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THE FIREBREATHER
URGENT: Trophy night
Keep November 23 free for the Dragons trophy night. Venue is being hotly debated. But it will be a big night. Ladies welcome.
Trailblazing fundraisers
Four Dragons will be taking to the MacLehose Trail this week for the gruelling 100km hike through the mountains of Hong Kong. A team comprising Faulks, Dicko, Prez Byrne and Ronnie Bertoli are competing under the banner of the Warriors (team 0417). Three of the team members are in fighting form and have trained for the event. Ronnie and Faulks are veterans of the event, expected to last about 24 hours. Dicko is making his debut and is nervous but the Prez is shitting himself, having done nothing but drink grog on holidays for weeks on end. Should be funny. And the boys are still in need of some sponsorship dollars. If you can give a hundred or so, call Faulks immediately on 9300 9998.
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 will be celebrating her birthday this weekend (of November10). Expect public holidays in her honour in Taiwan, Antigua, DR Congo, Palau, Comoros, Lesotho and Anguilla.
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.
U-turn
The much-trumpeted tour of the UAE Heat to Hong Kong is not happening. Thus, the Dragons will end the season as with eight wins from nine matches, with a loss to Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur the only blemish for 2007.
New arrivals
Mick Finnegan, the newly inducted Dragon and Asian Champs revelation, is expecting their third child. Two girls already run wild, so here's hoping for a third girl to keep him on his toes for the next twenty years.
New player profiles
Take a look at the past and current player profiles to see the latest additions to the pantheon of greats.
I'll give you the tip
Dave Tehan was our eventual tipping comp winner by 1 game over Pat Duffy and Jamie Liddle. Dave took home $11000 as first prize from a comp involving about 45 players. He generously donated more than $3000 back to the club, which will be used to purchase new footies for next season. He has now promised to come out next year for a kick too - a promise he will be held to - so well done mate.
Grim injury list
The Vietnam tour claimed a couple of injuries. Salty went down mid-game during his comeback match. Another, unnamed Dragon, is out with an, ummm, haemorroid. His quote: "My doctor even described this as worse than childbirth".
Belgian beers
On the rumour mill - some Dragons involvement in a new specialty Belgian pub, Frites, that opened on September 20. Take a look on the corner of Pottinger and Queens Road, Central.
True love
Overheard - A veteran Dragon informing another of his plans to marry, without of course having informed the Mrs-to-be involved.
Rookie list grows
Former Dragon and current Melbourneite and evident Catholic Jarran Neil (see past players section of website) has just dropped his fourth sprog a couple of weeks back. Gina and the kids are in good form. His latest girl makes it three one to the girls. Jarran recently described repatriation back to Oz as "great on the weekends but I miss Hong Kong during the week". The fact he said this on a quiet Tuesday night in Neptunes added resonance to his comments.
Slovenians, Arabs and Canadians
August again saw the website crack the rare 1000 mark in unique visitors. And playing no small part in one of our biggest viewer months (although the hits did not compare to the July Champs victory editions), was the UAE. They are watching and they are coming. Be ready. As for those Canadians and Slovenians, no idea!
July top 10......................................August
United States...............................United States
Great Britain................................UAE
China...........................................Great Britain
Singapore....................................Canada
Thailand.......................................Singapore
Indonesia.....................................China
Netherlands.................................Netherlands
Italy..............................................Thailand
Japan...........................................Philippines
UAE..............................................Slovenia
(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.
URGENT: Trophy night
Keep November 23 free for the Dragons trophy night. Venue is being hotly debated. But it will be a big night. Ladies welcome.
Trailblazing fundraisers
Four Dragons will be taking to the MacLehose Trail this week for the gruelling 100km hike through the mountains of Hong Kong. A team comprising Faulks, Dicko, Prez Byrne and Ronnie Bertoli are competing under the banner of the Warriors (team 0417). Three of the team members are in fighting form and have trained for the event. Ronnie and Faulks are veterans of the event, expected to last about 24 hours. Dicko is making his debut and is nervous but the Prez is shitting himself, having done nothing but drink grog on holidays for weeks on end. Should be funny. And the boys are still in need of some sponsorship dollars. If you can give a hundred or so, call Faulks immediately on 9300 9998.
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 will be celebrating her birthday this weekend (of November10). Expect public holidays in her honour in Taiwan, Antigua, DR Congo, Palau, Comoros, Lesotho and Anguilla.
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.
U-turn
The much-trumpeted tour of the UAE Heat to Hong Kong is not happening. Thus, the Dragons will end the season as with eight wins from nine matches, with a loss to Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur the only blemish for 2007.
New arrivals
Mick Finnegan, the newly inducted Dragon and Asian Champs revelation, is expecting their third child. Two girls already run wild, so here's hoping for a third girl to keep him on his toes for the next twenty years.
New player profiles
Take a look at the past and current player profiles to see the latest additions to the pantheon of greats.
I'll give you the tip
Dave Tehan was our eventual tipping comp winner by 1 game over Pat Duffy and Jamie Liddle. Dave took home $11000 as first prize from a comp involving about 45 players. He generously donated more than $3000 back to the club, which will be used to purchase new footies for next season. He has now promised to come out next year for a kick too - a promise he will be held to - so well done mate.
Grim injury list
The Vietnam tour claimed a couple of injuries. Salty went down mid-game during his comeback match. Another, unnamed Dragon, is out with an, ummm, haemorroid. His quote: "My doctor even described this as worse than childbirth".
Belgian beers
On the rumour mill - some Dragons involvement in a new specialty Belgian pub, Frites, that opened on September 20. Take a look on the corner of Pottinger and Queens Road, Central.
True love
Overheard - A veteran Dragon informing another of his plans to marry, without of course having informed the Mrs-to-be involved.
Rookie list grows
Former Dragon and current Melbourneite and evident Catholic Jarran Neil (see past players section of website) has just dropped his fourth sprog a couple of weeks back. Gina and the kids are in good form. His latest girl makes it three one to the girls. Jarran recently described repatriation back to Oz as "great on the weekends but I miss Hong Kong during the week". The fact he said this on a quiet Tuesday night in Neptunes added resonance to his comments.
Slovenians, Arabs and Canadians
August again saw the website crack the rare 1000 mark in unique visitors. And playing no small part in one of our biggest viewer months (although the hits did not compare to the July Champs victory editions), was the UAE. They are watching and they are coming. Be ready. As for those Canadians and Slovenians, no idea!
July top 10......................................August
United States...............................United States
Great Britain................................UAE
China...........................................Great Britain
Singapore....................................Canada
Thailand.......................................Singapore
Indonesia.....................................China
Netherlands.................................Netherlands
Italy..............................................Thailand
Japan...........................................Philippines
UAE..............................................Slovenia
(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.
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The Bogan and President Byrne will eventually fight it out for a spot in the Dragons Squash Tournament final against Mojo Feeney. Byrnes-eye is running scared and hiding behind excuses. He is expected to lose heavily. His latest excuse (Spet 25) involves having friends in town.
Dates to remember
The Dragons biggest fundraiser of the year is the 2007 AFL Grand Final, held in conjunction with the Australian Association. Tickets from the Oz Assoc - See main page for details.
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
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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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