Jakarta Bintangs Vs Vietnam Swans, Jakarta, 31 October 2009

On Saturday (that’s tomorrow!), 31 October, 2009, the Vietnam Swans will play the Jakarta Bintangs for the Kainey Cup in Jakarta.

While the Jakarta Bintangs have travelled twice to Vietnam, this will be the Vietnam Swans inaugural tour to the archipelago.

The Swannies will take the opportunity to salute two fine Swannies, Drew Franklin (coach and player) and Patrick Stringer (player and umpire) who will soon leave Vietnam for Australia and China respectively.

The trip will also serve as a reunion with a number of former Swannies. Kris Van der Meer and Chris Batchelor, who both played for the Swannies at our first ever Asian Championships back in 2007 and now live in Jakarta, will wrap themselves in the red, white and black for the match this weekend. The indefatigable former Swans President, Dave Kainey, will fly in from Singapore as will the omnipresent Rooster.

When it comes to footy, both “special” and “cracker” are over-used adjectives. But this weekend will be both.

Melbourne Cup Calcutta, 2 November 2009

Meanwhile, hanging for some Melbourne Cup action? On Monday night in Saigon, all the action starts with the Saigon Australian Cricket Club’s Melbourne Cup Calcutta. It will commence on Monday night at Phatty’s. See the attached poster for full details.

In Hanoi, the place to be is Jaspas at Hanoi Towers, Level 4, 49 Hai Ba Trung Street.