Hong Kong is not the first place you think of in a conversation about football, but footy has been played in Hong Kong for several years. 

The origins of the club stem back to late 1989 where a bunch of rugby supporters bet Ray Wood that he would not be able to establish an Aussie rules club in Hong Kong. Ray took on the challenge, and recruited the likes of Bruce Brown, Paul Hart, Graeme Stillwell, Colin Reid, Ric Reddell, John Thompson, John Dillon, Paul Devereux and Ian Clyne to assist. The Dragons were formed soon after. 

Flashback to September 1990, the AFL grand final is contested between Collingwood and Essendon. History tells that the Bombers were so bad that the Pies won their first flag in 32 years. What is not so well documented is that the next day, Aussie rules was played in Hong Kong (and Asia) for the first time at Stanley Fort. 

The AGC Devils took on the Fosters Sharks. The Sharks won, Glen Fleisher was best on ground and Bruce Brown kicked the goal of the day. The event and lead up were quite special. Hong Kong TV filmed the training at Happy Valley, Qantas flew up AFL umpires from Melbourne, aircraft from the British Air Force flew over the ground as the teams lined up for Walzing Matilda, there were helicopter displays and abseiling out of the helicopters to the pitch, donkey rides and a crowd of around 2,500 attended. 

In the same fixture in 1991 in front of a similar sized crowd, the Devils won, Phil Reid was best on ground, Peter Stone the goal sneak, and Darren Usher took mark of the day. 

In Septmember 1992, battle lines were drawn. State of origin came to Hong Kong. A team of expat Victorians took on a team from the rest of Australia. The Big V colours were lowered in that game as captain Ric Reddell and coach Ian Clyne led their team to victory. Chris Pick was best afield and goal and mark of the day went to Peter Lawrence and Will Hamilton. 

Victoria v rest of Australia was an annual fixture from 1992 to 1996. The rest won 3 of the 5 contests, and in 1993 it was a draw. 

In February 1992, the Dragons played their first international fixture – a tour to Tokyo to take on the Tokyo Goannas. The match was 14 a side on a rock hard freezing mud rugby pitch. After shooting out to a narrow 35 goal lead at 3 quarter time, captain-coach Ray Wood instructed the team to kick droppies in the final quarter, a tactic that reduced the final margin to 30 goals. 

With Grant (Tom) Dooley working in Hong Kong for the Navy as Recreation Officer the Navy played twice in Hong Kong in 1992. HMAS Perth was in town in June and HMAS Brisbane in October. Both times the Dragons triumphed to snare the Navy Cup. Each Navy game was a hotly contested affair in the first quarter. After that, Wan Chai nights and land legs took their toll. 

Following a successful 1992, the Dragons toured again in 1993. In February, Malaysia was the destination to take on the Malaysian Tigers. Once more, the Dragons were singing their theme song at the end of the game. Will Hamilton was best on ground. 

With two regional tours and two wins, it was time for the Dragons to look further afield. So, in October 1993, bags were packed for London. England was a huge success, the Dragons notched up another victory and the local pubs did a roaring trade. 

Games in 1994 to 1996 were less successful. In 1994 the Dragons were beaten for the first time - by the Goannas in Tokyo. An undermanned squad went to Darwin in 1995 for the Arafura games. We lost all 4 games, but won the best hotel and most beer awards. In May 1996 the Dragons went to Thailand to take on the Thailand Tigers in their inaugural match. Another loss was suffered. 

Arafura 1997 was the turning point. Led by supercoach Reddell, and shrugging off the controversy of tour t-shirts and negative media coverage, the Dragons defeated the Singapore Wombats, Tokyo Goannas and Central Desert Eagles to finish top of the table in the international round robin. Only New Zealand stood between us and a shot at PNG for the gold medal. New Zealand was the better team on the night. The Dragons regrouped and went onto defeat the Eagles to win the bronze. Five games in six days had been a test. The Dragons passed with honours (and hang overs). 

1997 and 1998 were barren years for games to be played in Hong Kong. A loss against the Thailand Tigers in September 1997 was the only game played as grounds became unavailable in Hong Kong. As a result, tours abounded. In June 1998 we went to Ho Chi Minh to play in the Fosters Asia Cup. We beat the Thailand Tigers by 5 points to set up a showdown with the Saigon Saints, who we beat to take the cup. It was back to Bangkok in September 1998 where we never recovered from the 8 goal Tigers first quarter. In December we went to Hanoi. It was the Dragons versus the Hanoi Hawks in the first game played at AFL Park, Dong Anh, Hanoi. The Dragons recorded a strong win.