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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
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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
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