Umpire Shag speaks frankly, on the record, about last weekend’s blockbuster in Saigon between the Reds and the Whites.

Shannon “Shag” Leahy was there on the weekend as the White Maggot for the 4th  Reds Vs Whites Blockbuster that was held in Thu Duc – just a bowl of pho and a map away from Saigon. Below, Shag offers an in depth analysis of what happened and why.

After an absolute scorcher last game, Saigon’s Swannies braved the elements again for Saturday’s Reds Vs Whites blockbuster. With the sky opening up over ‘Thu Duc Stadium’ Saigon’s best and bravest lined up for the fourth internal match of the season. Meeting neither criteria, I opted to play white maggot.

The pressure was on with a camera crew from VTV4 coming out to see what our ‘crazy game from down under’ was all about. The game kicked off with a bang with gun forward, Kyle Hackenberg scoring the opening goal for the game and getting the Whites off to a great start. It wasn’t long before the Reds equalized and a goal from Matty Smashalotto had the Reds up by one at quarter time. It was the only lead the Reds held though, with the Whites winning every quarter from there on in and coming home 11 goals to 8 at the final siren. Some key match highlights were:

  • The ruck duel between ‘Big Bad Bustling’ Bill Crang and the ‘Silent Assassin’ Damo; with big men Luke, Revo and Mr Powell out, the Swannies demonstrated that we have some serious depth in the ruck stocks. (Note: Mr Powell is currently living the dream in NZ)
  • Irish sensation Brian who played a great game and earned quote of the day when he lined up for goal, saying “I’m gonna kick this Irish style” before booting it out on the full.
  • Kyle’s dominance up at full forward for the Whites with a bag of 6. Kyle’s easing into the key forward role – with a mullet and white boots I reckon he woulda kicked 10.

  • VTV 4 was there for Shag’s umpiring and Matty’s farewell.

    Matty Nattalotto’s final game on home turf for the Swannies – a true club champion, Matty went out in form with a few goals and even an attempted ‘screamer’ up the back of teammate, John Mac.

  • Vietnamese recruits and new Swannies, Louis and Daniel – Nathan not only brought himself out to help the Reds but two absolute stars with him. Louis’ soccering attempt to prevent an easy Whites goal was memorable while Daniel took some great grabs, as well as wowing the crowd by turning up in four wheels.

As for Dave O’Shea’s match preview noting the strong female support for the Swannies, the crowd sadly consisted of three blokes and a Mai Linh taxi driver. Thu Duc is a long way from anywhere and we hope to regain normal crowd levels following the Swannies’ expose on VTV4.

Season’s Tally: Whites 3 – Reds 1

Bring on Game 5!