The TJNU City and TJNU Yangcun teams were joined by the SiShen Bombers, the local development squad of the Beijing Bombers, with around 50 Chinese students aged 18-22 taking part. The TJNU City side came out on top on the day, defeating Yangcun 36-25 and the SiShen Bombers 43-13, in a tournament enjoyed by all despite the wind and cold weather.

THE FIREBREATHER

Triplets, triplets, triplets
No stranger to defying the odds, Shannon Morgan is about to become a father of triplets! Shannon and wife Liz will be one of the one in 8,100 pregancies that result in triplets. The sad news is it looks like the amazing news will see the couple returning to Oz to take on the fun-filled challenge in the company of family and friends. The head-wetting celebration will have to be scheduled as a three-day blow-out.

Squash comp resumes ... MAYBE
The intra-club squash comp is now into its second year without reaching denoument. Rivalling the America's Cup as the world's oldest trophy, it was set to continue on Dec 17 when Prez Byrne was at long last to come out of hiding behind six months of excuses to take on Bogan. Alas, he reneged on the booking again so we wait. A forfeit looms large. The winner will play Feeney in the final.

Get a run on
Stoochy Junior Burger and Tommy Polk took part in the weekend's (Dec 2) run aropund Disneyland. The pair clocked in a half marathon in the more than respectable time of 1hr 42min. Peripheral Dragon tipster Woodsy did the 10km earlier in the morning in a reputed 51min.

Deuce, Kyoko and Jake

Pending nuptials
Physio Faulks and Lisa Martin have both updated their Facebook status to .... is engaged. Awwwww

Dragon in baby shock
In one of the more surprising developments of the year, newly married former Dragon Garry 'Deuce Bigalow' Frenklah has become a dad. Kyoko delived a 3.3kg (51cm) boy, Jake Kou Frenklah (Nakamura) at 7.49am, November 14 after what the Bigalow described as a "short but intense one-hour natural labour". Short but intense sessions with Bigalow have indeed been productive affairs over the years. Wife, child and father are all doing well.
For those who don't know, Deuce is a club legend of long standing, his status being particularly impressive given he played one game and is rarely seen. He managed to break his wrist in the Dragons worst ever drubbing - but played on regardless. Relive those heady days by going to June 2002 Jakarta match report under Match Results section. It's a good read. Congrats to the Frenklah family.

Faulkner the fundraiser: led the Warriors team of Dragons on the hike from hell.

Mixed results for Dragons hikers
Faulks and Ronnie have once again conquered the MacLehose Trailwalker, marching the requisite 100km in 23hrs 40 mins, picking uip speed over the final stages once they had offloaded some luggage. A brave effort from Dicko saw him struggle to the 70km mark before bowing out of the gruelling event. President Byrne faltered early, falling by the wayside after 25km.

"We last saw him curled up on the track in foetal position," said the unflappable Faulks.

Byrnes had boasted that he would devour the distance with a training build-up to the event that centred around drinking heavily at the Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne and avoiding any hiking in order to "save myself for the big day".

The main page website photo was taken during a basic level hike of the the Dragons Back, and should have served as a prescient warning of what was to follow in the Trailwalker.

Irrespective of the result, the four lads are worthy of high praise for raising lots of money for a worthy charity.

Further details and photos as they emerge.

If any other Dragons took part, please email media@hk-dragons.com with details.

Melbourne Cup - rating 'dead'
Here is a tip you all should heed. For the Melbourne Cup, Bogan is betting on Zipping. He has a proud tradition in the Cup - this year will likely mark the 30th time in 30 years of betting on the cup that he has not picked the winner. He has picked three horses that died during the running of the race (Bold Print, Dulcify, and, if recalled correctly, Think Big). So don't bet on Zipping.
Rumour file: it is not true that Bogan bet on Shane Sibraa's horse when it died mid-race a couple of weeks back at Happy Valley.
A large contingent will be at the general public outer area ($10 entry) on Tues night of the Cup at Happy Valley. So giddy-on up.
[UPDATE: Zipping has just finished 4th behind winner Efficient]

Royal birthday
Former First Lady Dorian Loi-on Lai Robertson celebrated her birthday on November10. Public holidays in her honour were held in Taiwan, Antigua, DR Congo, Palau, Comoros, Lesotho and Anguilla.

New York, New Sobriety
The Jackal has reported (on Nov6) that he has just enjoyed/endured his first alcohol-free week in living memory since arriving in New York. He duly reported this 7 days, 0 hours and 3 minutes after taking off from Hong Kong, so he is obviously pleased with himself.

Marcel Marceau
Spotted in LKF: That man of few words and plenty of action, Gareth, was recently spotted in LKF doing some moves. When asked by a new acquaintance if he played golf, he deferred from comment, preferring to launch into a Michael Jackson dance routine that included the moon walk, before swivelling and launching into a beautifully choreographed golf swing. He returned to his beer without actually clarifying whether he played golf.

Web traffic report
September 21 saw one of the busiest days ever for the website, with nearly 250 people tuning in during the day to get all the juice on the Beach Party and Vietnam Tour. September and October were pretty steady, with around 30,000 page views. Around the world, Ireland made its first appearance in the traffic Top Ten, while the UAE, newcomers to Asian footy, continue to tune in to our exploits. The percentage of our total hits coming from Australia also rose last month to about 30 percent.

September top 10........................OctoberTop 10
United States...............................United States
Singapore....................................Japan
China...........................................Great Britain
Great Britain................................UAE
Netherlands.................................Singapore
Canada........................................Thailand
Vietnam........................................Vietnam
Malaysia.......................................China
Thailand........................................Canada
Ireland..........................................Malaysia
(Big-hitting Hong Kong and Australia not included)

... but July was the biggest yet
July saw a record number of readers tune into the website. Almost 1100 different visitors clocked up a maassive 134,000 hits, or 65,500 page views, more than double the previous month.
Nothing breeds success like success. the Asian Champs victory saw a deluge of traffic, including another record, the single-day high of 230 visitors on July 16 and 6000-plus page views, about six times the average.
Internationally, Farmer single-handedly managed to elevate Italy into the top ten for the first time during his holiday, while our expats in Britain took it back to top billing.

The Dragons' movers and shakers

.................................
Firebreather archive
All Firebreather columns are now archived every now and then. See News menu for all previous stories and columns.
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We're always keen to hear a candidate for Quote of the Week or Excuse of the Week.
Or have you got any goss' you wanna spread, news tips we simply have to know about or cries for help that need an audience? Drop a line to media@hk-dragons.com
The editor will guarantee confidentiality, while ensuring no-one threatens us with libel or physical retribution.

The Dragons: winners off and on the field in 2008

Wan Chai - Aaron Bester won the Dragons highest individual honour at the 2007 awards night on friday at Heat in Wan Chai. He pocketed the Ray Wood Medal as fairest and best, pipping runner-up Shannon Morgan, to join a pantheon of champions on the Dragons honour roll.

He then filled his other pocket with the leading goalkicker medallion.

On a gala evening littered with witty speeches and humouress asides, the Dragons bestowed awards on their best and most dedicated. Nathan Byrne took the coveted Best Clubman award for his herculean efforts at the helm of the all-conquering Dragons 2007 outfit. The award came as a major surprise to the tireless President, who had expected his very, very, very close friend treasurer Nico to grab the medallion for his continued reluctance to fiddle the books.

Justin Faulkner was the deserved winner of the coaches award, as recognition of his selfless contribution to the club throughout the year. Whether holding individuals together through his physio work or forging the fitness of those took part in the gruelling midweek training sessions, the club games record holder continues to function at the heart of the club. In his acceptance speech, Forks, apropos to nothing at all, took the opportunity to slate the President's lacklustre performance in the recent 100km Trailwalker.

Johnno Worthey took home the Best Newcomer award for his stellar season, in an award that, given the influx of new talent this year, was arguably the most open award of the evening.

Craig 'Bogan' Francis was presented with a Fremantle jumper signed by the entire team for his on-going services to the club as Media Manager.

The crowd of about 50 people had a cracking evening, despite the presence of some very scary moustaches. Lips, doing his bit for Cathay's Mo-vember Madness, resembled burt Reynolds circa his Cannonball Run days. Besty was unable to attend, so Chopper Reid accepted his awards on Besty's behalf.

After all that, everyone got smashed.

Cats fans had plenty of reason to smile

KOWLOON: The Aussie Association/HK Dragons latest AFL Grand Final collaboration was another outstanding success, especially for the majority Cats fan base in attendance.

An estimated 400 people filled the Holiday Inn TST to witness the greatest GF massacre of all time, with the Port Power experiencing a complete mental and physical blackout as the Cats savaged their prey.

MEMORY AND POWER LOSS

The near farcical match elicited two responses from the AFL faithful - with one parochial camp simply relievewd the Cats were to break their 44 year drought with a flood of goals and the other section turning to alcohol and social chit-chat in the absence of a contest.

This writer was somewhere in the middle, enjoying the shellacking but also getting drunk enough to lose all his notes, interviews, photo caption names, camera, wallet, son (later found pulling down the ballroom chandeliers with balloons in front of the big screen) and wife (found the next morning).

The wallet was later found bulging with the four-grand-plus in winnings from having drawn the Norm Smith medallist (incidentally, with the last name left in the bag).

The auction of a signed Hawthorn jumper fetched a good price and a host of winners away with prizes i cannot remember but they were really good ones.

FREE PLUG

A dozen Auskick kids took to the stage and, in a coup for the opposition code, each walked away with a brand new official rugby ball. Anyone interested in getting their kids involved in the Auskick programme or wanting to help out (all Dragons take note), email the following:
aussierules_hkkids@yahoo.com.au

President Byrne, DJ Robbie flank a fellow Cats fan

And so a fantastic day of revelry and history unfolded. A large contingent decided that drinking from 11am to 5pm was insufficient and kicked on to Bulldogs TST (this writer actually managed to go home, fall asleep and somehow wake up at the bar a few hours later). As for what everyone else had to say about the day - well, if you find my notes let me know. A photo gallery will be posted on the website soon so if you see yourself on it email me your name at media@hk-dragons.com

Until 2008, and the Year of the Docker, this is The Bogan signing out. Well played everyone.

Staff crew - Beach Party 2007. Prez, Boges, Nico and the Stoochmeister.

The Dragons on Saturday staged one of their most colourful and original club nights, with 120 people turning out at South Bay beach on the southern shores of HK Island.

The gala night of night combined the end of year festivities of the club with the 40th birthday of club stalwart, Boges.

Juiced up by a four-hour open bar, smooth DJ sounds from Yumla regular Adam Wright and vodka sculling from the ice sculpture, the big crowd enjoyed a great rooftop party overlooking a great beach on a misty (smoggy? either way, it only added to the ambiance) night.

Social coordinator Stoochy deserves high praise for pulling together some fine accoutrements. The footy shaped ice sculpture, the fire juggler and a fine selection of grub. The magician however did a very convincing disappearing trick by not turning up! Nico and Boges spent the night reeking of citronella after lighting 30 tiki torches. The footy theme continued with the 40th birthday footy-shaped cake in Fremantle colours.

The club lavished about $20,000 on the event and it was unanimous that it was club money well spent, raising the profile of the team and sport in Hong Kong courtesy of the large and diverse crowd on hand.

Despite some management protestations over volume levels, the beach resounded to clubland tunes and rock anthems til 3am, just a few hours sleep before the junk trip for the departing Jackal. Those who completed the weekend double bill could truly be said to have been 'Jackalised'.

Dragon Beach will go down in the annals of Dragons history as one of the finest social events staged on home shores and raises the bar for all future events.

The Big Unit clears the ball

On Saturday 14th July at approximately 5.10pm, the Hong Kong Dragons (for the 3rd time in 5 years) won the 2007 Asian Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.

In one of the hardest fought battles ever seen, we defeated Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Dubai to take on Bali in the grand final. Given Bali had lost the last 2 grand finals to Singapore, we knew we had to dig deep.

With 5 seconds to go and 1 point up, the Dragons were looking great until Bali marked a ball on the boundary, 40m out from goal. They got a point and it was a draw.

In an epic battle into time-on, we were able to get up 43-34.

A huge congrats goes to Aaron Bester (leading goal kicker), Shannon Morgan (Captain), Dwight Stuchberry (Vice-Captain), Jonno Worthley, Matt Baron and Damien Guengerich for making All Asian selection.

Another big thanks goes to the Dragons Committee including Craig Francis, Chris Nicolay and Dwight Stuchberry who helped out in making 2007 a professional and well planned year. Boys - we got there!!

A final major thanks goes to our sponsors: Michael Page, Bulldogs, Westpac and Compelite.

Dragons - it has been a fantastic year as President and I can only thank all of you for your hard work, commitment and enthusiasm in 2007. To not have all Dragons take the field on the weekend was hard to swallow, however every single one of you have been great clubmen and are great friends.

I look forward to celebrating this hard fought victory in the weeks and months to come and look forward to our tour to Ho Chi Min City on 1st September to play Vietnam as the final match of the calendar year.

To view an article in the Bangkok Post, please click on:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/150707_Sports/15Jul2007_sport07.php

From bottom to top of the ladder in one season

THE FIREBREATHER

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Lucky I did not marry an Italian - they all have small kn*bs".
Mrs Dorian Lai Robertson, while looking at statues of famous people in Rome.

Squash semi final
The Bogan and President Byrne will this week fight it out for a spot in the Dragons Squash Tournament final against Mojo Feeney.

Call divert
After doing a runner from us, the president was diverted into another drinking establishment to squeeze in one last beer.

He put his mobile phone on the table and was enjoying the sights when a daring thief came up and snatched it.

He duly gave chase through the streets of LKF but was outrun by a 5.5 foot local with a limp.


A date to remember
A quick heads up - keep September 15 free for one of the Dragons most lively and fun-filled events on home soil. This beach party at South Bay Beach promises to be one of the most flamboyant and outrageous events on any calandar, not just the Dragons' chock-a-block one.

AFL website coverage
A write-up of the Asian Champs grand final appeared on the AFL official website. Check out:
http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=47457

Cup runneth over
The Dragons celebrated their Champs win on Friday night (July 20) with gusto. Bulldogs was the scene of the carnage, with a couple of key highlight performances worthy of note.

But it was the loss of the actual Asian Champs cup that best indicated the degree of reckless abandon that beset this neon-smeared night of nights. It was not until 3pm the following day that the cup resurfaced - in the gents toilets of Bulldgos bar in LKF. Despite the hectic traffic through the cublicle, no member of the team had the wherewithal to remove the coveted mug from its less than salubrious surrounds.

A Zoolanda dance-off between Besty and Byrnesy ended with the former conceding defeat after the latter rounded off his strut routine with a dazzling breakdance crescendo.

New big man Josh and his adoring wife put on a fine bondage and discipline show during the sculling-from-the-trophy bout, while several members of the squad returned from the impenetrable Castle de Jackale at 8am having sat through BMX Bandits on DVD. Priceless.

Big crowd
The website enjoyed its biggest single day of traffic on record on the Monday following the Asian Champs win, with 230 visitors recording almost 15,000 hits on the site.

QUOTE OF THE FORTNIGHT
Recalling his days in the army, our Dragon decribed the following incident: "I was charged after walking into the mess and accidentally firing my weapon. Come to think of it, I'm still getting in trouble for Unauthorized Discharge."

President Byrne

Monthly top ten
Last month saw a year-high number of readers tune into the website. 920 visitors clocked up 77,000 hits, or 35,000 page views.
And here's a glimpse of just who is tuning in around the globe to the website:

May top 10......................................June
United States...............................United States
Indonesia.....................................China
Great Britain................................Singapore
Thailand.......................................Great Britain
China...........................................Netherlands
Singapore....................................Thailand
UAE..............................................Japan
Malaysia.......................................Philippines
Japan...........................................Switzerland
Canada.........................................UAE
(Big-hitting Hong Kong and Australia not included)

Full list of results from the 2007 Asian Champs

Group A
China 4.2 d Vietnam 0.3
Bali 5.7 d Thailand 2.2
Jakarta 6.7 d Vietnam 4.1
Bali 3.8 d China 2.0
Jakarta 7.4 d Thailand 4.1

Bali 3.12 d Vietnam 3.1
Jakarta 7.5 d China 3.0
Thailand 4.3 d Vietnam 2.3
Bali 5.9 d Jakarta 4.3
China 6.4 d Thailand 2.1

Group B
Singapore 5.4 d Tokyo 1.2
UAE 4.8 d Malaysia 3.2
Hong Kong 6.6 d Singapore 0.1
UAE 6.0 d Tokyo 3.5
Hong Kong 5.2 d Malaysia 3.1

UAE 7.5 d Singapore 2.0
Hong Kong 6.2 d Tokyo 1.2
Singapore 6.4 d Malaysia 1.4
Hong Kong 4.6 d UAE 3.3
Tokyo 9.5 d Malaysia 4.1

GRAND FINAL

Hong Kong 6.7 d Bali 5.4
(scores had been tied at 5.4 before extra time)

LADDER

Hong Kong 5 wins (inc GF) 223%
Bali 4 (+lost GF) 144
UAE 4 160
Jakarta 3 152
China 2 108
Singapore 2 81
Japan 1 74
Thailand 1 57
Vietnam 0 49
Malaysia 0 45


Player of the tournament: Aaron Bester (HK)
Leading goalscorers: Aaron Bester (HK) and

BANGKOK: The Hong Kong Dragons have won the annual Asian Championships Aussie Rules tournament in front of 2,000 fans in Bangkok.

The Dragons took the crown in the ten-team event after beating Bali by eight points in a Grand Final that was taken to extra time after both sides were tied at 5 goals 4 points (34). For Bali it was their third consecutive second placing, while the Dragons won their third title after finishing seventh last year.

The Dragons began the day by thumping Singapore by 40 points, effectively ending their quest for a hat-trick of titles.

The second Dragons game saw them withstand a brave challenge from the much-improved Malaysia Warriors, winning by two goals.

In the third game of the day, the Dragons comfortably accounted for the Japan Goannas.

The third game of the day pitted Asia's oldest club against tournament newcomer the UAE Heat. Effectively a semi final, the UAE took a two point lead into the half time break but the Dragons regrouped to beat a very tough football side.

The other game taking place then saw the Bali Geckos also playing a semi final against the Indonesia Bintangs. Bali won by 15 points and a blockbuster grand final showdown was in place.

The Dragons and Geckos finished the game tied at 5.4-34 after a Bali player had a free kick on the boundary line after the final siren with the Dragons one point ahead. He kicked a point, to send the game into extra time. The Dragons kicked a goal into the wind and held on to win by eight points after the change of ends.

(Full match reports/pics to follow)

The Nicos: Ellie, Chris and Dominic

The following announcement from Chris Nicolay:
"Ellie and I are very proud to announce the addition of another colt to the stable! We now have St Kilda's 2022 half back line all sorted.

Dominic David Nicolay arrived at 2am last night without too much fuss (I didn't feel a thing..)

He came in at 3.795kg or 8'6" in the old scale 51cm long
Head circ: 37cm

Mum is doing very well and has assured me that the bout of Tourette's syndrome that suddenly overcame her at 1.50am was only temporary.

Dad on the other hand may need some counseling to get over it, and will be likely to seek the combined wisdom of Mr Asahi, Mr Tsingtao and Mr Boag at some stage in the next few days. Will keep you all posted on the details for the celebration.

Ellie is at a shabby little place known as the Matilda Hospital (here's cheers to the GS health plan) and will be there chilling out for a few days.

Auspicious debut: On his first night at training, new arrival Tom joined the injured list

Injury news
Byrneseye and Nico sat out training this week (July 1) as a preventative measure as they watch their hammy and calf complaints.
Rob Caldwell made a tentative return to the training track a fortnight ago. The self-proclaimed Big Man is recovering from a hammy (or some such degenerative elder statesman condition). He got through the training drills unscathed and then umpired the scratchy. He has pencilled in the morning of the first game of the Asian Champs for his next fitness test.
On his first night of training for the Dragons, Hong Kong new arrival Tom injured his shoulder when diving for a mark during a match drill. He wandered off to the local hospital caked in Happy Valley soil and doing a Riggsy (sans shirt) in the hope of attracting some quick medical attention from the nurses. He had earlier mentioned that he had not played footy for four years since sustaining an ankle injury and was hoping to see how it stood up at training.
Colin Mitchell last week broke his lower leg at training on Sunday (June 3) in a sickening tackling accident. Mitch will be sorely missed for the Champs and out of action for an indefinite period.
Dave 'Lips' Kerr, a regular in this column, resumed training this week after weeks sidelined with a torn calf muscle, acquired in the opening minutes of the Jakarta match in Mong Kok. The doctor dismissed claims he had been kicked by a Bintang (without even knowing their reputation), saying it always feels like that.

Besty looks for a place to apply the vaso'

THE FIREBREATHER
Monthly top ten
The biggest movers in the top ten this month were Indonesia, achieving a career-high chart position of 2, in the wake of their visit to Hong Kong. It was the first time Britain had been dislodged from that slot since records began. And also reading about their own exploits were the United Arab Emirates, who perhaps read here first the exclusive breaking news that they were playing in the Asian Champs. Canada slipped down the charts and Hong Kong readers accounted for a larger than usual proportion of the audience.
And here's a glimpse of just who is tuning in around the globe to the website:

May top 10...............................April
United States...............................United States
Indonesia.....................................Great Britain
Great Britain................................China
Thailand.......................................Canada
China...........................................Malaysia
Singapore....................................Thailand
UAE..............................................Indonesia
Malaysia.......................................Singapore
Japan...........................................Japan
Canada.........................................Netherlands

(Big-hitting Hong Kong and Australia not included)

QUOTE OF THE MONTH
You can be forgiven for getting a little excited on game day. Playing against the Bintangs, Besty yelled out to the bench to quickly get some vasolene out to him.

"You're not out there to make friends with them, Besty." Unnamed Dragon bench player.

Asian Champs attracts ten sides
As reported first by the Firebreather, a record field is confirmed for the Asian Champs in Thailand this year, with some real unknown quantities in the mix. They are: Bali Geckos, China Reds, Hong Kong Dragons, Jakarta Bintangs, Malaysian Warriors, Singapore Wombats, Thailand Tigers, Tokyo Goannas, United Arab Emirates Heat and Vietnam Swans.

Latest results
Bali Geckos, runner up in the past two Asian Champs, recently knocked over the Thailand Tigers in their own backyard, during the annual Anzac meet at Kanchanaburi. Score 9.6 vs 3.5. Bali veteran Gunny Muir proved as dangerous as ever, picking up the BOG. The Tigers had earlier in the year thumped the visiting Malaysians by ten goals.

Anyone with kids should take a look at Auskick

Registration is HK$500 per child. The program is run by the Hong Kong Australian Rules Junior Football Club, a non-profit volunteer group. If you have any enquiries please email aussierules_hkkids@yahoo.com.au

.................................
Firebreather archive
All Firebreather columns are now archived every now and then. See News menu for all previous stories and columns.
.................................
DROP PUNT US A LINE
We're always keen to hear a candidate for Quote of the Week or Excuse of the Week.
Or have you got any goss' you wanna spread, news tips we simply have to know about or cries for help that need an audience? Drop a line to media@hk-dragons.com
The editor will guarantee confidentiality, while ensuring no-one threatens us with libel or physical retribution.

The Dragons work some set pieces, with Byrnes up against Tim and Mick crumbing.

Training Sunday June 17 saw the Dragons, after some standard exercises, move into the first of a month-long series of set piece drills. The committee has put its gigantic wealth of football knowledge together and devised a series of set-piece gameplans that will be played out until Bangkok. Tuesday markes the first time these plan will be put into match practice, with a intraclub session at Mission Rd (see map in Club Info section of website).
About 25 blokes were on the track tonight and although the skills were a little patchy at times, there were some slick moves and sequences. Among those who looked particularly sharp were Nige, Stuchy, Gribble, Taity and Byrneseye even put in a flash dash down the wing that caught the eye. A host of new guys were on the track, including Tom (who injured his shoulder and headed to hospital), Mick who accidentally shaved his head at home, Stefan from Switzerland, and the lumbering giant Tim.

Action Man Kenny: Our Barry Hall lookalike takes a leaf out of the Barry Cable book

After previous training headlines like Fun in the Sun, the fitness and balls session for Thurs June 14 and the weekend June 10 session were called off with Happy Valley under water. This only makes midweek fitness sessions all the more important.
Happy Valley, SundayJune 3
Training was marred by the tackling incident that left gun player Colin Mitchell sidelined indefinitely with a broken leg.

Happy Valley, Saturday May 26.
Twelve dragons ventured to Happy Valley for a skills training session. The club welcomes another tall option in 'Dan', who displayed sound skills and looks like a quality acquisition for the club. Players experienced 'ideal' weather conditions for training; 30 odd degrees and approx. 85% humidity - ideal in the sense that the upcoming champs in BKK will resemble such weather. All touring Dragons need to make an effort to acclimatise themselves to such conditions, especially with multiple games being played on the day of the champs.

Dragon stalwart Sam Gribble put the team through some testing drills, with an emphasis on hard leading, hand passing and long kicking. as the session progressed, it became quite apparent that stamina will be play a vital role on the success of the upcoming asian champs. The session finished with a goal kicking drill, where it seems many dragons need to improve.

With less than seven weeks left until the Asian champs, all Dragons need to commit to both fitness training on Tues and Thurs evenings at Happy Valley with Faulks and on the weekends for skills sessions.
.................................
The Faulks-led fitness sessions are proving gruelling and reasonably popular. Ten blokes turned out Tuesday night May 15 for the testing stint on the outer track of the Happy Valley infield. Started with some quick-stepping through the rope ladder. No obvious candidates for Dancing With The Stars. Then it was down to the serious business of nine lots of 400m sprints. A fast pace was set throughout with all ten runners getting through in a time between 1min 12 secs and 1 min 25. Tough stuff.

The April 28 training session saw the Dragons stepping out in the season's first burst of genuinely hot weather. Once again the numbers were good and after a couple of weeks off the track with an 'absent-amah injury', the Firebreather didn't know half the squad.
Among the handful of newbies on deck the Firebreather had a beer with Johnno, an Adelaide A-grader new to HK with some height who, unlike so many of his peers, is within a decade of his prime.
Coach Wines is looking increasingly magesterial in the role of clipboard toting General, especially as he recovers from shoulder injury.
Shannon, Besty, Wu-boy, Stuchy and a coterie of fit Dragons put in a solid session that augurs well for the forthcoming tour of KL.

The April 15 training session was another good run with more than 20 players on the track, including half a dozen new faces. The following training run on Saturday morning April 21 was also well-attended with more than guys putting in a solid workout. Earlier reports that there was hardly anyone there are blamed on Farmer who as a banker can be relied upon not to count beyond his fingers.

M-Rad takes a grab out front

The March 25 training session was the best of an already high standard month of footy. Twenty two blokes put in an inspired session. There were a few lapses of concentration at some points but overall the skills were good and commitment solid. Besty took the side through a crumbing and running drill and the session ended with some gruelling one-on-one drills and the obligatory 'inverted pyramid' of sit-ups and push-ups.

Again there were a few new guys on deck, including Matty Baron who last showed up five years ago. Jimmy was a ruck-sized new addition and M-Rad (pictured right) had his brother Fred on the track, which made for a particularly prickly man-on-man drill at the end of the night.

Highlight: some sterling, unbroken passages during the six-point delivery drill.
Comic relief: Longhair Mallia doing an inadvertent socceroo-style header during circle work.

Kev from Narrogin made his debut on the training track this week

Training session, March 18
Another great turnout, with about 15-20 blokes on the track. This came as a relief when there were only two there at 4.30pm, the designated start time.

Once again there were some new faces on the track, including Lips' mate Kev from Narrogin (in the WA wheatbelt).

Building on last week's start to the season, the session focused on just getting the skills right, with the usual handball, short pass drills kicking things off and circle work rounding out the night.

Make sure you get along this week (a few minutes earlier, maybe) and get involved. The season has started really well so keep it going. Malaysia tour is looming large on the calendar.

And finally, if you have any hassles getting to training on a Sunday because of the kids, just bring them along. There's always a few kids around and some footies for them to kick around.

The junior Dragons kept busy on the sidelines

Training session, March 11
An excellent turn-out of players for the first training run of season 2007 hit the track under the tutelege of the newly revamped Football Department.

Happy Valley's infield reverberated to the sound of 20 Hong Kong Dragons putting in a very energetic and polished 90 minute session.

With new coach Winesy taking the reins and Training and Fitness coaches Besty and Morgan assisting ably, the squad could be barely be held back from putting in a full-throttle skills workout.

Winesy begun his tenure by instructing his charges that he would keep the talking to a minimum except for game days. He then proceeded to explode that theory by talking it up after every drill. The former A-grade star also tried in vain to keep the session light and easy-paced but after so long off the paddock, noone paid heed to that call. One sensed this was much to coach's inner delight.

Phil and Darren were a couple of the new faces for the Dragons opening training session of the '07

Among the familiar faces were a couple of FNGs, namely Dazza and Phil.

After a particularly dazzling bout of circle work, coach Winesy regaled the squad with compliments, only to notice a slight falling off immediately after.

"Just as I gave you all effusive, ummmm, positives, it fell away a bit," said Winesy, giving some the players hint of the powers of observation and dodgy syntax they can expect this season.

On a misty night under some late light drizzle, the Dragons put in a good night full of early voice, run, backup and even some finesse and touch.

Quote of the night went to Nico, who upon being farted at by the well-travelled Besty during streches, spat: "I don't know how they let you through customs with that shit".

REMINDER: The first squash results are coming in. If you haven't organised a hit with your drawn opponent (see squash story for draw), try and get it sorted this week.

Boges

Shannon escapes the Bintangs, who fly in V-formation

The Dragons then started to get a bit of ball movement going and kicked two goals for the rest of the quarter to take a lead of about 7 points at quarter time.

Coach Wines was not too happy with the Dragons at quarter time, pointing out that the Bintangs were using the corridor, but we kept going wide.

The second quarter was much of the same, with just a couple of goals for each side, and the Dragons taking a similar lead into the main break. Ageing back-pocket specialist Craig 'Bogan' Francis was showing his teammates what to do in the backline with some quality pinching, spoiling, jumper pulling and toe-treading. Chris 'Nico' Nicolay was also repelling wave after wave of Bintang batteries.

Just to add a bit of confusion, the second half quarters were extended to 20 minutes, meaning half-time was not really half-time.

The Dragons started the third quarter strongly with midfield players Dwight 'Junior Burger' Stuchbury, Matty Baron, Shannon Morgan and Col'n Mitchell all getting their hands on the ball, and former Bonnie Doon pin-up Graeme Rigg doing well wherever he was playing. New CHB Jono and CHF Besty were taking more marks than a tandem of German bankrobbers. About half way through the quarter the Dragons had a 22 point lead, and it was looking like a blowout.

However, Jakarta were able to dig deep and dominated the last 10 minutes to take a one point lead into the final break.

Besty reels one in

Coach Wines was clearly upset with the way the Dragons dropped the intensity, and let the squad know. The side was well aware that going against the wind in the last quarter, there was every chance that the crowd could be witnessing the biggest boil-over since Polly left the kettle on. Not since 1996 when a Will Hamilton-led Thailand Tigers toured Hong Kong had the Dragons lost a game at home.

The prospect got even worse at the start of the last quarter when the Bintangs kicked a goal to go seven points up about two minutes into the last quarter.

However, that was the turning point for the Dragons, who proceeded to produce their best football for the rest of the game. After getting back the goal quickly, the Dragons kept the ball in the forward line for most of the quarter, and only 4 points in succession from set shots kept the Bintangs in with a chance. Then, with about 3 minutes to go, Riggsy moved forward to take a mark on the boundary about 40 metres out.

An outnumbered Dragons squad lines up with the Malaysians

May 12, 2007, Kuala Lumpur: The Hong Kong Dragons ventured to Kuala Lumpur to take on the Malaysian Warriors. It was the Dragons first trip to Malaysia since the triumphant 2004 Asian Championships victory.

However, unlike 2004 when 35 Dragons made the trip, only 15 players made this trip. Although the side was full of quality footballers, the lack of an interchange was always going to be the biggest worry for the Dragons, especially due to the 35 degree heat.

After an early 3am finish at the Beach Club on Friday night, the Dragons gathered in the lobby of the team hotel and jumped on the bus for the scenic 8 hour trip to the ground at the Alice Smith School - near the border of Thailand. The ground was in good shape.

Two Warriors kindly agreed to play with the Dragons, boosting our numbers to 17, but it was also decided that the game would be 16 a side, meaning just one player on the interchange. The Warriors had a large squad of about 50.

Aaron Bester was selected as captain at the pub the night before the game by boyfriend Byrne, and after losing the toss, the Dragons were kicking into a very light breeze. However, despite this, the Dragons kicked the first two goals of the game in the opening five minutes, not even allowing the Warriors to go forward of centre.

The big Unit Finchy kicked the first goal, quickly followed by a goal from 45 metres by Besty. The Warriors then started to work together, and kicked the next two goals. The Dragons added a third just before quarter time to take a handy lead of 4 points in at quarter time. Quarter time scores were Dragons 3.1.19 to Warriors 2.3.15.

The second quarter was a close tussle with both sides having approximately equal possession. However, some poor kicking into the Dragons forward line was picked off by the Warriors defence too often and the Warriors added 2.3 for the quarter to just one point to the Dragons to lead at half time 4.6.30 to 3.2.20.

In the third quarter, the Dragons were against the breeze again, but it was apparent that at just two knots, it was not going to be a factor in the game. The Warriors started a little quicker after the long break, and kicked the first two goals of the quarter.

The Dragons rallied and totally dominated the last half of quarter, but were unable to make it count on the scoreboard. Dicko was turning back the clock to 2004 to the scene of his player of the tournament effort by marking everything that came near him. Stuch and Mitch had also lifted and one-quarter wonder Farmer was getting a bit of the ball in the forward line. A return of just 1 goal and 4 points did not justify the effort. The three quarter time score was Warriors 6.7.43 to Dragons 4.6.30.

With just 13 points in the game, and having dominated the latest part of play, the Dragons were confident of a win. However, early goals to the Warriors took the wind out of the Dragons sails and the Warriors were able to run away with an easy victory in the end. The final score was Warriors 11.10.76 to Dragons 4.5.29.

Best players for the Dragons were Stuch, Dicko, Mitch and Shannon.

Goals were scored by the Unit, Besty, Mitch and Adrian (one of the Warrior ring-ins).

Thanks to Mr President Nathan Byrne for organising what was still a great tour and all the tourists. We look forward to reversing the result at the Asian Championships in Bangkok in July.

Michael 'Farmer' Robertson

(Result appeared in Sports Briefs of the Sunday Post)

The former Collingwood and Sydney player clocked up almost 200 AFL games. Here he eludes Warren Tredrea.

The Firebreather has learnt that Dubai is poised to take part in its first Asian Champs and will not be content to merely make up the numbers. It is rumoured they will be sending a quality side that includes 2005 AFL premiership season player with the Swans, Andrew Schauble.

With a player of that calibre the Dubai Heat will be a side to be reckoned with. An inside source in the Middle East sheikdom said he would be working alongside "a few others
that played a good grade back home".

A further indication of the team's seriousness is that the Bangkok tour is fully funded by sponsorship dollars, or dirhams.

The Gulf is now home to numerous Aussie rules outfits.

Dubai this month staged its inaugural Dubai Cup in a nine a side competition involving seven teams.

The Dubai Heat went undefeated, beating teams such as the Doha Kangaroos from neighbouring Qatar, and local sides Satwa Swans, Dubai Celts, Airmiles Hawks, runners-up Dubai Dingoes and Clann na hOman/Abu Dhabi United.

The trophies were presented by another footy legend, 1980 Brownlow Medalist Kelvin Templeton from Footscray.

If, as expected, Dubai send a side to the Champs it will provide the Dragons the opportunity to play against a standout defender of the past decade.

For over a decade, Schauble had been a consistent player in defence for both the Collingwood Football Club and the Sydney Swans. After being struck down by injury in 2004 and struggling to recapture his solid form, he was restricted to only 8 games in 2005 and struggled to break into the young Sydney lineup. Following Sydney's premiership win in 2005 (which he was not a member of) Schauble retired from professional football at 28 years of age.

Junior Burger Stuchbury becomes one of the youngest committe members in Dragons history

From the rubble of empty beer bottles, a new new-look Dragons committee emerged at Bulldogs Bar in Lan Kwai Fong. A new coach, tours, sponsorship, recruiting and a master plan for global domination were mapped out.

Only two senior club executives retained their board positions in the Thursday night shake-up, with the club once again being led by Ray Wood medallist, President Nathan Byrne, and the Clubman of the Year Craig Francis retaining control of the Dragons' media empire.

From there it was all change.

Club stalwart and the fittest quadregenarian getting around in Asian footy, Gary Wines, takes the helm of the squad, replacing Riggsy as coach for 2007. The sometime wingman and back pocket specialist has previously captained A-grade sides in Australia.

Moved almost to tears when receiving the news, Winesy acknowledged the appointment was the culmination of many good years in the Dragons lair.

"It really is a great honour and I don't know what to say," he said, before passing out on the bar and losing his phone.

On the committe, Chris 'Nico' Nicolay steps into the Treasury and Merchandising slots left vacant by Michael 'Corky' Corcoran and Jamie Liddle. Dwight Stuchbury takes over the role of Social Events Manager and Jarrod Tidd assumes responsibility for tours. The latter appointment marked the end of an illustrious administrative career for club legend Michael 'Farmer' Robertson, who despite announcing his retirement from the game is still likely to attempt to add to his 51 games.

Other new faces on the committee for season 2007 are Shannon Morgan and Aaron Bester, who will both be responsible for fitness and training. Emulating the structure of the Blair government, Sam Gribble comes aboard as the Minister Without Portfolio.

Of immediate importance, it was announced that training will resume at Happy Valley on Sunday (March 11, time TBA. Keep an eye on the main page Training info box)

Outgoing treasurer Corky, who will return to Melbourne in April, presented a meticulous 978 page report into the club's financial affairs and concluded, memorably, that "Things are about the same as last year".

The club's financial position is relatively healthy but the club is to embark on a membership drive, with each player receiving a bundle of Dragons business cards. JB said his new role would reinvigorate the club's social scene, bringing some creative ideas from his tenure in South Australian football. Among the more innovative suggestions was a Piss, Pies and Porn Night. The committee looks forward to further input from the Burger.

Games and Tours

The tour schedule for 2007 was also beaten into shape, although some changes are always likely.

A rare night fixture is confirmed for March 29, at 9pm, with the Dragons taking on a visiting side from Perth. The late start will allow time for a decent warm-up and stretch after work. The planned Gaelic game for this month was cancelled by the Irish.

May 12 sees the team head to Kuala Lumpur for a rare tour to the scene of arguably the club's finest moment, the 2004 Asian Champs. A jumper presentation night will be held in the days before departure.

April 21 is tentatively set down as an intraclub game at Mission Rd (see map section on website, under Club Info).

KL: A happy hunting ground

On May 5 we will be in Kl and soon after, on May 19, we host Jakarta, who are on a one-week footy tour taking on China and HK. The game will be held at either Mission Rd or, possibly, Stanley Fort.

The Asian Champs are set in stone, taking place in Bangkok on July 14.

October 13 is pencilled in for a tour to Shanghai, scene of a stirring three point win this year and one of the highlights of the tour calendar.

Nico has promised a deviation from our traditional tour shirts, in a bid to enliven, in his words, our "espirit de corp".

The club will be pursuing a vigorous sponsorship campaign so if anyone knows of prospective sponsors please email media@hk-dragons.com

Last year was one of mixed success, with some good results on the road and at our home fortress but it was marred by a very disappointing Asian Champs in Jakarta.

The club is looking forward to a fresh start to what promises to be great year for the club. If you've read this far down the article, you know you will be aiming to do as much for the club on and off the field as you can. Bring it on.

Air El Tel attempts a take-off

THE FIREBREATHER
Baby dragons
Long-standing Dragon member, sponsor and non-playing tour specialist Alfie Chown is the proud father of a baby boy. Donna is well and good and the little fella is about two weeks old now and already is already commended with having good use of voice around the stoppages.
Former Dragon and prolific breeder Jarran 'Jazz' Neil reports from Melbourne that child number four is expected in about 5 months time. Early signs suggest he or she is pretty useful with both the left and right boot.

End of season gala
Keep tonight free for the Dragons end of season dinner and awards night, to be staged at the Peel Bar in Soho (21 Elgin St above Wildfire). The evening competes with the Brownlow Medal as one of the most glamorous events on the football calendar. Don some dapper threads, attach a trophy bride and strut on down.

Website monthly top 10
A quiet month for the website, with the Dragons off-season and the festive season combining to distract our loyal readers. January saw 636 visitors pop in about 1000 times to record 14,000 page views, about half the normal volume.
And here's a glimpse of just who is tuning in around the globe:

January top 10...............................December
United States...............................United States
Great Britain................................Singapore
Singapore....................................China
Thailand.......................................Germany
Germany......................................Great Britain
Japan...........................................Thailand
Netherlands.................................Philippines
China...........................................Netherlands
Taiwan........................................France
Indonesia....................................Canada

(Big-hitting Hong Kong and Australia not included)

Back to the Dragon
The Dragons this weekend tackled the mountains with a run to Big Wave Bay up, down and along the scenic Dragons Back trail. A dozen guys conmpleted the arduous journey and then topped off the hard yards by powering through a 12-hour session that went from suburban Skek-O to neon-lit Lan Kwai Fong. It was the second such run and is fast becoming a favourite on the Dragons training schedule. To take a look at the terrain check out the pics in the Photo Gallery from the run on October 30.

El Tel hangs them up
The Bearded Lady, Badly Drawn Boy, El Tel, Chelsea Dave or just plain Dave Hardy. Call him what you will but call him quickly because the big man who claims he was once a little man is leaving Hong Kong and heading to London. Missed will be those low-flying cameos in the ruck, dashes - nay, charges - from the backline and storytelling prowess around the beer stool.
Like most, he swears he will not be lost forever to HK after taking up a new engineering role in Blighty.
"Naturally, with Hong Kong situated on a nice little stop-over between London and Melbourne, we may well be popping in from time to time... Like, you know, on our way to and from our wedding in April...maybe...".
Assertive and poised as always.

End of season 2006 dinner
Sexier than Juddy's Brownlow missus and always a glamour event on the Dragons calendar, the end of season dinner is looking set for Friday February 9 at a venue to be announced. Aside from honoring the best and worst of 06, it is also a good time to look ahead to season 07. With that in mind, all offices in the administration are up for renewal and contenders for coach, captain and committee can start their election campaign at this night of nights. (All previous club honours are listed on the website under 'History', then 'Club Honours'.)

Club man tieing the knot?
Speculation abounds that Club Man of the Year 2004, Dave Riall, may soon be about to tie the knot with his girlfriend Bea (sister of Ai, the wife of fellow-Dragon Tim Keogh, who you'll find mentioned in the Past Players section). No word yet on who Cee likes in the Dragons line-up.

Manila Flashbacks
The Firebreather ventured into the dusty vaults of the Dragons annals this week while he was looking for a Nerf footy he lost when he was a kid. And lo and behold, while the Nerf ball remained lost, there wedged behind the two commemorative bottles of Dennis Lillee port and Pure Steel port, and under the Ripsnorter LP were the long lost photos of the Manila tour of 2004. Head to the photo gallery and scroll through to 2004 to take a look at the newly unearthed pics. There's some cracking action shots.
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Old and New Dragons talk
Two Dragons, old and new, have taken some time out with the Firebreather over a few dozen vodkas at the Big Bamboo in Shanghai and slurred their highs and lows and backgrounds. Take a gander at the Player Profile section to check out the profiles from Junior Burger and The Wooster.
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It's all bucked up
Burbs endured his Bucks night dressed as Mr Incredible last month. The Firebreather awaits confirmation of his leaving do which is expected to follow his wedding, set for the last weekend in January.

New Band rocks LKF: Mr Incredible and the Dragons

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Firebreather archive
All Firebreather columns are now archived every now and then. See News menu for all previous stories and columns.
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