Swannies Phil Harman (centre right) and Dave Diviny (centre left) with their “You can leave the country. But you can’t leave the Club. Honk!” trophies in Hanoi yesterday.

Hanoi coach, Adrian “Ado” Enright reports on the departures in Hanoi of Phil Harman and Dave Diviny:

Yesterday saw two of our Hanoi-based Swans depart for big things outside of Vietnam. Dave Diviny and his partner, Jane, will head back to Melbourne after more than a year with the Club. Dave was instrumental not only in his on-field work for the club, but showed his great enthusiasm and commitment by immediately putting his hand up to help with the Club’s finances and organisation of charity events.

Phil has been a long term Swannie, and will pack his boots and head over to Jakarta with the family. Phil has been a consistent performer with the Swans, and was part of the team that achieved its most successful result in the Asian Championships in 2011. Phil has also always been there to support the Club off the field and will be much missed by us all – especially the guys who have played alongside of Phil over the last few years.

Whilst Dave and Phil both leave Vietnam, they will always be a Swannie and we look forward to keeping in touch, and hopefully seeing Phil play with the Jakarta Bintangs in his new home.

Both Dave and Phil received “You can leave the country. But you can’t leave the Club. Honk!” trophies designed by Ross McRae Design.

All the best guys, from all of the Swans.

Ron and Ailsa Vernon return to Australia after a busy few months in Vietnam.

On Thursday, Ron and Ailsa Vernon returned to Australia after a few hectic months in Vietnam.

Not only did they bring just under 20 of their friends to the ANZAC Friendship Match, we also had Ron, a 1967 premiership player in the Vietnam Football League, present the ANZAC Friendship Shield to the winning team (the Swannies). In addition, Ron and Ailsa did loads of tireless work to support the Centre for the Protection of Children in Vung Tau and Long Hai.

During the week, the Swannies presented Ron and Ailsa a “You can leave the country. But you can’t leave the Club. Honk!” trophy designed by Ross McRae Design.

Ron and Ailsa thanked the Swannies for our friendship and for welcoming them into the Club. They spoke of the ANZAC Friendship Match bringing a freshness to, and a reinvigoration of, the ANZAC weekend. They projected that the match will grow significantly each year and that they will definitely return next year with even more friends.

The Vernons have played a major role in our last two ANZAC Friendship Matches and their presence is a key reason for the momentum that the match is generating. And, with their selfless work for the Centre for Protection of Children – which they continue back in Australia by raising awareness and funds – they are an absolutely awesome and legendary couple.

The Swannies can’t wait to see the Vernons again next year!

Swannie, John Shoulder, seen swinging here at the Legends and All Stars Match in April, writes about last weekend’s South Asian Gaelic Championships in Thailand.

Last weekend, the South Asian Gaelic Football Championships were held in Pattaya, Thailand and a contingent of Swannies from the north and the south were there.

Swannie, John Shoulder from Hanoi, reports on what happened with the round Gaelic ball.

Similar to great Renaissance men of all ages, or those who excel and prove their worth in a variety of fields, a true Swannie is sure to become the master of any endeavor he undertakes.

This certainly proved to be the case last weekend at the South Asian Gaelic Championships in Pattaya, where two Vietnamese sides, heavy with Swan ties, the Saigon Gaels and the Hanoi Viet Celts showed extremely well for themselves and took significant steps towards developing Gaelic football in Vietnam.

Perhaps, particularly impressive was the showing of the Saigon Gaels, a club that had more or less been left for dead leading up to the tournament, but was resurrected in the final week largely through the efforts of John Redmond and his compatriot, Irish Brian of the Swans.

Despite being thrown together at the last minute, and showing up to the pitch an hour late on Saturday reeking of Red Bull, the Saigon squad, quickly established itself as a formidable foe. It pushed our much more experienced Hanoi side to the brink in the first match of the tournament and then won its next two matches against Shanghai/Taiwan and the Malaysia based Orange Eire B side.

Billy Crang boots the round ball away at the Gaelic Championships in Thailand last week.

Boasting a backline that included stout Swans Brian and Phil, a forward line that included the skillful John Redmond and the imposing Billy Crang, and a midfield driven by Swannie jets Josh Murray and Dave O’Shea, the Gaels generally dominated the ball in their games and demonstrated the smooth passing and physical play that one might expect from a Swans-dominated side.

Unfortunately due to a case of cold kicking (blame it on the round ball), the Geals were bested by Thailand in their fourth game in a contest they largely dominated.  Being a resilient lot though, the team recovered to soundly beat the Orange Eire B side yet again in the tournaments fifth place game and finish with a positive record of 3 wins and 2 losses and Dave O’Shea garnering mention as one of the tournament’s top performers.

The tournament was a similarly successful affair for our Hanoi Viet Celt side, as led by our Captain Tamey Piper, former Swan Dan Coloe and the incomparable Jim Kiernan (one of the few men whose legend in Hanoi rivals that of our esteemed Swans’ Hanoi President, Daniel Hopkins), our somewhat misfit (boasting players hailing from 7 countries and three continents) but scrappy side recorded our best ever finish, beating Thailand to earn the plate final and third place in the tournament.

The win was perhaps especially sweet for us given that we had been edged by Thailand by one point earlier in the day and knew we could show better.  In addition to the standouts mentioned above, Dave Cunningham and Luke Kenny also put in stellar performances in our final match which saw us really come together as a team and play our best football of the day.

All in all, I think all involved would agree that it was a great day for the Swans in Pattaya and it was another tour which could only be described, in the words of the top Swannie, as MEGA.

*** Photos of the tournament can be viewed by clicking here.

The Hanoi Viet Celts and the Saigon Gaels.

Swans’ Treasurer, Rowan Luke, leads Swans’ photographer, Mark Stennett at the 2012 Legends and All Stars Match.

The Vietnam Swans’ Treasurer, Rowan Luke, from the Commonwealth Bank, has this afternoon announced details of the  amount of money raised for charity at the 2012 ANZAC Friendship Match.

Rowan has confirmed that,

“The net funds for distribution to charity are VND20,938,000 (USD1,005.67). Hence, our two charities, Swim Vietnam and the Centre for the Protection of Children in Vung Tau and Long Hai, will each receive VND10,469,000.

“Total gate and raffle ticket takings for the day were VND33,973,000 and our costs in organising the day were VND12,035,000 producing the net figure available for distribution.

“The costs incurred included items such as permits for holding the event, banners, sound system, water etc.”

The Vietnam Swans would like to thank everyone who came to the ANZAC Friendship Match and helped to raise this amount for charity.

Again, we would like to acknowledge and thanks the China Reds who separately, donated an additional $750 to the Centre for the Protection of Children.

Brad (far right) speaks about Club Sponsor, VIP Cabs Australia: No cab lines; a nice, clean taxi; a good driver who knew where he was going; and 10 per cent goes to the Swannies. How good is it??

As you may be aware, VIP Cabs Australia is now a sponsor of the Vietnam Swans – and why is this so exciting?

10 per cent of every fare goes to the Swannies if the “Vietnam Swans” are mentioned at the time of booking.

Last week, Swannie, Brad Vernon, flew back from Vietnam to Brisbane. Brad was our first member to try VIP Cabs and he writes,

“In terms of price it was $68. I normally pay at least $60, so, for a few bucks extra I got:

• No cab lines
• A nice, clean taxi
• A good driver who knew where he was going
• And 10 per cent goes to the Swannies. How good is it?

“Setting up an account with VIP Cabs  took about 5 minutes on the phone. But you only have to do that the first time. I will definitely use them in the future. The positives well outweigh the extra few bucks I paid.”

VIP Cabs specialises in airport transfers around Australia and has held the QANTAS account for more than 10 years. They monitor all inbound flights so, even if your plane is early, don’t worry. So will VIP Cabs. And we’d expect nothing less for the VIPs (Vietnamswans’ Important Phriends).

VIP Cabs can also offer set fares; eg, a transfer from Sydney Airport to the CBD will cost $54.04 which includes all tolls and processing fees for credit cards.

Setting up an account

To open an account with VIP Cabs, go straight to the top and deal directly with part owner, Chris Doullis. Chris can be contacted on +61 (0) 420 311 494 or via email at chrisdoulis@vipcabs.com.au Simply mention the Swannies.

Please give the Swannies feedback

If you use VIP Cabs, please let us know what you thought of the service. VIP Cabs is offering a great service in Australia and a potentially significant revenue stream for our footy club over here in Vietnam. If you like it, tell your business colleagues and friends and help to promote the Swannies in the process (“10 per cent goes to a footy club in where?? Vietnam? And they play in an Asian Championships and ANZAC Friendship Match? Wow! ).

Go you VIP Cabbies!

Other sponsorship news

• International school in Saigon signs sponsorship agreement with Swannies. Details to follow.
• Supplier of expertly crafted timber frames and windows in Australia signs sponsorship agreement with Swannies. Details to follow.

And finally…

Honk if you love VIP Cabs Australia.

Honk! Honk!

Pearcey (left) loves his Swannies’ hat. However, despite winning a “best hat” competition, the unflappable Mr Pearcey shows less emotion than Mr Nick in a Swannies’ jumper. (Nick photo: 2012 ANZAC Friendship Match, Mark Stennett Photography.)

Nick Shiell’s mother, Robyn wrote in the other day to say,

Just got an email from Pearcey. He was having a BBQ day at his work and everyone was told to wear a unique hat.  Pearcey said there is nothing more unique than the Swannies cap I sent him last year (he is a Sydney Swans supporter). 

Gee the Swannies certainly get around !!

This sounds like an incredible and unbelievable story. Accordingly, the Swannies’ Website, well known for its tough, fearless, investigative and award-winning journalism, tracked down Pearcey for further comment. Pearcey wrote:

I was given a Vietnam Swans cap from my good friend Robyn after she had visited Nick in Vietnam.  Being a Sydney Swans supporter, Robyn thought the cap would suit me.  Recently I had a work BBQ, and all attendees were requested to wear a unique hat.  I thought the Vietnam Swans cap couldn’t get more unique as there would not be too many in Australia (Ed’s note: Swannies hats are becoming as common as muck in Australia. Honk!).

I caught the attention of my work colleagues and subsequently I was awarded the “Best Hat” prize: a nice bottle of red wine.

Congratulations to Pearcey for winning the bottle of wine for the best hat competition! Great effort. Great result. Great hat!

Nick speaks out: Wow! What a photo…  Mate, I’m feeling pumped up and ready for an ANZAC match again after looking at that one!

Do you have a great story and photo with your Swannies’ hat? Email it through to the Vietnam Swans now!

Shag with Sal and Hewy at last night’s farewell in Saigon – prior to this morning’s return to Oz.

This morning, Hewy, Sal and family will return to Newcastle after spending three months in Vietnam with the Swannies (and doing whatever else).

Last night we caught up with Hewy and Sal in Saigon, wished them well and gave them a You can leave the country. But not the Club. Honk! gift designed by Ross McRae. Both Hewy and Sal assured us that they have no intention of leaving the Club.

Hewy has already vowed to return to Vung Tau next year for the ANZAC weekend to play in the Legends Match with up to seven of his friends from back home (Ed’s note: Next year, with the additional interest, we expect to play a third game; a curtain raiser to the Legends’ Match). Sal expects to be back here again for work in September. And then there’s the annual cricket and golf days in Melbourne at Christmas time… Giddy up!

The Swannies thank Hewy and Sal for the time they have been here and all they have done for the Club. Long live the ongoing relationship!

In the immortal words of Willy, Go you Swannies!!

MJ was unleashed with a video camera on the morning of the 2012 ANZAC Friendship Match. Armed with his camera, he boards the hydrofoil in Saigon for the trip to Vung Tau.

MJ reflects on his pre match interviews during the 2012 ANZAC Friendship Match. Photo, Mark Stennett Photography.

There’s some marvelous insights from Revo and Matty Townsend. Then it’s time to interview everyone associated with Nat Payne: his new wife, Steph with friend, Helen; his new parents in law and his old mate, Clay. Then there’s a few favourites like the Man Mountain, Edo and Dave Sos from Hanoi.

At the Vung Tau Dog Track, Saigon Prez Sam Conroy shares some thoughts; Bob and Mick on the gate as well as Shag and Dad add some special comments. Ms Buddy shows her finger nails that have been specially painted in Swannies’ colours. Steve Drummond – the official video man of the Swannies – prepares to sing the NZ National Anthem.

Two favourites of the Club who are now living in Shanghai, Danny Armstrong and Patrick Stringer speak together. Patrick’s face is looking a little worse for wear after an altercation in a Shanghai taxi the week before.

Former Hanoi Swans (yes, from all those years ago when the Swannies only lived in Hanoi) Charlotte, Dave Rehn and Suzy also speak.

There’s a lot happening – and the ball hasn’t even been bounced yet!

Special thanks to MJ for putting this video together.

“Foo-ty Record!”

Timmay and Asha will leave Vietnam with best wishes from all the Swannies.

Last Friday night, the Swannies gathered to send off the latest. This time it was Tm Clements and Asha Phillips.

The night started at the Hog’s Breath where partners of Swannies received a free cocktail bought by the Club.

Then, it was off to Pacharan where the Club presented Timmay and Asha with a trophy that says, You can leave the country but you can’t leave the Club. Honk!

Replicas of this trophy, designed by “Ah (Ross) McRae, you’ve done it again”, will be presented to all members prior to them leaving Vietnam.

Tim and Asha will leave Vietnam for Hong Kong next month where they can Honk On to their hearts’ content. They leave Vietnam with the best wishes from all the  Swannies.

Footnote: Farewell drinks for Hewy, Hog’s Breath Cafe, D1, Saigon, Monday 21 May 2012.

Brian, after the Legends Match on the ANZAC Friendship Weekend, is now off to Thailand for Gaelic footy.

Tomorrow in Thailand, the South Asia Gaelic Football Championships will be played.

A number of Swannies shall be there including the Irishman, Brian as well as Dave O’Shea and Josh Murray.

Good luck from all the Swannies!