Phil Johns and the bloke who organised Vietnam's first ever footy match back in 1966, John Heaney

National President Phil Johns previews and reviews another busy week.

Dear Bloods, Sponsors and Supporters

  • Tomorrow – Cambodian Cobras Vs Vietnam Swans, Phnom Penh
  • The Rick Trewavas Medal
  • Last Sunday – Vietnam Swans, Sydney Swans, Vietnam Veterans and Southern Dragons
  • Yesterday – Vietnam Swans attend Noble Park RSL Club, Melbourne, at invitation of Veterans
  • Latest stories and photos
  • Final thought

Tomorrow – Cambodian Cobras Vs Vietnam Swans, Phnom Penh

Two years ago, we travelled to Cambodia for the Indochina Cup which doubled as the Scotty Stacey Farewell Tour.

Tomorrow, led by Acting National President, Derrin Limbrick, the Vietnam Swans are back in Phnom Penh to take on a rebranded Cambodian team. After the 2008 Indochina Cup, the Cambodian Kangaroos went into hibernation. But now, they have awakened – this time as the Cambodian Cobras. But, judging from yesterday’s local press reports in Phnom Penh, the Swannies would be ill advised to assume that they will be wiping any sleep from their eyes.

Make no mistake, the Cobras are ready to strike. For example, the Phnom Penh Post was headlined, Cobras keen to silence Swans in Aussie Rules friendly.

The Swannies, despite recently suffering a few high profile departures are very well represented. From Saigon tonight, 30 will board the bus. Several more will travel independently to meet the team in Phnom Penh.

Tomorrow’s match will have more significance for the Swannies with our best player set to receive the Rick Trewavas Medal.

The Rick Trewavas Medal

Rick Trewavas was, literally, there at the very beginning for the Swannies – which were referred to at that time as the Bloods. Another guy who was there at the beginning, Mick Francis, tells us more about Rick who lives on the Gold Coast.

Mick Francis in the doorway to Rick Trewavis' Bobby Skilton Room

Rick is a great supporter of the Swans. He was one of the original people in Hanoi back in the late 90’s who loved their footy. He inspired the Bobby Skilton Room. He had a big passion for Bobby.

Rick organised the photo of Bobby through his contacts in Australia which came via Australia Post who Bobby was doing some marketing work for at that time. It was signed and mounted on our wall and we were certainly very proud of it.

To have something so meaningful on our club room wall made it very special. He also donated a small picture of Bobby with his stats that we placed under the TV, shrine like, every Friday when we watched the footy. Rick used to sleep with this thing so it meant a lot to him and to us.

Now, you have to remember that in those days, Hanoi had pretty much f*** all: no shopping centres, no cars, no traffic lights, and not much of anything from back home. So, the Bobby Skilton room really became our base for survival, our home, our place where we can be Aussies. It was the core of our footy community and it was the place that gave us a sense of belonging.

Earlier this week, Rick wrote to the Vietnam Swans informing us that he has an “aggressive lung cancer”.

Tomorrow, the Bloods will be honoured to play for Rick. The Rick Trewavas Medal is a symbolic gesture of our collective support and appreciation for a man going through an important time in his life.

While we do not have any photos of Rick, attached is a photo of a younger looking Mick Francis outside the Bobby Skilton Room, above Pepperonis, in Hanoi.

Last Sunday – Vietnam Swans, Sydney Swans, Vietnam Veterans and Southern Dragons together at the MCG’s Harrison Room

Bobby Skilton, Swannies, Saints, Hawks and Southern Dragons at the MCG

Last Sunday, 25 July, in the Harrison Room at the MCG, 18 Vietnam Swans / Saigon Saints / Hanoi Hawks, 10 Vietnam Veterans and four Southern Dragons all joined forces and attended the Sydney Swans prematch function for past players and officials. In the crowd were Brownlow Medalists Bobby Skilton and Neil Roberts.

The Sydney Swans warmly welcomed the Vietnam Swans and Vietnam Veterans and then invited a representative from both the Swannies and the Vets to the podium. Sydney Swans Player of the Century and MC, Tony Morwood, then asked both representatives a number of questions. One of the questions to the Swannies was:

Why did you become the Swans?

We recounted the Rick Trewavis story which resonated – particularly as Bobby Skilton, Rick’s hero, was in the audience. (The following day we emailed Rick to tell him what had happened. That was when we received his email breaking the sad news.)

The day at the MCG was a marvellous opportunity for all the Swannies to mix, to learn about footy during the Vietnam War, to learn about the Southern Dragons and to rub shoulders with those running a footy club at the elite level.

The Vietnam Swans have sometimes made reference to “Connecting Communities”. Looking around the room that day, there was ample evidence of “Connecting Communities”.

Will Martin, one of the Hanoi Swans remarked,

Who would have thought, all those years ago when we trained at Dead Cat Stadium in Hanoi, that we would end up in the Harrison Room of the MCG?

We believe that the Vietnam Swans may be the first footy team in Asia to have been involved in an official function of an AFL Club. Regardless, it was all good.

For photos of the day, click here.

Yesterday – Vietnam Swans attend Noble Park RSL Club, Melbourne, at invitation of Veterans

Phil Johns, Chris Hayes, John Willis & John Heaney at the Noble Park RSL

Yesterday, upon the invitation of Veteran Stan Middleton, I had the pleasure of attending the Vietnam Veterans weekly get together at the Noble Park RSL Club in Melbourne. It was a special occasion and a privilege to attend. An hour into it, we stopped for formalities. Visitors, including the Vietnam Swans were officially welcomed. We also received a generous opportunity to address the audience.

The Honor Roll was a stark reminder of Vietnam in a different era. Anniversaries coming up in the next week for those Australians and New Zealanders who did not return from Vietnam were recounted together with the particular set of circumstances. This was followed by a recital of the Ode – and then the Joke of the Week to lighten things up again.

Everybody was extremely welcoming, generous and interested in footy in Asia – particularly our ANZAC Friendship Match in Vung Tau (pronounced by Swannies as Vuhngers, and by Vets as Vahngers).

I even met John Heaney who organised the first ever Aussie Rules match in Vietnam back in 1966. John claims he was in a bit of strife at the time and a Major Glendinning offered him the chance to escape punishment – on one condition: that he set up Aussie Rules in Vietnam. Q.E.D!

The Vietnam Veterans were awesome and have extended an open invitation to all Vietnam Swans to attend their weekly Thursday event at the Noble Park RSL Club. There’s also a very good chance that we’ll get the opportunity to welcome a few of them over in Vietnam.

For the full story, click here.

For photos of the day, click here.

Latest stories and photos

For all the latest, become a friend of the Vietnam Swans on Facebook or just log onto www.thevietnamswans.com

Final thought

This week, rather than honking our horns, let’s make a conscious effort to barrack for Rick’s Bloods in Phnom Penh tomorrow.

Go the Bloods!