On Friday 25th October the Dragons packed our bags and headed to Vietnam for what was to be our last tour of 2013. Coming off the back of our recent Asian Champs victory the boys were feeling confident & looking forward to heading to one of the best tour destinations in Asia. With a few late withdrawals (we’re looking at Darren Whitfield!), it meant we toured with a compact squad of 14 players and Luke “Norta” North stepping up as Head Coach. Although light on for numbers, the quality of the squad looked to be very strong for both on & off field activities.
The tour was special for another reason, as it was also the bucks party of two Dragons legends – Tim “TBird” Smith and newly appointed President Mark “Mazza” Mastores. Both boys were very obliging, stepping straight into their costumes for the weekend “The Birdman” & “Guido Hatzis” –
And they looked fantastic!
Things set off at a ferocious pace, with the touring party meeting for preflight beers at 1pm at the Airport Express. Things then escalated once we boarded the plane with young Dragon Christian “The Shot Master” Romano dishing out shots of Patron and Belvedere to all tourist, including Head Coach Norta who was pretending to sleep. On arrival at Ho Chi Minh City airport, the Dragons quickly purchased all available beers in the airport and headed to our home for the weekend, The Exclusive Northern Hotel. In what must be the quickest check-in turnaround in Dragons history, all Dragons were showered, changed & back in the lobby in under 10 minutes. These boys had definitely come to play & I’m not talking about the football.
In what was to be the standard for the weekend, the Vietnam Swans hospitality went above and beyond. We headed straight to their sponsors bar, The Spotted Cow, and it’s fair to say the patrons had not seen a touring party like the Dragons. Josh “The Jack Hammer” Mahoney had brought a few ‘party props’ for the weekend, which really seemed to get the crowd going. After a bit of dancing on the bar and meeting the rest of the Swans, the Dragons headed out on the town to explore the City’s finest nightspots.
Saturday morning was greeted with a few sore heads & the realization that we actually had a football match to play. The boys were bused out to RMIT and started getting ready on a very well prepared deck. It was a very narrow ground, but the lack of wings didn’t worry the Dragons as it was going to mean a little less running for the boys. After initially looking a big flat vice-captain TBird decided it was the perfect time to unleash a bit of “Dragon Ball”, which had the desired effect of firing the boys up.
The team work black armbands in memory of the passing of two close friends of Captain Dom “Bowski” Dunn and Grant “Pav” Davis. So the game took on an extra element of significant for all.
A 14 a side format applied for the match with a 5-4-5 formation for both teams. The Dragons Line Up was a follows:
B: Lips, Bowski, TBird, Mahoney, Mazza
M: B Jacko, Barbs, SOC, Jabaz
F: Burkey, Romano, Coops, Lawso, Pav
B: Mark & Andy (Vietnam players)
The Game:
Vietnam wasted no time in getting away to a great start kicking the first two goals of the game and looking very strong. The Dragons regain their composure and bounced back with two goals of our own. Both teams were playing good tough footy, with neither were able to grab the ascendancy. In near perfect condition for football, both teams missed a couple of very gettable shots before the quarter time siren. One of Burkey’s attempts can only be described as a ‘sideways helicopter’ that travelled 20 metres forward and about 45 meters directly right, ending up on the other side of the ground. Our midfield were playing well, Josh “Jabaz” Barry was in everything and played a critical role in getting the Dragons running game going.
Quarter time scores: Vietnam 2.3.15 to Dragons 2.2.14
After a well earn rest the Dragons came out strong in the 2nd quarter but continued to be wasteful in front of goal. Shaun “Coops” Cooper was finding it hard to rediscover his last quarter champs form, Ryan “Lawso” Lawson was finding it hard not to be sick, and “The Shot Master” was finding it hard to see with his new florescent orange boots on. Fair to say the forward line wasn’t firing on all cylinders. Vietnam capitalized and kicked 2 quick goals and looked to have the edge. Then Burkey decided it was time to stamp his authority on the game and started marking everything that came near him, ably assisted by Big Pav up forward. Stephen “SOC” O’Connor (playing in his runner) started to find his feet in his first game in Asia football. SOC combined perfect from a long kick out, to Big Jacko and finally TBird in what would have been one of the goals of the day, but instead another behind!! The Dragons then piled on 3 goals and match had swung on its axis. Lips & Mazza were providing run off half back and suddenly the Dragons were in front.
Sadly then tragedy struck, when Jabaz & Burkey went in for a hard ball get and collided, opening up sizable gashes on each other heads. It was quite a sickening collision and stopped the game dead in its tracks. An ambulance was called and unfortunately both boys had to be taken to hospital to be stitched up & would play no further part in the game. This was an extra blow for the Dragons as both Burkey & Jabaz had been our best players in the game to that point.
Half time score: Vietnam 5.5.35 to Dragons 5.7.37
After a long delay due to the boys injuries we gathered ourselves and set about doing what they would have wanted us to do – win the match. After a slightly tentative start the Swan took the early advantage and again kicked 2 quick goals. The Dragons bounced back well and were right in the game, however inaccurate kicking again was our downfall. Big Jacko was giving us first use of the ball, SOC & Barbs were combining well & Big Pav was providing a really strong target up forward. In the absence of Jabaz & Burkey, the rest of the team really stood up & we started playing some of our best footy for the day. The two bucks, Mazza & TBird were everywhere and looked like they were trying to win it off their own boot. Still 10 points down with not much time left on the TBird, stepped up for one of the great individual effort of the day. He took 2 bounces, borked a few players and drilled a team lifting goal, before dragging himself from the ground and being sick on the pitch. It really had to be seen to be believed!
Three quarter time score: Vietnam 7.8.50 to Dragons 6.10.46
With the game still very much in the balance, the Dragons readied themselves for one last crack at the Swans. The swans main dangerman was onballer, Mitch “The Bull” Hyde, it was decided that TBird and Bowski would try and curtail his influence by trying to tag him out of the game. This plan worked well initially, however as the Dragons became leg weary the Swans stepped up a gear and quickly kicked the first 2 goals of the final quarter. This opened up a 16 point lead, the biggest margin of the game to this point. The Dragons didn’t drop their heads and when SOC kicked a goal from just outside 40 meters, the dragons looked to have some momentum back on their side. With less than 5 minutes to go, the Dragons needed 2 goals to pitch victory. But the Swans could taste victory and were going in for the kill. The game was developing into a tight arm wrestle, with the Swan looking to have the advantage. When Mitch drifted forward, marked & kicked truly it was game over for the Dragons.
Final scores: Vietnam Swan 10.11.77 to Dragons 7.10.52
Despite the injuries to Jabaz & Burkey, the game was played in terrific spirits & fought out really well by both sides. The Dragons would like to thank the Swans for their professionalism in dealing with what could have been potentially very serious injuries. Thankfully both boys pulled up really well and apart from a few stitches were back to 100% that night.
That evening both teams headed back to The Spotted Cow for buffet dinner & drinks. Stephen “SOC” O’Connor was awarded the Dragons best player and Mitch “The Bull” Hyde was voted the Swans best player.