Malaysia Warriors Vs Vietnam Swans, KL, 30 March 2013. Back Row: Dwayne, Vick, Dan Hopkins, Phil Ghasseb, Marty, Mick O’Shea, Phil Johns, Paul Koch, Tony O’Shea, Dave “SOS” Skowronski (co captain), Damo “Drift Photography Tours” Judd, Brian Farrell, Dave O’Shea (co captain). Front Row: Kyle Hackenberg, John McFarlane, Bill Crang, Nick Shiells, Rick, Andy Glendinning (Coach), Josh, Mark Stennett, Evan Koch, American Michael Weissbluth, Daniel, Micky “J” Johnston.

Micky “J” Johnston writes the match report for last weekend’s blockbuster in Malaysia between the Malaysian Warriors and the Vietnam Swans.

As the Vietnam Swans rolled into town last Friday night to take on the Malaysian Warriors, the horns started to honk just a little louder in Kuala Lumpur.  Even the Warriors’ president’s wife found it hard to contain her excitement on meeting the Swans and went into labour at Havana bar!  Congratulations to Rebecca and Ben Simpson on the birth of Charlotte.

This happy moment meant the Warriors were down a player the following afternoon.  The Swans were also down a few regular players but managed to recruit some new Swans, including Vic the Nigerian Business Studies student from the pool table at Havana and Dave O’Shea’s family and friends.

What is it about the Swans and buses?  Add a burnt-out clutch after 500 metres to the litany of mishaps bedevilling the Swans’ attempts to reach away grounds on time.  After waiting for (Option “A”) a new clutch plate to arrive or (Option “B”) a replacement bus to arrive, we realised that the bus driver had made no phone calls at all to remedy the situation. So we went for a third option which was to jump in seven taxis and convoy it to the Nexus International School Oval in the middle of nowhere (which is not too far from KL’s airport which is even further in the middle of nowhere).

A slight cloud cover meant the sting was out of the sun when the match started.  It was obvious from the outset that the Swans had come to play.  Our intensity at the ball was superb for the whole match and kept us within striking distance of the Warriors.

Both backlines did a great job making it difficult for the forwards to get clear and score.  Damo, Phil G and Rick did their usual job of playing Uncle Scrooge and giving their opponents almost nothing.  John Mac and MJ worked around Dan Hopkins on the half forward line trying to figure out how many players the Warriors had in the forward line – sometimes four, sometimes six (my brain hurt by the end of the match!).

A couple of Swans goals to Fabbo and Evan Koch were end-to-end plays as a result of great kicks in from Damo to newcomer, Marty, who also won a lot of centre taps. SOS kept the half forward line alive with his leading throughout the match while Stenno showed the value of his local knowledge by popping up to help Mr Powell in the forward pocket.

All day, Swans were first to the ball, with the centreline of D’Osh and Tassie Josh at the bottom of the pack feeding it out to Coach Andy or Irish Brian, who continues to show the benefits of regular training and skills practice, especially with his tackling. Kyle showed the size of his heart moving around on one hammy.

We had the wind in the first quarter but didn’t score enough goals. However, the second quarter against the wind showed how mentally tough the Swans were in making sure the Warriors earned their kicks and not allowing them to score easily.  A long goal from the centre by Mike O’Shea near the end of the quarter meant we went into the long break level with the Warriors and feeling like it was ours to win.

Heavy rain for most of the next quarter and a half washed off all the sunscreen the players had borrowed from MJ and made the game a scramble with the ball becoming slipperier and heavier every minute.  The Swans were less than a goal behind until the last 5 minutes when the Warriors kicked 2 goals to win by 49 points to 27 points.

It’s been said that sport is about bringing out the best in one’s opponent.  The Swans can be proud of they way we played because the Warriors had to play at their best to beat us in a close match.  It’s never easy in away matches.  The contributions from the newcomers to the Swans, Marty, Tassie Josh, American Michael, Rick, Tony O’Shea, Mick O’Shea, Dwayne, Daniel Vic – and the return of Evan Koch – were invaluable and meant we were able to field a full team with options around the field.

Annette O’Shea and Carrie Church did a great job all day in very humid conditions to keep us topped up with water, and thanks also have to go to Andy who umpired solo for the whole match.  Congratulations to DOsh for winning the Warriors nomination for best Swannie on the Ground, and SOGgie we all were by the end of a wet second half. Also, congratulations to Warriors’ Captain Stewart who picked up the Swannies’ nomination for BOG.

Everyone representing the Swans in KL can be proud that we played a great match.

And then, we all kicked on with the Warriors and one of their sponsors, the Havana Bar, until the wee hours.

Bring on the EEEEEEEAAAAAAAFFFFFFFFFLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Final Scores

Malaysia 6. 13. 49
Vietnam 4. 3. 27

Black armbands: The Vietnam Swans proudly wore black armbands for the memories of Tassie Josh Lee’s Nan and Peter Harvey.