(L-R) B&F Ryder, former Prez Woody, Prez Boges with the perpetual trophy named after the late Warwick Snowden

In one of the finest Dragons Awards Nights in recent memory, the club honoured its good and great at Oboh on Old Bailey Street on 28 November 2009.

The venue was a heaving mass of club members, partners, friends and fans for the open bar, live music fiesta.

Club founder Ray Wood travelled from Australia specifically to present the Ray Wood Medal that went to Dragons Fairest and Best winner, Joshua Ryder.

A clutch of other awards were also presented. The coveted Best Clubman trophy went to the tireless merchant of mirth, Dominic 'Bowski' Dunn. His efforts both on and off the field have been the stuff of legend and he joins an exalted list of contributors to the club on the honour board.

Best First Year Player went Justin 'Diesel' Barbaro. The pint-sized Stuchy doppelganger had a great year. It started with his four hour stop-over in Manila (en-route to his grandfather's birthday in Australia) morphing into a hospital visit after ten minutes of game time with a split chin. It culminated in a BOG performance in Beijing and some fine musical performances thereafter. "Looking forward to coming back next year for a tilt at the B&F," he said in accepting the award.

Leading Goalkicker was Jonathan Worthley, who took his second consecutive gong. A huge effort in Manila preceded a quieter Asian Champs before he sealed the deal with a strong performance in Beijing. Jonno thanked the midfield for feeding him and said he hoped to be around for another season.

Coaches Trophy went to the selfless David 'Lips' Kerr, who played a pivotal role on the sidelines. Whether serving as assistant coach, helping out at training, running water or playing and breaking fingers and tearing calf muscles, Lips was the year's everywhere man. "This is a great club and it is only as strong as the people who make it all happen. Special thanks to the committee guys for all their hard work, much of which goes unseen but I know they do it and appreciate it," said Lips.

For lifetime achievement, the Dragons awarded Life Membership to the indomitable Alfred Chown. Alfie was one of the founding orchestrators of the club in the early 1990s and his work over a period of about five years is one of the reasons we have this great club today.

"I guess it is somehow apt that I am the 19th life member of the Dragons as I did spend a lot of time on the bench during my career," said Chown.

Before presenting the Best and Fairest Award to Ryder, Ray 'Woody' Wood delivered an impassioned oratory on the Dragons early history. Reading from a parched scroll, the club's first president spoke of the people and events that shaped the club, including matches played against visiting navy sides in front of 2000 spectators, with RAAF paratrooper displays. The captivating speech provided and sense of history and gave the younger club members a valuable insight into the standing of the Dragons in the Hong Kong community.

In accepting his award, ruckman Ryder thanked the club for the friendships and good times it had provided, before offering a rendition of "Josh do it, Josh do it."

Special mention must also be made of the jovial half dozen Abu Dhabi Falcons who made it to Awards Night as part of their end-of-season trip in Hong Kong.

The evening then got progressively larger, with the Snowden Perpetual Trophy splitting in two, Diesel joining former Dragons Macca on the mic and strings and a general descent into mayhem throughout HK following. 2009. Success.

(And be sure to check out the updated Honour Boards under our History section, with Past Coaches and Captains now included with the 2009 award winners).

Photo gallery to follow soon

Craig 'Prez/Boges' Francis