After a few weeks of training, a lot of talk about the upcoming season and almost a late cancellation, the action finally kicked off on Saturday 8th May at St Stephen's College in Stanley. A three way competition was organised between the Hong Kong Dragons and two newly formed teams; Pokfulam Vikings and the Macau Lightning.

Assistant Coach Farmer showing the Coach and Captain how it was done in his day - can in hand.

With heavy raining washing away the supposed venue at Kai Tak over night it was some quick thinking on behalf of the Dragons along with some help from the Australian Consulate that got the day back on track. A last minute back up venue at St Stephens College was arranged and thankfully the football could continue as planned. The day proved to be an outstanding success with the festivities being watched by over 100 spectators. Wives and girlfriends all chipped in to make sure the players were stocked with enough food and drinks in the hot conditions, while children played on the ovals and cooled off in a makeshift pool boundary side. The games were played in terrific spirit, with football being the biggest winner on the day. The Hong Kong Dragons proved a little too strong in their games against the Vikings and Lightning, however they didn't have things all their own way with both teams showing patches of great play and testing the Dragons at various times. The last game of the day was fought out between the Vikings and the Lightning, both eager for their first win. It was a torrid affair with a number of player sustaining injuries. In the end the Vikings proved too strong, much to the delight of their passionate fans.

Final results for the day were:
Game 1: Dragons 9 16 70 def Vikings 4 2 26
Game 2: Dragons 16 8 104 def Macau 6 3 39
Game 3: Vikings 13 10 88 def Macau 3 4 22

The Lightning before their debut in Asian footy

PRIOR TO THE GAME ON SATURDAY
With thunderstorms overnight Thursday ruining the ground we have had to move Saturday's games to St Stephen's College in Stanley. Action will still kick off from 11am with the same format and presentations scheduled for 2:30pm at the ground. Please note that there will be no parking available due to construction work so please take public transport to the ground.

Enter via the main school gate at 22 Tung Tau Wan Road, Stanley - the 40 & 52 minibuses; 260 and 6 buses run right passed the gate.

Location of the Kai Tak Cricket Ground

The Pokfulam Vikings are in a similar position to the Lightning having not notched up a game of international football until this date. The Vikings have however been quietly going about their business down at Sandy Bay for some years now and with a few ex Dragon premiership players running around in the big V plus a few unknowns they will certainly have the capabilities of giving this comp a real shake on the day. Former Dragon Nigel Mendonca will be one to watch in the big V provided he can keep his hands off Riggsy in the middle!

All in all we are set for a huge day of footy on Saturday 8th May at St Stephens College. Bring the family and kids along as it will be a great day to be enjoyed by all and a fantastic welcome back to footy in HK.