"Have fffffun out there", says Josh.

National Coach, Josh Little reports on the fourth game of the Swannies 2011 Asian Champs campaign: Vietnam Swans Vs Hong Kong Dragons.

The Dragons traveled to Vung Tau for the ANZAC Day Friendship match in April 2011 and they were handed defeat on that day. The Swans knew this was going to be a very different outfit than they faced earlier in the year with the boys having more numbers and were not as hung over.

The game started with Hong Kong getting the advantage in the center and winning the contested ball easily and sending it down into the forwardline continuously. The backline were working overtime with Nat, Heath, Dezza & Damo doing everything in their power to stop leaking goals. To their credit, they held their own and kept the game even. The midfield started to match the physicality that the Dragons were producing and they kept it a contest at half time despite Hong Kongs control.

The second half saw Trent, Dukes & Adrian doing their all to win that all important center clearance but they were unable to get the supply they needed from the half forwards. The Dragons set players across half forward which was making it impossible for the Swans to clear the ball out of backline. The loss of Nick Moger earlier in the day was leaving a big hole at half forward and the Swans were missing that tall marking target.

In the end, the Swans lost by 5 goals and they were unable to produce a score. This scoreboard really didn’t reflect the effort that the Swans put in against the Dragons because it was very much a contest for the majority of the game.

The result did not matter, with the Swans doing enough in the previous 3 games to secure their first ever semi final. This was the clubs goal of the Champs and it was achieved.