(Clockwise from L) Amanda, Hippo, Wigger, Jess, Michelle, Mals, Byrne.

Both Hamish and Riggsy were overseas and sent in their messages of thanks from afar.

"I am honoured, thank you very much for this recognition from the Dragons. I'd love to accept this award but unfortunately the myth of the unicorn will have to live on!," said the rarely-sighted recluse.

Riggsy was more locquacious: "The Dragons continue to be a great club offering a chance to keep fit, meet new people but most importantly it has retained the bonds of mateship first established back at the clubs inception with guys like Ray Wood, Rick Riddell, Will Hamilton, Farm, Webby, Damo, Nick Hyland and Ronnie to name just a few. More recently guys like Byrnsie, Nico, Bogan, Mals and Stuch have made huge contributions to the club and their efforts must be applauded. It has been a privilege to have been involved in the Dragons and I think the experience has given me more than I will ever be able to give back to the club.
It is comforting to know that the clubs future is in great hands with Boges, Stutchy, Matty Baron, Wino, Woodsy and Dom at the helm. I look forward to hearing about future Dragon victories and hope to see the Asian Cup return to where it belongs," he said.

The departing Nathan Byrne took the mic, despite winning nothing and holding no official post. It was amusing enough though.

Awards Night - Due to overwhelming public demand, the venue for this Friday's Dragons Awards Night has been changed to the larger Bulldogs Wan Chai.

As well as honouring the great and good of Hong Kong Aussie Rules, guests will have the chance to win a week's accommodation at the fantastic Niseko Fresh Powder Apartments in Japan. Other splendid prizes will also be on offer.

So, the red carpet has been vacuumed, the trophy cabinet polished with Brasso, the tuxedos and formal evening wear dry cleaned. The momentous Hong Kong Dragons Awards Night is just days away.

The annual trophy presentation night is on Friday night, November 28, at Bulldogs Wan Chai from 7pm onwards. The club will crown the 2008 Dragons B&F with the Ray Wood Medal, while trophies will be presented to the Leading Goalkicker and Best First Year Player amongst others.

Club founder Ray Wood now resides in Perth and had intended to be in Hong Kong to present the award but regrettably is unable to attend. He did send his blessings to the club.

"It's obvious the Dragons have enjoyed a great year - fantastic - and with the best yet to come of course. I was very much hoping to be able to attend this year's award function on November 28 but unfortunately a current family situation means I will have to put that off until next year," said Ray.

"Please pass on my apologies and also my warmest congratulations to the winner of the "Ray Wood Medal" and all other 2008 award recipients."

Ralph - no stranger to pain (vs UAE, 2008 Champs)

Ralph Wheeler, the utility player with the impeccable kicking action, has made a late and impressive bid for most unfortunate player of the year award. With the season all but over, a couple of light Dragons training sessions were held before the planned China tour (before it was cancelled by the China contingent). Diligent in his preparation, Ralphie (as he has come to be known) was one of the players on the track for the penultimate session of the year at Happy Valley.

Sadly for Ralphie, he somehow contrived to do the dreaded ACL and is now setting himself for mid-next year.

"I ended up having to get an MRI done on my knee last week. The results show a "high grade" tear of the ACL which basically means it is holding on by a few threads... The good news is the surrounding cartilage seems to be okay," said an ever-optimistic Ralph.

"My plan at this stage is to see how it fares up when I get off crutches and all the swelling goes down. Then I can decide whether or not to head to Oz to have surgery in the new year. I'll then come back in March and do a few months with Faulks to rehab and build strength. Hopefully I won't need surgery at all if I can help it," he said.

Scenic Yangshuo was to host its first ever Aussie Rules game.

Sadly, we report that China has pulled out of the tour to Yangshuo/Guilin. Their excuses centre around the failure to lure any of the Beijing or Shanghai players to tour, with the local contingent in Yangshuo alone insufficient to warrant a tour.

I apologise to anyone who has structured there plans around the tour and can only say that the Dragons had done everything possible to make it happen. Flights were confirmed, the committee had put the blocks in place and enough Dragons had put their hand up to tour.

It is a disappointing way to end our year, especially in light of the inability to host a game in HK this year as well for reasons beyond our control.

So we now turn our attention to the end-of-season awards night. Keep November 28 free.

A committee meeting will be held this month to get planning underway for next year. The aim is to put our tour plans in place early in the year and to try to attract a visiting team (or two) in mid-2009. Also, should anyone wish to take on a committee role, please email president@hk-dragons.com

The Beijing Bombers extended their apologies and offered to host the Dragons next year. The fledgling Yangshuo Yobbos also expressed the hope the tour could be reorganised in the future.

Their correspondence follows:
Beijing Bombers:
"Sorry to say but I have given it a final push over the weekend to no avail. Despite my best efforts I have not had one person from Beijing or Shanghai put up their hand. Seems that the Y3000 price tag from BJ has scared everyone off so soon after Shanghai. Its also been a massive year for us with Manila, Olympics, Singapore, International cup fundraisers and games with the chinese boys, and then the icing on the cake with shanghai last weekend. On reflection it was a bit presumptuous for me to think I would get 10 to Yangshuo at the end of the biggest year ever for our club.

I have to apologise to you and the Dragons for letting you down like this, the interest you guys have shown towards this dream of mine to get footy started in Yangshuo has been fantastic. If Scotty is still keen on getting a group of Yobbo's together to play you guys it will be great, although I'm gonna be pissed I cant be a part of it.

I have also not been successful in drumming up any support in Shanghai as they have their big international rules decider against the Irish on the 15th and seem pretty pumped for that.

We have a BARFC committee meeting soon where we will discuss this. We have definitely learnt some lessons about how much we commit to. Hopefully we can make it up to you guys by hosting you to a great weekend in Beijing if you are able to travel up sometime next year. We have now hosted 2 full scale 18 v 18 games games here on our great new ground in Beijing and would warmly welcome you all to come and see for yourself the great strides we have made in developing footy here over the last couple of years, and while you still may have a slight chance of beating us before we start dominating the whole of Asia!

Best regards,
Keysy.
Beijing Bombers

From Yangshuo:
Unfortunately I really think we wouldn't be much good for you. Basically we are just a mix-matched group of ex-pats, a few Aussies and a few other randoms who were keen for a run around and a bit of fun. We were really following Grant and the Bombers lead on this one, I'm afraid without them we really wouldn't be much use.

Moral of the story is mate that I don't think we could pull together enough of a team for a decent match with you. I do strongly believe that there is a future for a regular HK vs Bombers/Shanghai match in Yangshuo though and hope you guys can co-ordinate a plan for next year.

.................................................
EARLIER PRE-TOUR REPORT:

The Dragons final tour of the year will take place on the weekend of November 15 in scenic Yangshuo (near Guilin) just an hour so flight from Hong Kong. The Dragons will play a combined China side on an historic footy tour.

All interested tourists should immediately email Tour Manager Stoochy at tours@hk-dragons.com to indicate their intent to be a part of this truly unique tour.

The Dragons will take on a combined China side featuring players from the Beijing Bombers, Shanghai Tigers and the fledgling Yangshuo Yobbos, comprised mainly of expatriate climbing tour operators.

This will be the last chance to tour for the year, not to mention the last chance to accumulate votes for the coveted Ray Wood Medal for the Dragons best player of the year. All players on this tour are also guaranteed plenty of quality game time.

Details about the format of the matches, hotel accommodation and flight times are being finalised but the club requires players to immediately declare their intention to tour so as to waitlist flights etc.

Yangshuo is a county in Guilin, Guangxi Province, China. Surrounded by karst peaks and bordered on one side by the Li River (漓江) it is easily accessible by bus or boat from nearby Guilin (65kms away). Over the years, it has become popular with foreign backpackers.

And as an added advantage in the wake of the global financial meltdown, this will be one of the cheapest tours we have undertaken, with Guilin just an hour away by plane and hotels expected to cost less than HK$150.

Get on board for the last tour of the year, to our ever-friendly motherland.

Woodsy (right): actual footy photos were hard to uncover.

Firebreather (FB): How long you been a Dragon?
Mark Wood (MW): I arrived May 2006, and was a member by June of that year, although I was a little late to get going with touring - work in that first year sent me around the world.

FB: How many tours you survived?
MW: Three tours; Thailand Champs 07, Manila Cup 08, Singapore Champs 08.

FB: Fondest memories?
MW: On home shores it would have to be the Beach Party, which is certainly not an event to be missed. A definite highlight of the year. In only its 2nd year already attracting keen diary enthusiasts to commence pencilling. Honourable mentions to this year's Ladies Night and the AFL Grand Final Day.

Away I would have to say the Manila Cup was a fantastic tour. We got the win and had a ball off the field. A really good place to tour as every sticks together, and more Dragons together usually means more laughs. More speeches than a
Greek wedding on the bus back to the airport Sunday. Harty was appalled!

The Rigg v Byrne "I'm not angry, just disappointed" tour. However the tennis/banter between these legendary Dragons on the bus ride home was exceptional. Please remember this bus ride was minus booze, but included
fire. Still rates as one of the greatest tennis games of the modern-era. Hats off to Capt Rigg for a straight sets demolition of the somewhat past-it Nathan 'feet of fire' Byrne.

FB: Whose the best player you played with?
MW: Besty - on and off the ground. He never dropped a mark. Fantastic with members of the opposite, feeding off his crumbs on the dancefloor was gold.

FB: How many more good playing years do you have left?
MW: Zero! Didnt have any to start with. You think I would join the committee if i could play? I can't play, so i have to contribute somewhere. Highly likely to stuff up being a committeeman as well.

FB: That's encouraging. Preempts my next question, which is, what fresh ideas are you going to bring to your club in your new role?
MW: Not sure yet... But reckon we need CREED

FB: What IS your new role?
MW: Still waiting to be told. I think I'm on the social committee, which is good. Though i would prefer one of these modern AFL terms. Director of Football Operations has my name all over it.

FB: What's with the weather/Phil thing?
MW: Angry Dragons are the worst kind of Dragon. When one Dragons feels he's getting a hard time, he makes its his priority to make sure another is feeling worse. Baby Dragon was given the unfortunate nickname of Jose with a slient 'H' by another vertically challenged Dragon. Jose didn't take kindly to said nickname, but wasn't able to come up with anything for the offending Dragon. So he directed his ire my way. I was giving weather reports (see above where i need to contribute something/anything) on Singapore before the champs each training session leading up to departure. Jose said it reminded him of Phil Toinby (yes, who the hell is that?) off Fast Forward. Now sorry kids, I stopped watching Fast Forward about one week in, so I have as about as much of an idea as the rest of the group. Jose loves it though, wets himself everytime.

With regard too being expert lifeguard / Olympic Volunteer / tweaking hamstrings and hearts / Port Adelaide loving South Australian - all true

FB: Tell us a little bit about the exciting world of shipping.
MW: Want to charter a ship? Come and talk to me. I only do the big ones though.

Training, Sunday, November 2

The last training run of the year was light workout with a small squad of players. We look forward to next year and hope to build upon the record numbers we had at training in the early part of this year and at midweek sessions in the latter half of the year. Thanks to Coach Wines for his tireless leadership on the track and to all the players who made 2008 a very enjoyable year.

Training, Sunday, October 26
The Dragons returned to the training track yesterday with three newcomers making an appearance. Making le debut was a Frenchman, Greg, as well as Brent Lister, Steven Smith (ex Perth and Japan) and David Kulkor. Wayne was another relatively new guy making an appearance. Kudos also to regulars Caldwell, Lips, PK, Will and Winsey, whose hamstring showed he is ready for a China tour return on November 15.
Training again this weekend. See homepage for details. Same time place. Final days to nominate to tour - email tours@hk-dragons.com to advise of your plans.

Wal tries to get the centre clearance away

Midweek gets underway
Midweek training in the lead-up to the Champs is on at Happy Valley this week, Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7.30pm, meeting at exercise mats (behind canteen/change rooms). On Sunday the August 10, at 3pm, we will be back to weekend skills sessions (firstly on the astro turf at Happy Valley) and then from Sunday August 17 we will be back on the grass pitch at Happy Valley.
The Dragons will also revert to Wednesday night skills sessions to lead us into the Champs on September 6.

Training, Sunday July 20
The second successive big turnout at Sandy Bay saw the Dragons put in a solid scratch match hit-out in fierce heat. More than 20 blokes were on hand in trying conditions on the fantastic artificial surface.

After a series of drills and token warm-ups, it was into a four quarter game of skins and shirts. Among the highlights were Deano's efforts in the ruck in preparation for Thailand, Mick's dry-reaching at half-time as he tries to regain fitness, the efforts of about four new lads on the track at their first training run and the return after a very long time of Dragon veteran Rob Caldwell, who is setting himself for the last tour of the year.

There is no training this weekend, July 26, due to the Thailand tour. Times etc for the next session will be announced shortly. The Asian Champs in Singapore are only five weeks away so we will be lifting the tempo post-Thai tour. If you intend to stay with the team for the Champs, advise by email to tours@hk-dragons.com immediately.

Players were this week also handed their Friar Park (AIA) insurance cards.

Wet weather should not dampen our spirits

Training, Sunday July 13
A heartening response to the Dragons rallying call for numbers on the track after a couple of quiet weeks. More than 20 members were at the ground this week to enjoy an astrturf surface surprisingly close to the real thing and significantly better than Happy Valley, which remains closed for renovation work

After the obligatory kick throughs and handball drills, it was into a lively two-on-one drill end-to-end before we got into a lengthy and competitive scratch match. Captains Crites and boges chose their teams and in a close call with noone really paying attention, it was likely the Crites line-up that took the honours. Some more new lads on the track performed credibly, Ryan, Carl (who will be on the Thai tour), Abs and second-week down for Dee, who defied his rugby roots to put in a strong game in the ruck. Troy Harris, who makes the trip from Macau each week (take note, those of you who think Sandy Bay is a bit out of your way) worked hard and Bowski tried to take the game up to Big Hughie (aka The Mongoose).
Lips took a screamer in the air but missed the set shot, while Tom Stonier also reeled in some great grabs up forward. Boges slipped in a sliding smother into charging pack for some kudos, while Doddsy, Wally and Mick teamed up superbly along the flanks for the winning side. Play of the day was a sublime passage that saw hugh win the tap-out to Simo who simply volley-flicked it into Mick's hands, who drilled the kick to Wal' , who goaled. the ball hadn't touched the turf.
Thanks as well to Daz, who dragged his healing leg around while umpiring.
Training this Sunday at the same venue, but at the earlier time of 2pm - 3.30pm. Bring the Mrs and kids and they can have a run around on the sidelines or nearby ovals.

Call to arms
For a club that prides itself on toughness, the post-Manila period has been below par. A junk trip hangover and a bit of rain seems enough to put most members off. Get ya sh-t together fellas. Training this weekend. 5pm, University of HK, Sandy Bay Rd (tell the cabbie: Sha Wan Drive), Sandy Bay. Rain or shine.

Thailand tour is just a couple of weeks away and the club really must lift if it thinks it has a remote chance of winning the Asian Champs. Singapore have 40-60 players training in the rain at the moment. The UAE get similar numbers in mid-summer temps of 48 degrees.

DRAGONS - show the heart this club prides itself on. Get down to training. If in any doubt training is still on, check the website which is updated on the day if there is a problem or call the Prez on 90282758. We started the year with record-breaking numbers but have let it slip of late. Regroup and fire up.

Training, Sunday July 6

Only half a dozen made the effort to get to Stanley Ho Sports Ground on the weekend. Doddsy, Boges, Will, Big Dave a couple of Auskickers, Russell and Lucian, and a new recruit at his first training run Dee Senaratne, a Sydneysider new to HK and keen to play and tour.

Despite the low turnout, the boys put in a full-throttle session inthe rain. Sprints preceded an exhausting hour of 'half-court footy', an exercise we plan to repeat and adapt in coming weeks.

View of training from the third tier of the packed grand stand

Training, Sunday June 29
Despite rain and the previous day's revelry, a small assembly of Dragons gathered at Stanley Ho to go through the paces. Among those on the roll of honour for turning up on a sodden afternoon after a Dragons junk trip were Coach Wines, President Boges, Jarrod Crighton, Will, Rent-boy, Doddsy, Tim, Big Dave, Lips and new recruit Tim Maudson. Coming from Sydney, Tim was having his first crack at Aussie Rules after a career spent playing a game where you get a goal for falling over in the right place. To those who opted out with a hangover - SOFT! Not the ethic this club was built on. As Chopper would say - "Harden the f-ck up."

Training, Sunday June 22
A scorching session in extreme heat with a commendable turn-out on the track, given the appeal of a day at the beach instead of hard yards on the training track. A solid 24 guys fronted up and despite the heat, put in a fast and furious session marked by good use the voice and loads of tireless second efforts. A new Stoochy drill started slowly before picking up when familiarity registered. A few new faces were on the track too, including another Dave and Tro Harris from Macau, who made his first ever trip to HK for the session.

Training, Sunday June 15
Conditions mild, surface beachy. Another session with numbers hovering on or just above 20 after a couple of weeks off for the Manila tour and next week's recovery. A fairly light session with a focus on drills that moved the ball through the corridor. In the wake of torrential rains, the pitch resembled a damp, sandy river bed.

Training, Sunday May 25
The quality control officers could hardly have been more pleased with the Dragons effort on the track in the final weekend session before the Manila tour. Skills were precise and the tempo upbeat as more than 20 players went through a series of drills that included circle work, boundary throw-in and centre bounce strategies and a fiesty scratch match. ALL members are urged to get down to Happy Valley at 7.30pm Thursday night (May 29) for final fitness session of 45 minutes and a few beers and team meeting at The Jockey afterwards. Jogging shoes only, no boots.

Training, Thursday May 15, Sunday May 19
With the countdown to Manila in its final days, numbers at training were perhaps a little disappointing. About a dozen on the track Thursday night for a session that revolved predominantly around simple kicking/running drills and working on the basics.

The Dragons latest training drill - learning how to sit on the bench.

Sunday saw about 20 Dragons take part in a good quality scratch match. As usual, there were a few new fellas on the track and some returnees. Among the newbies was a potential gun full forward who, although in HK for a month only, is keen to tour Manila. Working hard last night were Jarrod Crighton who was a magnet at the centre bounces, Will (in the Cats jumper) who covered a lot of ground and Mitch. On the whites team, Jonno tried hard, Doddsy put in some hard yards. Capt Bogan tried to implement a 'loose man back' policy to plug the wave of Darks attacks but with mixed success. Some good voice, a bit of shepherding and lots of run were the highlights. Kicking at goal was not. An area to focus on this week perhaps.

Training, Sunday May 12
Despite the long weekend and Mothers Day clash with training, a respectable 20 players still turned out for an energetic run in relatively benign weather conditions. The pace was arguably off what had been seen in previous weeks with drills amongst fewer players taking their toll that much quicker.

In keeping with the variety of training this season, some new drills were included, such as the two on one shepherding exercise and some crumbing exercises. Training is on Thursday night at 7.30pm and Sunday May 18 at 6pm at Happy Valley.

Training, Sunday May 5
It'll only get tougher as the year goes on but Sunday's session marked the first time this season that players had to contest each other and the elements. On a hot day, another solid contingent of about 25-28 players took to the increasingly sandy paddock for a spirited training session.

The previous Wednesday night and Sunday runs had seen some scintillating form on display. Perhaps the heat was a factor, but while endeavour was good the skills were probably more cotton than silk.

Among some of the faces new or not seen too often this year were Budgie, Lenny Pilgrim, Josh Ryder and new boys Brad and Daniel and a couple of others. Special mention to Doddsy for wearing attire roughly approximating footy gear and not some deviate gimp costume. DJ Robbie continues his commendable fitness campaign for the Champs, seemingly dropping a weight-division every week.

On the track some new competitive drills have been added to the format. This week saw some good two-on-two and two-on-one man-on-man drills. The 'race-thru-the-guts' ballwork drill is also proving a popular, with the competitive nature of it adding some incentive to use the ball slickly.

Nico was expected to bring down the kit for those who have paid their subs ($500) but has (seriously) contracted a rare and particularly virulent strain of hand, foot and mouth disease, leaving him an ulcerated mess. He plans to be on the track, with kit, on Thursday night.

Doddsy get a feel for leather - as is his wont.

Week 3, March 23
Easter was no deterrent to almost 20 blokes who got down to training on Sunday. Among some of the newer blokes on hand were Deano, who has shown his commitment early with two dragon tattoos, Chris from Adelaide and big Dave. Mitch got through another run and said there were no signs ill-effect from his broken leg, incurred last season. Doddsy, Stuch, Taity, Mick and numerous others also put in some solid work under the watchful eye of coach Wines. A few long weekend beers at the Jockey followed. No training this weekend due to the 7s.

Week 2, March 16
Nursing a collective hangover the size of Subiaco Oval, the Dragons bravely fronted up for another hugely encouraging training run on Sunday at Happy Valley. More than 20 blokes were on the track the day after the (or in most cases, the same day as) club's first social event of the year in Wan Chai Bulldogs. As well as the 25 or so on the track, a handful of others prospective players dropped in to take a look after finding the club website on the internet.

Among the more heartening sights was the return of Mitch, who missed much of last season with a broken leg. Good to have him back on board.

Training is on again this Easter Sunday at 4.30pm before a one-week break for the Sevens Weekend. Treasurer Nico will start collecting fees as well so bring your $500 along.

Week 1, March 9
The self-satisfied glances cast across the ground by the onlooking club and committee stalwarts Nico and Byrnes-eye, arms folded on the centre square, said it all. Season 2008 was off to a flyer.

You'd probably have to go back to the halcyon days of the early 1990s to have witnessed a bigger turn-out for an an opening run. A similarly impressive turn-out is now a must for the Bulldogs Party night on Saturday (March 15).

For the record, Byrnes was out with 'couch neck', incurred after two days spend lying on the lounge without even rolling over or changing ends. Nico is just aging badly. The only other injury from the training run was Bogan, who is out for 6-8 weeks with a torn finger tendon on his preferred left hand, which is now locked in a cumbersome, immovable splint.

With 22 established and 10 new Dragons doing warm up laps at Happy Valley yesterday, it was indeed the perfect start to the season. With this sort of start and a number of guys still to re-appear, it looks like being another very successful year for the club.

Grand final day: you never know what to expect (pic - GF 1972)

The 2008 Dragons-Australian Association AFL Grand Final Day promises to be bigger than ever, with a professional memorabilia auction, QANTAS prizes and much more, together with the usual ballroom, big screen atmosphere.

About 400 people are expected to fill the Nathan Rd Holiday Inn ballroom on September 27. A string of giant screens will bring you all the action, beer, wine, softies and chapers will flow and fates will be decided.

This year's event brings the added excitement of a monster memorabilia auction. With a professional auctioneer taking the stand from events company Helping Hand, fanstastic sporting and entertainment memorabilia will be up for grabs in both live and silent auctions. Proceeds will aid charity so bring the wallet and avoid the disappointment of missing out some some truly historic pieces.

Door prizes, raffles and lotteries for the Simpson medal and other milestones will also give punters the chance to fill their pockets with cash, prizes and air tickets.

This is the Day of Days on the Australian sporting calendar. Book your tables or individual tickets without delay as a sell-out is expected.

FULL RESULTS
PRELIMINARY GAMES
THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
Game Time Group A Pitch 1
1 8:10 China 4.2.26 d Jakarta 3.4.22
3 8:40 Singapore 4.2.26 d Malaysia 2.1.13
5 9:10 Jakarta 2.3.15 def byBali 7.2.44
7 9:40 China 1.3.9 def by Singapore 5.3.33
9 10:10 Singapore Junior Wombats d Hong Kong Junior
Dragons
11 10:35 Bali 3.3.21 d Malaysia 2.4.16
13 11:05 Jakarta 1.1.7 def by Singapore 9.3.57
15 11:35 Jakarta Bulldogs (U 16) d Singapore Junior Wombats
17 12:00 Malaysia 2.5.17 d China 2.3.15
19 12:30 Singapore 5.6.36 d Bali 1.2.8
21 13:00 Singapore Junior Wombats d Singapore Gaelic Cubs
23 13:25 Malaysia 2.1.13 def by Jakarta 11.2.68
25 13:55 Bali 8.4.52 d China 1.3.9

Game Time Group B Pitch B
2 8:10United Arab Emirates 5.3.33 d Laos 2.1.13
4 8:40Thailand 3.2.20 d Vietnam 2.3.15
6 9:10 Laos 0.0.0 def by Hong Kong 7.6.48
8 9:40United Arab Emirates 6.5.41 d Thailand 1.2.8
10 10:10Singapore Gaelic Cubs def by Jakarta Bulldogs (U16)
12 10:35Hong Kong 3.2.20 d Vietnam 2.3.15
14 11:05 Lao 5.5.35 d Thailand 4.6.30
16 11:35Hong Kong Junior Dragons d Singapore Gaelic Cubs
18 12:00Vietnam 0.0.0 def by United Arab Emirates 8.6.54
20 12:30Thailand 0.2.2 def by Hong Kong 5.3.33
22 13:00 Jakarta Bulldogs (U16) d Hong Kong Junior Dragons
24 13:25Vietnam 2.3.15 def by Laos 3.3.21
26 13:55Hong Kong 1.6.12 def byUnited Arab Emirates 6.3.39

Game Time Pitch 1
27 15:10 SF1 - UAE 6.2.38 d. Bali 3.2.20
28 15:50 SF2 - Singapore 6.4.40 d HK 3.1.19
29 16:30 U16 GF Jakarta d Singapore
30 17:00 GF UAE 10.0.60 d Singapore 3.6.24

Auskick HK at Champs
The 'Hong Kong Junior Dragons', our U/16 Auskick team, will be in Singapore to support the Dragons and indeed compete in the inaugural U/16 Champs. This is quite an effort for the young lads and their families who are very proud to be there. The Dragons will be on hand on the sidelines to reciprocate their support of the senior team. The club's future is right there.

Record eyeballs
August was the second-biggest traffic month since website statistics were compiled. More than 2200 visitors came to the site, recording more than 117,000 hits (55,000 page views).

Sunday August 23 was the largest ever weekend visit, with 130 visitors to the site checking the progress of typhoon Nuri (and its effect on training) and the previous evening's Ladies night event.

The US regained top spot, ousting the Brits as our biggest source of visiotrs outside HK and Australia. India made a rare foray into the top 10.

Views by country:

August Top 10............................ July Top 10
United States...............................Great Britain
Great Britain................................United states
Macau.........................................Macau
Singapore...................................Sweden
Thailand......................................Canada
Canada........................................France
India.............................................Thailand
Switzerland.................................UAE
China...........................................Netherlands
UAE.............................................Malaysia

(The list excludes Hong Kong, which attracts about 60% of traffic, and Australia, which this month clocked up almost 10,000 page views)

File footage of the Dingbats in action

Singapore show some form
Singapore regained the Changi Cup with an 8.7.55 to 2.8.20 win in wet conditions at the Alice Smith Ground in Malaysia on 23rd August.

The Wombats also beat the Jakarta Bintangs recently, 19-13- 127 to 11-12 - 78 in Jakarta.

The Changi Cup is a best-of-three matches competition between Malaysia and Singapore and is one Asia's older football competitions having been played every year since 1997. Historically Singapore have been dominant, winning every year until 2007 when the Malaysian Warriors triumphed over the Wombats on November 3rd, 10-7-67 to 6-4-40 to win the rubber 2-1 and take the Cup for the first time.

At the University of Laos the Vietnam Swans overcame the Laos Elephants 80 points to 55. A good win for the Swans with a depleted team but given that this was only the second international game the Laos boys have played, the Swans were expected to win.

The Beijing Bombers have affirmed their status as the number one Aussie Rules team in China with a comprehensive defeat of old rivals the Shanghai Tigers 143 to 21 for their third successive China Cup victory.

New tour destination - Timor
Timor-Leste, better known to Australians as East Timor, is one of the newer sovereign nations in the world, becoming independent from Indonesia in 2002.

It also has one of the world's newest Australian football sides, with the Timor-Leste Crocs taking their name from a local legend about a crocodile who rescued a boy stranded in the ocean. When the crocodile stopped swimming, its body became the island of Timor, and the boy the first of the Timorese people.

While footy has had an on-and-off-again presence in the country since around 1999, the new-look Crocs look like being here to stay, with plans for a development officer and recruiting underway to send a team of Timorese nationals to the Northern Territory FL's indigenous footy carnival in Darwin in October.

Is it Ben Cousins?

Profiles, galleries and more
Check out the latest photo galleries under Dragons in Action section of Photo Gallery menu. All new pics are in from game day in Manila and Pattaya. Game write-ups are also found here from these matches and all the others played by the Dragons over the years.

The last couple of tours have also seen some new faces and nicknmaes emerge. New player profiles are in for Simon Phillis, PK, the Mongoose, Wigger, Carlos, Deano, Woodsy, Ralphie, (the unfortunate) Boy Bum, Cozza and our Skipper. Check them all out. A few old faces have also shuffled over to the Past Players list.

And keep abreast of our opposition. the websites of all Asian teams can be found under Club Info, Links, including websites for the Beijing Bombers, Malaysia Warriors and Laos Elephants.

About town
Some eagle-eyed photogrpahers have been on the prowl spotting celebrity Dragons going about their business away from the prying eyes of the media - or so they thought.

It is arguable which of the these two players cuts a more forlorn figure, a leading player shamed into hiding his face as he is caught wheeling along his trolley dolly in Disco Bay, or this lonely individual running around a sodden Happy Valley on his pat malone.

Typhoon warnings mean little when beer is at stake.

THE FIREBREATHER

Junk trip and photo gallery
The Dragons junk trip saw 40 players and WAGS and sponsors set off into the teeth of the typhoon, unperturbed by anything other than the contents of the esky. A great day was had once club Social Coordinator Bowski turned up to his own gig 40 minutes late. Two hefty sculls of glasses of warm red wine duly sorted him out. The junk sailed to an island off Sai Kung, where half the team swam to the beach for a game of Frisbee Ultimate. Was a great day, hugely successful and the photos are now up on the website - Photo Gallery/Dragons in Action section. Check them out.

Manila Cup photo gallery
A handful of photos of the Manila tour are up on the website's photo gallery. We are still awaiting the promised delivery of a disc of professional photos taken at the ground by the event's photographers and will hopefully be able to add those soon.

New committee member
Mark Corrie has joined the Dragons committee, taking on the role of Merchandising Manager. Cozza will be responsible for ordering, selling, storing and managing the club's new playing gear, tour shirts and accessories.
With the departure of club treasurer and merchandiser Nico from Hong Kong, and the stepping down of committee member Byrne early in the year, the club was very much in need of another hand on deck.
Cozza was only selected after undergoing a rigorous selection process that involved begging, cajoling and false promises of fame and glory. He passed the interview under the palm trees at Happy Valley training ground and met the advertised criteria for the position: Able to use phone, email. Preferred candidate will have a small cupboard.

Dedication - it's enough to make you ralph

While his dedication to the game cannot be questioned, his lack of mates is a little humbling. Ralph Wheeler, take a bow.

So has Ben Cousins come to HK? Is Baby Blanket in the trolly dolly? Perhaps not - but you will have to ask club captain Matty Baron all about it.

Please forward all contributions to About Town to president@hk-dragons.com

Latest profiles
Woods has a bit to say about some teammates in his player profile, the newest one added to the section. Big Fat Gav (BFG) also makes a long-awaited return from the past players section after living up to his promise of the past four years to don the boots. His hulking frame will be lurching around the paddock on the Pattaya tour. Taking his place on the past player section is Greg Tait. Taity has left Hong Kong and gone to Sydney.

Traffic jam
June was the second biggest month of web traffic recorded in the site's two year history. More than 2000 visitors came to thew site, recording more than 100,000 hits (43,000 page views).

International visits saw the European audience slip and Asian nations lift, with Macau soaring up the charts.

Views by country:

April Top 10.................................May Top 10
United States...............................United States
Philippines...................................Singapore
Macau.........................................UAE
Canada.......................................Great Britain
Singapore...................................Netherlands
Great Britain...............................France
UAE.............................................Macau
China...........................................Spain
Thailand.......................................Philippines
Japan..........................................Canada

(The list excludes Hong Kong, which attracts about 60% of traffic, and Australia, which this month clocked up almost 6,000 page views)

His heady ascent within the club has caused a nose bleed

The committee now comprises:
Boges - President, Media/Website Manager, Sponsorship Manager
Stoochy - Tour Manager, Treasurer (Boges/Stooch now the club's registered bank signatories).
Baby Dragon/Bowski - Co-organisers of the Social Ministry.
Cozza - Merchandising.

"Another champagne please, Mr Photographer, pretty please?"

More than 60 people turned out in style and elegance for one of the more up-market social events ever to grace the Dragons calendar on Friday (August 22). Given that the Typhoon 9 signal was hoisted, it was a pretty tenacious performance from an outfit on the top of their game.

Champgne football was catch-cry and the management at Heat in Wan Chai ensured the Dragons were at the smooth-flowing best. Ladies enjoyed free-flow champagne for the entire evening, with the carbonated vino bringing out their effusive, bubbly best.

Gentleman enjoyed hours of drinks for a set price of $180.

The evening warmed up with much socialising and banter before former President Byrne launched into a tirade about being unaccustomed to public speaking and a raffle draw.

It's a blonde-off

In a slight variation on regular events, ladies far outnumbered the men. The mismatch was such that by evening's end gaggles of ladies bouyed by the methode champagnois were in search of "single men, any single men?". This was great news for the single men, less so for the ladies, and a poignant reminder to those fellas at home to make sure they get along to the next event.

And with that, the crowd disbursed to the far reaches of Wan Chai and beyond to continue deep into the night ... and morning.

The typhoon's trail of destruction meant training for the Saturday was postponed a day. This was not an unwelcome development.
.......................

The pre-event preamble

It's champagne football, this.

Nature will provide the fireworks (hopefully) in the form of a direct hit typhoon. The ladies will be downing a torrential downpour of bubbly while the Dragons superstars will provide the gusts of hot air.

Lenny has some words of advice for the Tigers

The Thailand Tigers retained the Hamilton-Riddell Cup they took from the Hong Kong Dragons in 2006 with an 13 point victory over the visitors in front of a big crowd at the Pattaya polo club ground.

After falling to a five goal deficit, the Dragons stormed home in the second half to get within 10 points of the home side before the final siren sounded in the 14-a-side clash with the Tigers 13 points clear.

The Dragons started with Coz, Troy, Mick and Deano (ruck) in the guts. Backs were Mrad, Mongoose (Hughie), Boges, Lips, Crites. Forwards were Lenny, Wigger (Tom Stonier), Will, Faulks and Ralphie. Interchange was Carl, who played mainly on a wing, Doddsy who was in a forward pocket, Gav, who stepped out in the final seconds but was great support, Marathon Man Sam (mate of Mrad) and Dragon-for-a-day Kev, who played well around the ground. Special thanks to goal umpire Mohammed Mrad.

On a hot day with a two-goal breeze blowing to the northerly end, the Dragons controlled the ball for much of the first quarter but were unable to capitalise uip forward. The Tigers, fielding a taller and bigger squad, won the crucial aerial duels and turned possession into goals. At quarter time, the Tigers led 3.2-20 to 0.2-2.

Ralph takes a big grab in the goal square

The second quarter was a chess match, with both sides unable to convert opportunities. Ralph (four goals) eventually got the Dragons on the scoreboard but the Tigers managed two for the quarter from free kicks. At half time it was the Tigers 5.5-35 to Dragons 1.4-10.

Facing a possible blow-out, the Dragons regrouped at half time and swung key spine players into different roles. Crites and Mongoose went forward, Lenny dropped back, Boges moved to the guts to tag key Thai playmaker Hooie. Also dangerous for the Tigers were Jesus in the guts, Big Cleave (named Tigers BOG) and Aggots (3 goals).

The third quarter started with Mick Finnegan (voted Dragons BOG) roving the Thai ruckman to perfection and slamming down the guts where the Dragons goaled. Deano rucked superbly all day unchanged and was winning his share of tap-outs. With Lips outstanding in his rare backline sojourn, Lenny and Crites firing, Mick dominant in the centre and Will and Cozza manning up well against dangerous opponents, the Tigers were limited to two goals for the quarter. Wigger, who had taken many marks but kicked inaccurately, goaled and Ralphie added to his tally and the Dragons booted four. At the final turn it was 7.6-48 to 5.4-34.

With the scent of a possible upset in the air, the Dragons were as pumped as any team that had preceded it in the navy blue and red. A torrid final quarter saw a couple of flare-ups around the ground. When Bogan, who kept Hooie to a single kick in the second half, snapped a goal (according to the unerring eye of Mohd Mrad) over his head while lying on his back in the goal square, it was down to eight points the difference. But the Tigers struck back straight out of the centre within seconds and the margin would therein only be altered by minor scores. Final score: Thailand 8.7-55 to Hong Kong 6.6-42.

The entire Dragons squad put in a very commendable effort against a Tigers outfit that has definitely stepped up a notch and will be expected to claim some big scalps at the Asian Champs. With other players left behind in the capital for this match, they may well have their sights set much higher. For the Dragons, it was a great chance for a number of players to stake a claim to a spot in the Champs side and brilliant hit-out marked by a gutsy come-back.

A great tour saw the Dragons sing and dance their way through Pattaya before heading to capital for an irreverent Sunday afternoon.

The hotel accommodation is top class and basement price (actual photo).

T'was the week of the tour ....

After much vacillation, we have somehow conjured a touring party to enter the fray in Pattaya, Thailand..

The squad of 18 players is as follows: Lenny, Carl, Mick, BGF (Gav), Sam Mrad plus brother Mohammed (non-player) and marathon-running mate, Tom Stonier, Troy Harris, Hughie the Mongoose, Will, Ralph, Doddsy, Boges, Deano, Faulks, Cozza, Crites, Lips.

The game is on at 3pm and consists of four 15-minute quarters.

To see the hardships we are facing, you can check-out the accommodation at www.cosybeachhotel.com

The rhetoric part of the story

For 18 brave souls, this is a tour into the heart of darkness. We will be outnumbered, on unfamiliar terrain, physically exhausted, possibly malnourished, dehydrated and lacking heavy artillery. We may be diminutive in number but in the words of our wartime leader John Curtin when the Japs were attacking the Australian mainland and ruling the Pacific and South-east Asian rim, "F-ck 'em" (actually, he was talking about the lack of support from Churchill's Brits, but you get my drift).

Thailand (who sided with the Japs in WW2, but I digress) will be prolific in number, well-drilled, bouyed by recent victories and motivated to atone for past ill-treatment at the hands of the mighty Dragons. This will be no picnic. We have toured with less (and lost on both occasions) but numbers will not daunt us. We have four or five debutants on tour so at worst we'll have something to amuse us.

Although we number less than 20, this tour will be big in many other ways. We have three Dragons on board with a combined 29 years and 150 games of Dragons experience so tour traditions will be strictly enforced - which is a good thing. The apres football scene will also likely see closer involvement between the Tigers and Dragons, who will share a bus and hotel and both be away from home and intent on having a rollicking good time.

The side is packed with mid-field type running players but lacking in height. Hopefully, by the end of the weekend, we'll be likening the side the Western Bulldogs. We are a big chance to win this one and the eyes of the Thai media will be upon us. The press release from the Tigers has been picked up by the world's news agencies.

The squad is fit with the exception of Doddsy, who tweaked a hammy at training Sunday and will undergo a fitness on a Pattaya dance floor Friday night.

Pre-tour report, June 20

The Dragons July 25-27 tour to Chonburi and Pattaya takes the team into unchartered territory to tackle a menacing Thailand tigers team that never fails to throw down a challenge. We urgently require a commitment from players to secure air tickets and hotel (pictured) bookings.

Email tours@hk-dragons.com to indicate if you plan to come on the tour to play the Tigers, who are fresh off a big home win over a talented Jakarta Bintangs side. Numbers need to be confirmed now. A lot of planning goes into such an ambitious and exciting tour into the unknown so get on board straight away.

The plan
This is a tour like few others. Bangkok is well-estrablished on the Asian circuit but Pattaya promises to be a new experience with great playing facilities and unique apres football scene. Events will unfold pretty much like this: Pick up at Bkk Airport on Friday 25th and transfer to Pattaya, Saturday 26th July transfer to/from Pattaya accom / ground, Sunday morning 27th transfer back to Bkk for a lock-in session.

Spondoolies

For all overland transport and the luxury accommodation it is an incredibly low, low 3200thb (approx 720hkd) per person for two nights (twin share). The bus promises to be a major part of the festivities - a 50 seater to be shared with the Tigers. It will be a good chance to see who tackles the pre- and post-game routine in the soundest manner. All drinks, fruit etc on game day are also included, (including a couple of frosty ones after the game).

Single room requirements will warrant an additional charge of 2000thb for the 2 nights (HK$465).

The two clubs will be playing for the long-running Riddel-Hamilton Trophy. the last two times the teams met in a full-length match was in Kanchanaburi in an epic Anzac clash. The Dragons had thought they'd won by a point but in a DVD-gate scandal, the game was declared a draw weeks later. Full report of that April 2006 epic is at:
http://www.hk-dragons.com/results_report.php?article_id=TCETAVA-H11V9UV-K2WF01E-JAZSMMN (or go to Game Write-ups, April 2006).

Training

With all that in mind, it is imperative we get in shape for the tour. Training is on this Sunday (June 29) at 3.30-5pm at the Stanley Ho Sports Ground in Sandy Bay , Pok Fu Lam. The following week, Sunday July 6 is at 5:00-6:30. Both sessions on Pitch number 1, which is the long synthetic grass pitch we used in the last session before the 2007 Champs. Map to the ground found under Club Info/Grounds. Bring runners, not excuses.

Typhoon warnings mean little when beer is at stake.

THE FIREBREATHER

Last call
This is the last chance to commit to to the Dragons tour of Pattaya in Thailand, departing afternoon of July 25. If you want in, email president@hk-dragons.com immediately.

Junk trip and photo gallery
The Dragons junk trip saw 40 players and WAGS and sponsors set off into the teeth of the typhoon, unperturbed by anything other than the contents of the esky. A great day was had once club Social Coordinator Bowski turned up to his own gig 40 minutes late. Two hefty sculls of glasses of warm red wine duly sorted him out. The junk sailed to an island off Sai Kung, where half the team swam to the beach for a game of Frisbee Ultimate. Was a great day, hugely successful and the photos are now up on the website - Photo Gallery/Dragons in Action section. Check them out.

Manila Cup photo gallery
A handful of photos of the Manila tour are up on the website's photo gallery. We are still awaiting the promised delivery of a disc of professional photos taken at the ground by the event's photographers and will hopefully be able to add those soon.

New committee member
Mark Corrie has joined the Dragons committee, taking on the role of Merchandising Manager. Cozza will be responsible for ordering, selling, storing and managing the club's new playing gear, tour shirts and accessories.
With the departure of club treasurer and merchandiser Nico from Hong Kong, and the stepping down of committee member Byrne early in the year, the club was very much in need of another hand on deck.
Cozza was only selected after undergoing a rigorous selection process that involved begging, cajoling and false promises of fame and glory. He passed the interview under the palm trees at Happy Valley training ground and met the advertised criteria for the position: Able to use phone, email. Preferred candidate will have a small cupboard.

Cozza brings his special skills set to the Dragons committee

The committee now comprises:
Boges - President, Media/Website Manager, Sponsorship Manager
Stoochy - Tour Manager, Treasurer (Boges/Stooch now the club's registered bank signatories).
Baby Dragon/Bowski - Co-organisers of the Social Ministry.
Cozza - Merchandising.

New profiles
Take a look at the Player Profiles section of the website to see the latest additions: Ralph, Will, Cozza, Skipper Baron, Turkish, JT and the Spider.

Tour news
The Dragons second tour of the year will see the club take on the Thailand Tigers in the province of Chonburi, near Pattaya. The team will fly out Friday morning July 25 and immediately head down the road to Pattaya, an hour or so to the east on the Gulf of Thailand. This will be the team's base for Friday, Saturday's game and the post-match festivities. The team will then board its luxury tour bus for a Sunday session in Bangkok before returning to HK that night.

We need to get numbers and names to the Tigers for accommodation purposes by July 7 so you will be asked for a commitment very soon. Get on board for what promises to be a tour in unchartered territory.

Wombats in Hanoi
While the Dragons were winning the Manila Cup, the Vietnam Swans were playing host to a revitalised singapore Wombats. The Wombats are said to be attracting huge numbers to the training track and promise to be a force again after a mediocre Asian Champs in 2007.

As they did against the Dragons late last year, the Swans had their chances in Hanoi, trailing by just two goals at half time. But six unanswered goals to the visitors saw them run out winners, 76-35 points. Both sides had played in their new-look jumpers. The Swans are now looking tour Laos to take on the elephants in mid-July.

"Playing football with antlers was always going to be a challenge"

Committe opening

With the departure of club treasurer and merchandiser Nico from Hong Kong, and the stepping down of committee member Byrne early in the year, your club now needs another hand on deck. The number of blokes now involved in the surprisingly time-consuming role of running the club is at a minimum.

The club is now seeking a mamber to step up to the plate to take on the role of Merchandising Manager, to order, sell, store and manage the club's playing gear, tour shirts and accessories. Nico managed to handle this with the treasury but the current board has absorbed the finance side of the portfolio.

At Present the committee is quite heavily burdened, with the new portfolio distribution as follows:
Boges - President, Media/Website Manager, Sponsorship Manager (major new announcement coming soon, in this regard).
Stoochy - Tour Manager, Treasurer (Boges/Stooch now the club's registered bank signatories).
Baby Dragon/Bowski - Co-organisers of the Social Ministry.

A committee meeting will be held at Bulldogs on Wednesday 7pm (June 11), with all current ministers confirmed. All members are welcome to attend but we would especially like to fill this vacancy by Wednesday.

Email president@hk-dragons.com if you would like to help the club.

Also on the agenda Wednesday is upcoming tours, finances, major new sponsorship, social events (including the June 28 Dragons Junk Trip), merchandise, tour short production, media and promotion and more. If you want have a say, come down, or email your thoughts and suggestions to president@hk-dragons.com

President Boges

Connor Finnegan - "Dad's wit and charm" (but too young for Auskick)

Birth notices
Mick Finnegan has, via his lovely wife Sonia, dropped another one. Connor Michael Finnegan, entered the Dragons Junior Training Programme at 10.28am Monday morning. Not that long ago it was Dad getting in at 10.28am on Monday mornings. How times change. But back to Connor - he came in at 3.3kg (7lb 3.5oz) and according to Dad "was winking at the nurse and appears to have his father's wit, charm and great sense of humour." Lucky lad. The little fella has two older sisters.

Dwarfing the opposition
Overheard recently:
Dragon one: "We should get to Manila as early as possible on the Friday of the tour. It's a good city to walk around."
Dragon two: "No it's not! What is there to see when 'walking around' Manila?"
Dragon One: "I dunno. Lotsa stuff. Dwarf bars and stuff."

New past player profile
An old Dragon has gotten in touch with the club to praise its professionalism in the modern era. Check out what The Fridge has to reminisce about at the bottom of the Past Players section.

Here is what Fridge had to say via email from Melbourne: "As a former Dragons player (circa 2001-02), I have only just been directed to your website and thought I'd drop you a line to say what a credit the site is for the great game of Australian Rules Football."

"It is fantastic to see that the Dragons continue to provide the global benchmark for the game. My only complaint, and it is a minor one, is that Farmer is made to look far too intelligent in his profile photograph."
Regards, Peter 'Fridge' Sexton

Doing the business
Dragons business cards, in their very own embossed logo card holders, are now located at the entrance to Bulldogs LKF and on the bar, front row centre, at Bulldogs Wan Chai. Grab some off the president for your wallet next time you see him and get recruiting.

Manila Tour
The Dragons will be part of a six-team super tournament in Manila, hosted by the Eagles, from May 30 - June 1. Be sure to book that Friday off work ASAP and be ready for what promises to be a sensational tour. Confirm your intended presence by emailing Steroid Stooch on tours@hk-dragons.com
Full tour details to follow later in the month.

Pay up now
All dragons need to do the following:
Pay your subs. Thanks to very stringent audit controls by the committee (namely keeping Byrne away from the bank account) we are pleased to be able to say that the rampant inflation in China will not affect us and subs will still be maintained at 2006 levels of HK$500.

Name: Hong KongDragons Australian Rules Football Club
Bank: HSBC
Account No.: 502-413594-838

Once you have paid send an email to chris.nicolay@gs.com with the confirmation number so we can record it. We also have a new initiative this year, called "no pay no play no exceptions". Manila included.

Coach Wines up against the 2004 vintage Philippines Eagles.

The Asian excitement machine that is the Hong Kong Dragons are set to embark on one of the great regional tours, when they travel this week to Manila for a five-team tournament.

The Dragons leave Friday to take on the Manila Eagles, and teams from China and Malaysia on May 31. It will be the thrid time the club has landed on Philippines shores, the first being in 2004 when the Eagles defeated the Dragons in their very first international. The following year saw the Dragons head to Manila for the Asian Championships, where they were confident of securing their third consecutive crown. The team could only struggle to fourth place.

So cometh 2008 and a chance to put together the club's first worthy performance on the exalted soil that lies across the South China Sea.

The Dragons are sending a contingent of about 34 tourists, some of whom are even playing in the 12-a-side tournament.

For those not in the touring party, tune in to the website over the weekend, where we will hopefully be able to bring you breaking news of the scores by Saturday night.

For those touring, be instructed to visit the Club Info/Club Song section of the website. Learn the lyrics or be answerable to veteran tour Finesmaster, Harty.

Rules
All players need to take notwe of some of the rules specific to this tournament.

1. No score will be registered if the ball is kicked from outside the 35 metre arc and passes thru the goals or behinds. If this does happen, the ball will be kicked in just as if a behind had been scored. If a player takes a mark within the 35 and needs to go out of the arc to take his kick, he is permitted to have a chance to score.
2. At each centre ball up/throw up, there must be no more than 4 players in the centre zone of the ground and no more than 4 players in each attacking and defensive zones. Once the ball leaves the umpires hand, players are free to move out of or into any of the 3 zones.
3. At any ball up/throw up or boundary throw in, there is to be no more than one player from each team to contest the hit out.
4. Without umpires, there is no game. No matter who is umpiring, respect must be to be paid to the umpires. Any abuse against an umpire will result in a 25 metre penalty.

Times: Each game will consist of two 12-minute halves, with a six-minute half time. The grand final will be 15 min halves and a 10-minute interval .

Team buses leave the hotel at 8am Saturday morn. First game is at 9. The Grand Final is at 4.20pm.

Auskick started on May 10

Auskick starts
Auskick is an international programme to develop and promote participation in Australian rules football amongst children, and has proven to be popular with both boys and girls. Hong Kong kids aged five and above can now take part. Auskick coordinator, Peter Dahl, can be contacted by email to: aussierules_hkkids@yahoo.com.au

Peter said, "Things are coming together, finally. We started registration on Sat 26th April and had our first practice on Saturday, May 10 at Happy Valley racetrack infield on the far rugby pitch. We welcome all to join us and registration can be done any Saturday you turn up. The only restriction on age is school attendance. ie reception /prep. "

The season will be at Happy Valley until mid-June then Kings Park until end August/ early Sep, with July off for holidays. Unfortunately we lost half the season at Kings Pk due to renovations, hence the split in locations. Kings Pk should be great for 2009 with all synthetic pitches and upgraded facilities.

Auskick is sponsored by Hard Yakka and Allied Pickfords.

The Wilson Trail squad had their heads in the clouds

A coterie of Dragons hit the Wilson Trail for a weekend training run with a difference last Saturday (April 5). Not content to walk the trail, they ran the track before tackling the fabled Twin Peaks.

Ten dedicated team members started the Trail at Parkview estate, above Tai Tam Reservoir. Steroid Stuchy was the prime mover in getting everyone to run the bulk of the trail to the towering peaks of mythology. Nico was bedecked in more electronic gadgetry than South Park's Cartman in the episode where he has a satellite protruding from his date, so there was no chance of getting lost or risking a coronary due to high blood pressure.

Among other starters were Superstar DJ Robbie, the Wildman of Malta Mals, Innocent Mick 'I'm late home before I've started' Finnegan, Handy Dave Hanny, Dazzler 'Is my hair alright in this shot' Whitfield, Simon 'I Swear The Only Times I've Ever Been Here Are When I've Seen You' Dodds and the right honorable President Bogan.

A big welcome to new kid in town, Daniel 'Rent-boy' Renton, who showed promising fitness but after living the past 15 years in Cambodia and beyond, promises little by way of recent footy form. Daniel, who bears a striking resemblance to one Daniel Vettori, has recently arrived in HK and is already keen to tour, probably on the proceeds of the illegal logging funds that have filtered down to him from Prime Minister Hun Sen's education budget.

The hike starts with a stair climb that leaves you taxed after 15 minutes. We were quickly rewarded with a stunningly scenic white-out atop our first hill. With visibility at 2 metres, Steroid called for the run and we were away. Like rally cars darting through the undergrowth on the loose gravel - hard left, medium right - we made our way as if pursued by Japs invading North Point in the early 1940's.

Mick 'Can somebody tell me what a love hotel is ' Finnegan makes the arduous climb up Peak One.

At the crossroads that determine whether you go over the 1000s of steps that are the Twin Peaks, or circumnavigate them on the flat, a schism formed in the squad.

Mals and Superstar DJ flashed a pair of Notes From My Mum Excusing Me From PE quicker than Besty pulling a pair of Aces of Spades from his his shirt sleeve. Nico was receiving satellite signals indicating that his mass spectrometer was defibrillating due to a red-shift overheat of his carbon-dater. They were excused.

For the remainder of the squad, those hardened in the jungles of Kokoda, their will tempered on the slopes of Everest, those hardy Dragons pushed forth into the heat-haze and the rarified atmosphere that is .... the Two Puppies, the Headland Headlights, The Double Orbs, The Two Whoppers ... THE TWIN PEAKS.

Soon the inspiring scenery was a blur through sweat-stung eyes. But just as Stuch was about to drink his own bodily expulsions, we reached the Peak. The first one. Then we did it again. Eventually the Stanley Isthmus lurched into view and in seeming seconds we were transported into another world - a world of tv footy, steaks and beers; except for President Bogan, who had lemonade and an expensive salad.

NOTE: Photo gallery pics can be seen under Photo Gallery/Dragons in Action.

Outgoing President Byrne: Led from the front

Breaking news
The Super Tuesday committee meeting to decide a new president and any other contested committee posts has been again been moved, and will now take place on Tuesday night, Feb 12. The venue, LKF Bulldogs at 7.30pm, remains unchanged.

The late change was made in the hope more new members will be able to get along, unhindered by Chinese New Year holidays or Valentines Day (VD). The meeting had been put back to Feb 14. In a positive development, the Dragons email list of 200+ failed to pick up on the fact it was VD. It had been thought VD would be a great way of putting potential committee members under the microscope by seeing who would attend the meeting rather than some over-priced dodgy curry house with candles and their Mrs.

President steps down
After a rollercoaster two years in charge of the Hong Kong Dragons, President Nathan Byrne has announced he will be resigning from the highest office in HK sport.

Byrnes-eye has been instrumental in resurrecting the on and off-field fortunes of the Dragons, overseeing an increase in membership, access to grounds when needed and our ascent to our rightful place as Asian Champs. He has also usurped the role of tour manager, a time-consuming and sometimes thankless task yet arguably the most important in the club.

Treasurer Chris Nicolay, a tireless back-room servant of the club since taking over the bankbooks from Corky last year, had announced his retirement but on Friday told the media the resignation was the result of a misworded press release. He has also been a key figure in the membership drive, as he faced the most onerous task confronting any sporting club - coaxing money from players.

Regardless of incumbents own intentions, all positions will be open to nomination from all Dragons. All positions, including the presidency and the media, treasury, social and tour manager positions are open to application and contest at the Feb 14 committee meeting. It will be held at Lan Kwai Fong Bulldogs at 8pm. Support your club.

THE FIREBREATHER

Oz Day Post feature
In a major media coup for the club, the Hong Kong Dragons featured in an exclusive story (with photo) about the best footy club in Asia. The Dragons were the centrepiece of the South China Morning Post's Australia Day liftout on Jan. 26.
Full story as it appeared in the paper in news section of this website.

AFL.com praise Dragons win
The following article appears on the AFL's official website, under the headline, Steady Asia.
Elsewhere in Asia, growth was steady in Japan (celebrating 20 years of footy), and the Samurai won the football carnival at the Arafura Games in Darwin, undefeated. In many of the Asian one club countries junior clinics were conducted and tentative signs were visible of the game putting down roots with local participation. Indonesia was particularly encouraging, with plenty of junior development there, whilst Laos started up their first senior side.

The Asian Championships continued to grow in significance, with 11 teams attending in 2007. The Hong Kong Dragons defeated the Bali Geckos in the final, and as more locals take up the game across Asia, hopefully we'll see this tournament emerge as a showcase for star Asian footballers.

To go the article, the link is:
http://www.afl.com.au/InternationalCupNews/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=54700

Oz Day Party
Dragon groupie and self-acclaimed rock god Macca will be starring at the annual V13 Australia Day bash at the Vodka Bar. From 6pm - 9pm it is happy hour on Aussie drinks. There's a sausage sizzle and tunes from some accomplished muso types. A rendition of alternative club anthem, The Stinker 18, can be expected. As classic as the FE Holden.

The year in webstats
The successful year that was 2007 was also a success for the Dragons' portal to its fans, opponents and the world. The website had a huge year, recording 18,186 visits to the site, totalling 339,000 page views and 750,000 hits.
The website was launched in May 2006 and has proven a consistent magnet for readers of the Dragons' on and off-field success. More than half a million hits were recorded in 2006.
July towered above the other months this year, as readers lapped up the Asian Champs victory stories, player profiles (all still on the site under the News menu) and photo galleries.
September (Beach Party and more Champs reports) was also solid.
December was relatively quiet for web traffic, especially from the 13th of the month as the festive season gathered steam. Notable trends this month were the return to the top of the charts of US, Britains slide and the rise of Taiwan. The top ten countries to visit the site last month (after HK and Oz) is as follows:

November Top 10.......................December Top 10
Japan..........................................United States
Denmark......................................Japan
Netherlands.................................commercial
Indonesia.....................................unknown
South Korea................................Taiwan
Switzerland.................................Netherlands
China............................................Thailand
Philippines....................................Singapore
Germany......................................Great Britain
United Kingdom.............................UAE

Honourable mention to Malta, at 14 in the hit parade (The Maltese Falcon 500's rellies maybe?).

Local media coverage
The Dragons also received some unlikely publicity this month, with a prominent snapshot of their website appearing on page 21 of CityU Today, the magazine of Hong Kong's prestigious world top 200-ranked university.

Dadda Dave
Dave Rial, the winner of the Dragons 2004 Clubman of the Year, became a father on Saturday morning (Dec 22), with the arrival of 3.7kg baby girl Phoebe. Wife B (her nickname, not ranking) is in good health after the eventful 7am delivery that saw some late changes to the original schedule. The young girl now has Mama B and Auntie A, wife of former Dragons wingman Uncle Tim Keogh. Dave is pictured on the mainpage signing autographs in Chennai to his many international followers. (see all club honours under the History section of the website. Check out Tim's profile in the Past Players section).

The annals of history
Take a look at the History section of the website to read the 2006 and 2007 annual reports, encapsulating two of the most amazing years in the club's proud history - a spoon and a cup. As well as the kitchenware, also visit the Links in the Club Info section that have been updated to include a few of the newer teams on the Asian footy circuit. Great way to kill some down time once you've read all the papers at work.

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.

Get a run on
Stoochy Junior Burger and Tommy Polk took part in a December 2 run around 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.

The Dragons' movers and shakers

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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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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 schedule for training for the next 4 weeks will be quite varied. All details are below. This Saturday's hike is a great fitness workout and chance to get out of the city and take in some special HK scenery. Also a chance to secure a spot on the Dragons photo gallery to show the folks overseas what they're missing, as we will be compiling a photo gallery of the day's assault on the notorious Twin Peaks.

The training schedule is:
Saturday April 5th: There will be a (compulsory) team assault on the Wilson trail from "Parkview" to Stanley. Start at 10:30am and finishing at Stanley Main beach. Perhaps an ideal chance to have your family/friends meet you there for a drink and lunch (and swim?) about 1:00pm at the beach. Make it a team and family event.
Parkview is a housing estate on the Hill behind the Hong Kong Cricket Club (taxis will know it but the steep walk up from the cricket club starts at the petrol station if you get off a #6 or #66 bus there). We will meet at the very crest of the hill at Parkview and leave promptly at 10:30am. If you have never done this walk, bring water and some easily carried food - energy bars, bananas etc.

We have lost the Happy valley pitch for two weeks and had to access Stanley Ho sports grounds at HKU, Sandy Bay Road, Pokfulam for the following two weeks: Only Saturdays available. Taxis or number 10 Green Mini bus at Admiralty are the best ways to get there.
Sat 12th April: 5pm-6:30 synthetic football field Sandy Bay road (Runners only)
Sat 19th April: 11am - 12:30pm synthetic football field Sandy bay Road (Runners only)

Sunday 27th April 4:30-6:00 back to the Happy Valley grass.

Jarrod Tidd and girlfriend Danielle were inseparable

THE FIREBREATHER

Party night
The Dragons first social event of the year was on Saturday night (March 15) and proved to be a great chance for players old and new, and their wives and partners, to get together for an evening of revelry while collecting some insiders tips on the latest haute couture sweeping Paris from resident trendsetter, Josh Ryder (even the name reeks of A-list celebrity - or is it more Adult Movie...) .

The night was moved to Wan Chai Bulldogs, where Karl and Marcus looked after us and provided Bulldogs Top Crew cards to all members in attendance.

Wan Chai has been home to some of the Dragons finest performances and this was no different, dragging into the early hours of the morning in the all the right and wrong places.

The club finemaster was also seen taking notes during the rugby boys' serious fine session taking place in the same venue. The hairy nipple seemed to attract his particular interest.

Player profiles
Check out the latest additions to the player profiles. Scroll down the list to get the dirt on Swiss, Spyder, JT, Daz and Mick.

Meaning business
The Dragons have now produced their own business cards which can be collected upon request from President Boges at training or the pub. It's all part of the new level of professionalism the Dragons aspire to. Keep a few in your wallet and hand them out to anyone who might want to come down for a run or throw vast sums of money at us. Our sponsor Bulldogs have also kindly agreed to let us place some card dispensers on the bar permanently.

Grova birth
Former Dragon and HK socialite John 'Grova' Anderson (see Past Players section) and his footy-mad wife Melinda have had their first child. Grova fired this missive to The Firebreather.

"Just to update you Mel gave birth to a lass, 'Lucinda Anne'. Apparently she has already been tagged a Pies supporter, according to Mel. Both are fine and back at the apartment.

Here in HK until the beginning of April and then bak to Aus (some time) depending on what the work opportunities are like. So am sure to catch up for a few beers, long lunches, or a few networking sessions in East Admiralty."

Cheers, John (Grova)

New committee
President Bogan headed up the new-look Dragons committee last night to usher in season 2008 and to lay the groundwork for another scintillating season. The club has secured four major sponsorships, with others in the pipeline. Fosters, Michael Page, Westpac and Bulldogs Bar are all on board and other deals are being arranged that will hopefully add further value to the club membership. Members will pay 500 again this year, which will go towards running the club, paying for the grounds and new kit. New members will receive some gear, such as shorts, socks, bag and stubby holder. Manila will be the first tour on May 31, all all tourists must be paid up members. The first social event is at Bulldogs on March 15.
The committee covered a lot of ground, and is in good shape. The many initiatives being planned will be revealed in due course. So hop on board the Dragons gravy train and get down to Happy Valley for the first training run of the year on Sunday, March 9 at 6pm and March 16 at 4.30pm.

Dragons reuniting
Chatter picked up by the CIA over the internet says that not-so-long-ago departed former Dragons captain Burbs is eschewing the squalls of Melbourne for the sapping humidity and heat of Abu Dhabi. Word is he will be joining up with fellow legal beagle and former Dragon flouro-booter Damo McNair, aka McVague. With Webby also lurking in Abu Dhabi, the boys should look at getting a run with a Gulf team and touring HK this year.

All time best list
See if we can get a debate rolling here. All feedback to media@hk-dragons.com welcomed. The club's resident Mr Football, former president Farmer, has submitted his list of the top ten all time Dragons. This is how it goes from the man who can recite hard ball get stats from specific Dragons games played in 1994.

1. Will Hamilton
2. Hamish Stuart
3. Aaron Bester
4. Graeme Rigg
5. Damian McNair
6. Simon Dixon
7. Phil Reid
8. Nick Kendell
9. Nick Hyland
10. Nathan Byrne

Nick Hyland, pictured at cruising altitude, comes in at no 9.

More lists: Website keeps growing
February 2008 saw a slight increase in hits to website compared to the previous month as footy started to enter people's consciousness.
Excluding HK and Oz, the top ten visiting countries viewing the website were

January Top 10...........................February Top 10
United States...............................United States
Great Britain................................Canada
Singapore....................................Singapore
France.........................................UAE
Macau..........................................Great Britain
China............................................Japan
Netherlands..................................Netherlands
Qatar............................................China
UAE..............................................Qatar
Philippines.....................................India

Oz Day Post feature
In a major media coup for the club, the Hong Kong Dragons featured in an exclusive story (with photo) about the best footy club in Asia. The Dragons were the centrepiece of the South China Morning Post's Australia Day liftout on Jan. 26.
Full story as it appeared in the paper in news section of this website.

AFL.com praise Dragons win
The following article appears on the AFL's official website, under the headline, Steady Asia.
Elsewhere in Asia, growth was steady in Japan (celebrating 20 years of footy), and the Samurai won the football carnival at the Arafura Games in Darwin, undefeated. In many of the Asian one club countries junior clinics were conducted and tentative signs were visible of the game putting down roots with local participation. Indonesia was particularly encouraging, with plenty of junior development there, whilst Laos started up their first senior side.

The Asian Championships continued to grow in significance, with 11 teams attending in 2007. The Hong Kong Dragons defeated the Bali Geckos in the final, and as more locals take up the game across Asia, hopefully we'll see this tournament emerge as a showcase for star Asian footballers.

To go the article, the link is:
http://www.afl.com.au/InternationalCupNews/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=54700

Take your pick - would you prefer this momentous spectacle or ....

The Australia Network has made some minor improvements to its scheduling of AFL games in response to a huge Dragons campaign sweeping Asia (details just below). The AFL has vowed to look into the fiasco surrounding coverage of AFL games in Asia being relgated to a middle of the night timeslot.

The Australian Network have requested that all complaints are made through the "contact us" system located on their website:

http://australianetwork.com/about/contact.htm

... or this, ummm, spectacle?

Small improvements to coverage
Thank you for your recent comment about our scheduling of the 2008 AFL season.

You will be pleased to know that the schedule will be revised as of 11 April, and will conform to the following basic pattern:

1. An average of four matches per weekend will be shown: one on Friday night, one on Saturday afternoon, one on Saturday night, and one on Sunday afternoon.

2. No matches will be shown on Sunday nights.

3. When there is no Super 14s match to be shown at 2100 (Hong Kong time) on Friday or Saturday, the AFL match will be shown between 2100 and 2400.

4. When a Super 14s match is shown at 2100 on Friday or Saturday, the AFL match will follow it at 2300.

5. There will be occasional exceptions to this pattern. On Saturday 12 April, for instance, the matches will be shown at 1230 and 1730, and on Anzac Day, Friday 25 April, the Collingwood vs Essendon match will be shown at 1330, and the Fremantle vs Geelong match will be shown at midnight.

The changes for the weekend 11-13 April are already on our website schedule. The changes for subsequent weekends will appear very soon.

Nico retains the keys to the vault.

The Hong Kong Dragons will kick off season 2008 with a Bogan for a President and a mix of old and new powerbrokers in the Cabinet. The first committee meeting of the year heralded a changing of the guard and brought news of touring and other plans for the season ahead.

A huge agenda confronted the Dragons committee at their latest pow-wow. With the formal resignation of celebrated former President Byrne, a new leader of this great club was nominated. Due in no small part to a dire lack of alternatives, Craig 'Prez' Francis (the footballer previously known as Bogan) was handed the most powerful job in Asian football and the codes to the nuclear silo.

All committee positions were open for nomination and the some changes were made that should drive the club to even greater heights in 2008. Nico retains the treasury, former social manager Stuchy takes the Tours portfolio and former president Byrne will retain an official role as Sponsorship and Recruitment director. Jarrod Tidd will take care of Merchandising and two new faces enter the fray, with Tommy Polk and Dom The Bowski jointly assigned head of the Social Ministry. Bogan retains the Media and Website Ministry and Coach Wines will be the head of the Football Department as training co-ordinator.

Coach Wines heads up the Football Department

Tour news

Pending Happy Valley's availability, training is set to resume on Sunday March 9. The following week would be training, followed by a two week break due to Easter and the Rugby 7s.

The eagerly awaited tour schedule is taking shape with Manila looming as our opening trip. While all tour dates are still not set in stone, a trip to the Philippines for a four-team comp is in the final stages of organisation. Keep the weekend of 31 May free. As well as the Dragons and Eagles, the Jakarta Bintangs and Dubai Dingoes are taking part.

October 11 is pencilled in for a home series at Mission Rd against the visiting Osaka, Malaysia and Dubai. September 6 is confirmed for the Asian Champs in Singapore.

President Boges sheds blood for the Dragons

Sponsorship plays a key role in the success of the club, and as such we once again appreciate the continued support of Fostors, Westpac and Bulldogs Bar who will be behind the club again in 2008. Other sponsorship deals are in the pipeline and you'll be hearing more about the advantages of club membership very soon.

The Dragons will also be aiming to play a role in nurturing its future champions by building on the club's ties with the Auskick junior programme that is held on Saturday mornings and starts again soon. (see email link on News column on left of home page).

Season 2008 is upon us. Time to get excited.

Craig 'Prez' Francis

Feeney and Bogan share a deserved beer after their incredible sporting encounter

Mojo beats Boges in squash classic
ADMIRALTY: Matt 'Mojo' Feeney has secured the Dragons' inaugural intraclub squash competition with a miraculous comeback 5-set victory against Craig 'Boges' Francis.

Mojo went into the match as a firm favourite but the bookies were being mocked when Bogan got within two points of taking the title, leading two sets to nil and coasting in the decider at 7-3. But this was as close to victory as the Bogan would get, as a never-say-die Feeney rose to an inspirational 6-9, 6-9, 9-1, 9-7, 9-6 win.

The two had met on the squash court several times before and enjoyed a fierce rivalry built on competitive games but it was the Mojo who had always taken final honours. This time it was neutral territory on the HK Squash Centre exhibition court, using the white ball. The collective ears of the sporting world had pricked when Bogan led throughout the first set and closed it clinically with a series of lethal forehand kills and well-placed serves. By the end of the second set, the sporting world had risen to its collective feet as one in amazement when Bogan again dispensed with the desperate Mojo, after adding some deft touch shots to the repertoire.

"I knew then I needed a completely new game plan. I didn't know what was happening and to be honest, thought I was a goner," declared Mojo in post-match interviews.

"I decided to just push deep onto his backhand and try and disrupt Bogan's rhythm because he was just hitting too many winners. The plan worked, thankfully and I clawed my way back," he said.

In spectaular style too. The third set was a complete reversal, with Feeney dictating from the centrecourt T. By the fourth set it was game on again. Both players were locked at 6-6 and a procession of lost service points and lengthy rallies had both players close to the brink. It was Feeney who chipped in with the occasional point to edge to a 9-6 win.

"At the end of the fourth set I was close to collapse. My legs had turned to jelly," said Mojo.

Bogan was similarly stretched and looking for a way to recapture the early form.

"No matter how far ahead of Feeney you get in this game, you just know he is going to make you hunt for the next point. It's like being on an ice-breaker in the Arctic - no matter how much you have behind you, you just have to keep on ploughing through. No matter how far ahead, I never felt it was all over," explained Boges.

The final set was gladiatorial. It was Boges who got the early ascendency, moving quickly to a 3-0 lead. But as was the destiny of this truly epic encounter, scores were eventually tied at 6-6. As exhaustion was replaced by desperation, referee Liddle was called upon to make some telling calls. In a mirror of the fourth set, it was a series of points played out without either player able to add to the scoresheet. But as a battle of guile and power turned into one of attrition, it was the Mojo-man who pounced on the hard-to-find points, to take the set and raise two fists in triumph.

The annals of sport had penned another addition to the genre of 'classic'.

EARLIER COMPETITION REPORTS
The GF build-up -
First Mojo toyed with the Jackal, then Boges deflated the Pres - now a date has been set for what promises to be a huge encounter by two supreme athletes at the Hong Kong Squash Centre on Cottontree Drive, opposite the Peak Tram terminal.

The game will be played on the main tournament exhibition court (one), complete with full spectator grandstands.

All Dragons are urged to watch the Friday night, 7-8pm, January 11 final and enjoy a few beers afterwards. Exact time and location to be announced in next day or so. But keep next Friday free for a bit of sledging and admiring of the last two standing.

2nd semi final
Craig 'Bogan' Francis gave a typically confident President Nathan Byrne a squash lesson in the long-delayed and eagerly awaited second semi final of the 2007 intra-club squash competition. Bogan will now meet Mojo Matt Feeney in a blockbuster Grand Final at the HK Squash Centre early in the new year.

Insiders report to the Firebreather that Sunday's (Dec 23) semi had been preceded by the Prez deriding his opponent's prospects and declaring that, "I am a superstar at this game, a natural talent. I really should have taken it up much earlier."
Bogan promptly issued a reminder that some further honing of those 'natural gifts' was still required, in the form of a 9-2, 9-7, 9-1 victory.

The first set at the Hennessy Rd venue was all one-way traffic, with Bogan using a mix of power and guile to control the match. Byrne declared he was a traditional slow starter but quickly fell to a 7-0 deficit in the second set. Bogan, lacking the killer instinct, let Byrne creep back to 7-7 but was stirred into action by some untimely Presidential sledging. 9-7.

The final set almost saw the Prez 'pantsed' but at 8-0 he claimed a point. The game was over in 38 minutes.

A crowd is urged to get behind the two finalists. Feeney will enter the final as a firm favourite, having posted several 3-2 and similarly close victories over Bogan in recent years. But a tough contest is guaranteed and an upset well within the underdog's capability.

1st semi final
Mojo Feeney dispensed with the less experienced The Jackal in a 9-2, 9-0, 9-0 caning on Friday (June 15). Byrnes-eye and the Bogan will now play a much-anticipated semi final in order to meet Feeney in the blockbuster grand final at a date TBA.

A brave Jackal painted a rosier picture than the scoreline might have suggested.

"It took me a while to get the hang of what he was doing by getting back to the middle but I reckon next time it might be a different story," said The Jackal, sounding every bit the New South Welshman.

"Next time?," was the only response of Feeney.

Scroll down for the full draw and results

Feeney brushes aside Rigger
In a surprisingly one-sided affair, arch-rivals 'Mojo' Feeney and Riggsy clashed in their quarterfinal, with Feeney goi8ng through in straight sets.

Despite what he claims are two crippling, geriatric, artrtic knees, Feeney managed to call on the Anzac spirit to fight off Riggsy 9-5, 9-6, 9-7.

Speaking from his surgeon's office (seriously) the day after the clash, Feeney was at his nonchalant best in describing the eagerly-anticipated clash.

"It was nothing really. Just Riggsy. Looking forward to the Grand Final in late May."

Feeney is expected to meet token resistance in the semi against the Jackal. Falcon 500 Mallia and Byrnes-eye will meet very soon in a quarterfinal for the right to meet Bogan for the other grand final slot.

Bogan into last four
In a workmanlike performance, Bogan dispensed with the worthy challenge of the M-Rad in three hard-fought sets, 9-6, 9-3, 9-7.

Staged at the Java Rd Markets court, the two long-time squash adversaries went toe-to-toe to 6-6 before some deft touch from Boges broke the stalemate with three straight points. The second set saw Boges at his efficient best, before Mrad put in a desperate effort before going down 9-7 in the last.

Next games
Riggsy and Feeney are due to meet this week, pending Feeney passing a fitness test on his ageing knees. Byrnes-eye the Giant slayer meets Long-Shot Long-Hair. The two winners will meet Jackal and Bogan in the semi finals. Please arrange games ASAP.

The draw progress thus far:

R1 ................. Quarters ............. Semis...................GF

Shannon v
Feeney .......Feeney v ..............Feeney

Riggsy ...........Riggsy
Mitch v ..FEENEY..

x ....................Jackal v..................Jackal
x ....................Merrett

Liddle
Byrnesy v .......Byrnes v
.............Byrnes
Mals v ...............Taity
Taity .............

Duffy v
Boges .............Boges v ............ Bogan

Mrad v ..............Mrad
Doddsy

Earlier Results
Sam M-Rad eeked out a three set thriller against a brave Doddsy to move into the next round.

Sambo, one of the expected hotshots, relied on all his power and touch to beat Doddsy 9-6, 7-9, 10-8, despite the latter not having played the game for four years.

Feeney, the pre-tournament favourite is now in doubt following a double arthroscopy, although he is still going to take on his nemesis Riggsy in their quarter final clash.

In a massive boilover, the unheralded Byrnes-eye has dumped one of the pre-tournament favourites, Jamie Liddle, from the Dragons squash comp. In a see-sawing five-setter, it was the president who humbled his more decorated opponent. The Pres will now meet the winner of this week's Mrad-Doddsy match, while Liddle will be left in front of the mirror, taking a good, long hard look at himself.

Squash gun Riggsy outpointed novice Mitch in a mismatch but still didn't talk to his opponent until he had secured the three-set to nil victory. Then it was all nice and convivial. He is a player to watch in this tournament. But a final within a final now looms as two giants of the court and arch-rivals meet in round two, Feeney and Riggsy.

The Jackal became the first player to reach the semi finals with a 3-0 victory over Graham Merrett. While one of the sets went to a tie break (10-8), it was the Lethal Leb that had all the answers.

So keep the fixtures rolling. The President has suggested a mighty piss-up and spectator turn-out on the night of the Grand Final

Rules
The two finalists will play five games (max) in this knockout comp. Court availablity in HK is usually not a problem, with courts located opposite the Peak Tram (HK Squash Centre), in Victoria Park, North Point (Electric Rd), Happy Valley and many other locations.

It's a good chance for a bit of hit and run with your teammates and a few beers during a post-match analysis afterwards. Email your results to media@hk-dragons.com

Befitting a club of our historical stature, games will be played in the old fashioned format of first to nine points, with points only earned while serving. Best of five sets, unless both competitors agree that a serious risk of heart attack exists.

An early market was framed pre-tournament by our resident bookie of those who have so far signed up. And it went a little something like this:

Feeney - Evens
Riggsy - 2:1
Bogan - 4:1
Mrad - 8:1
Jamie - 10:1
Mitch 13:1
Byrneseye - 15:1
Duffy - 25:1
Shannon - 33:1
Doddsey - 50:1
Longhair - 50:1
The Jackal - 66:1
Taity - 66:1
'Max' Merrett - 100:1

150:1 and upwards - All others

Get those emails in ASAP to media@hk-dragons.com

It doesn't matter what your playing ability is or whether you use a wooden or graphite racket, the aim is to get the boys a bit fit, mixing more and building some teamwork and Krakouer Brother-like understanding.

THE FIREBREATHER

Oz Day Post feature
In a major media coup for the club, the Hong Kong Dragons will be featured in an exclusive story (with photo of a mystery Dragon) about the best footy club in Asia. The Dragons will be a centrepiece of the South China Morning Post's Australia Day liftout this Saturday (Australia Day, Jan. 26).
Be sure to pick up your copy from the nearest newsagent this weekend and check it out.

AFL.com praise Dragons win
The following article appears on the AFL's official website, under the headline, Steady Asia.
Elsewhere in Asia, growth was steady in Japan (celebrating 20 years of footy), and the Samurai won the football carnival at the Arafura Games in Darwin, undefeated. In many of the Asian one club countries junior clinics were conducted and tentative signs were visible of the game putting down roots with local participation. Indonesia was particularly encouraging, with plenty of junior development there, whilst Laos started up their first senior side.

The Asian Championships continued to grow in significance, with 11 teams attending in 2007. The Hong Kong Dragons defeated the Bali Geckos in the final, and as more locals take up the game across Asia, hopefully we'll see this tournament emerge as a showcase for star Asian footballers.

To go the article, the link is:
http://www.afl.com.au/InternationalCupNews/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=54700

Oz Day Party
Dragon groupie and self-acclaimed rock god Macca will be starring at the annual V13 Australia Day bash at the Vodka Bar. From 6pm - 9pm it is happy hour on Aussie drinks. There's a sausage sizzle and tunes from some accomplished muso types. A rendition of alternative club anthem, The Stinker 18, can be expected. As classic as the FE Holden.

The year in webstats
The successful year that was 2007 was also a success for the Dragons' portal to its fans, opponents and the world. The website had a huge year, recording 18,186 visits to the site, totalling 339,000 page views and 750,000 hits.
The website was launched in May 2006 and has proven a consistent magnet for readers of the Dragons' on and off-field success. More than half a million hits were recorded in 2006.
July towered above the other months this year, as readers lapped up the Asian Champs victory stories, player profiles (all still on the site under the News menu) and photo galleries.
September (Beach Party and more Champs reports) was also solid.
December was relatively quiet for web traffic, especially from the 13th of the month as the festive season gathered steam. Notable trends this month were the return to the top of the charts of US, Britains slide and the rise of Taiwan. The top ten countries to visit the site last month (after HK and Oz) is as follows:

November Top 10.......................December Top 10
Japan..........................................United States
Denmark......................................Japan
Netherlands.................................commercial
Indonesia.....................................unknown
South Korea................................Taiwan
Switzerland.................................Netherlands
China............................................Thailand
Philippines....................................Singapore
Germany......................................Great Britain
United Kingdom.............................UAE

Honourable mention to Malta, at 14 in the hit parade (The Maltese Falcon 500's rellies maybe?).

Local media coverage
The Dragons also received some unlikely publicity this month, with a prominent snapshot of their website appearing on page 21 of CityU Today, the magazine of Hong Kong's prestigious world top 200-ranked university.

Dadda Dave
Dave Rial, the winner of the Dragons 2004 Clubman of the Year, became a father on Saturday morning (Dec 22), with the arrival of 3.7kg baby girl Phoebe. Wife B (her nickname, not ranking) is in good health after the eventful 7am delivery that saw some late changes to the original schedule. The young girl now has Mama B and Auntie A, wife of former Dragons wingman Uncle Tim Keogh. Dave is pictured on the mainpage signing autographs in Chennai to his many international followers. (see all club honours under the History section of the website. Check out Tim's profile in the Past Players section).

The annals of history
Take a look at the History section of the website to read the 2006 and 2007 annual reports, encapsulating two of the most amazing years in the club's proud history - a spoon and a cup. As well as the kitchenware, also visit the Links in the Club Info section that have been updated to include a few of the newer teams on the Asian footy circuit. Great way to kill some down time once you've read all the papers at work.

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.

Get a run on
Stoochy Junior Burger and Tommy Polk took part in the weekend's (Dec 2) run around 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.

November web traffic report
Very strange happenings on the web traffic radar this month, with Hong Kong and Australia no longer the most popular sources of traffic. This month it was 'Unknown' coming in at top spot! And in second spot was the previously unseen 'Commercial'. No idea what this means. 'Network' came in fourth. Australia outstripped HK for first time ever and the US, forever the top of the list after these two, came in 19th. So for what it is worth, here's the top ten after the strange ones and and HK, Australia are discounted.

November Top 10........................October Top 10
Japan..........................................United States
Denmark......................................Japan
Netherlands.................................Great Britain
Indonesia......................................UAE
South Korea.................................Singapore
Switzerland..................................Thailand
China............................................Vietnam
Philippines....................................China
Germany......................................Canada
United Kingdom.............................Malaysia

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.

Pin-up boy Benny Davis woos the media

BALLARAT - Former Dragon legend and 2003 Clubman of the Year Ben Davis is the darling of the media set in his home town of Ballarat, receiving page-lead headlines for his exploits, sorry, achievements overseas.

Now residing in Phuket after a tour of duty in Burma, one-time Hong Kong Dragons full-forward Davis has made headline news in the Ballarat Courier with a story carrying a screaming, 48pt bold headline, "His villa view is a far cry from Ballarat's streets.

The story outlines the success story that is its much-loved prodigal son, Ben Davis. Without making mention of his eponymous clothing line, the paper details his resume, from leaving the rough and tumbleweed streets of Creswick to the tumult of burning Burma.

The final stanzas are dedicated to his illustrious sporting achievements across Asia, including his pivotal role in guiding the Dragons, almost singlehandedly, to victory in the 2003 and 2004 Asian Championships. It also mentions his team's victory in the hotly contested Burmese national cricket league.

Never look back

The story begins with his humble origins and follows his "well-worn backpacker path to London. He never looked back".

The story contnues with more New Idea-detail, with the next three paragraphs all starting with the word 'after'.

"After taking in the view from the 29-year-old's villa (Editor Note: 30th birthday details appear at end of this article) overlooking the Andaman Sea at picturesque Surin Beach in Thailand, it is easy to see why."

Evidently, the Chronicle dipped into its travel budget to send a reporter to Mr Davis' oppulent residence.

The story later moves into the realm of international mystery, intrigue and danger, making clear by use of a two-column bold box quotation just how close to death our Benny Boy came at the hands of Burma's military junta.

"Another friend's secretary was downtown during it and was told to either get in the truck or be beaten," read the eye-catching lift-out quote. Friend's secretary? Streuth, that was close!

Great way to see Asia

Of his beloved Dragons, Ben is effusive in his praise. "It's a great way to see the Asia - and touring with 30 or 40 mates is plenty of fun," the paper quoted our man as saying.

Big colourful shoes to fill

These words ring true when you consider all previous winners of the Clubman Award were for dedicated service to the club. With one exception - Mr Davis received his honour purely for being an all-round top bloke, entertainer and obligatory tour accessory.

The article concludes with a plea to their lost diplomat. "As for a permanent return to Ballarat?"

"Unlikely, at least in the near future," says the paper, drawing its own conclusion and leaving forlorn a readership of ugg-booted, tracksuited young women.

Special thanks to Riggsy's mum for locating the article.

PARTY INVITE FROM BEN:
Turning 30 later this month and was planning on heading out on a liveaboard fishing boat for a couple of days to a couple of islands. Plan would be to head off from Phuket on the Saturday morning (26th) and return on the 27th.

If you require Benny's email address, write to media@hk-dragons.com

Craig 'Boges' Francis