Scotty Stacey seen here at the 2007 Asian Championships in Bangkok; always a one eyed supporter of the Swannies (and Adelaide) and inductee into the Swannies’ Hall of Fame.

The Official Footy Record at the then Hanoi Swans’ first ever international tournament, the Hanoi Invitational in November, 2003, did a great job of deftly managing our expectations of the Little Guy. The Record wrote:

“Scott Stacey (The Little Guy) is a stout running player who knows how to get the footy… and he is keeping it a secret.

“Expect short bursts of brilliance and regular trips to the bench for a breather.

“Fair to say he is short of a run.”

The Little Guy would of course, go on to make a mega sized contribution both on and off the field with the establishment and development of the National Club, the Vietnam Swans.

In 2006, Scotty moved down from Hanoi to Saigon for business. In 2007, he was joined by current National President, Phil Johns and with the support of the Saigon Geckos Rugby Club President, Chris Paget started a bit off kick to kick on the ovals of RMIT on a Saturday afternoon.

As the numbers began to build, Scotty drove the establishment of an infrastructure to support the development of the Club. Instead of there being a simple expansion of the Hanoi Committee, Hanoi would retain a city committee, Saigon would have a city committee and there would be a national committee.

Scott was elected as the Inaugural President of the Saigon Committee and as President, assumed one of the four positions on the National Committee.

Australian Consul General, Mal Skelly, Scotty Stacey and Brent “Irvo” Irving (HMAS ANZAC) stand under the marquee at RMIT University, Saigon, after our first ever match against the Australian Navy in August 2008.

On the field, Scott took up the position of Coach of the National team – and coached the team in our first Asian Champs in 2007 and three months’ later, the first Indochina Cup.

While on field successes in the early days, didn’t happen as regularly as we would have liked, Scotty set a standard of discipline in the coaching department and provided the structure for others to want to join the Club. That inclusive nature that the Swannies are famous for.

In addition, Scotty was particularly passionate about two other games that would become very important inclusions to the Swannies’ calendar.

In August, 2008, the Swannies played host to our first ever match against the Royal Australian Navy, specifically, HMAS ANZAC.

Scotty was determined that the match and after match function be highlights for both the crew of ANZAC and the Swannies. The huge success of that initial tour has been a factor which has seen the Swannies host three more tours from the Navy, most recently against HMAS SYDNEY in October two months ago. Reflecting the strength of the relationship forged with the Navy, players from SYDNEY were contacting ANZAC and another ship to have visited Saigon, DARWIN, to share their experiences and stories about playing the Swannies.

In November 2008, the Swannies travelled to Phnom Penh for the second Indochina Cup. The match also served as Scotty’s farewell tour. Again, Scotty was determined that it would be a mega sized hit. He firmly believed that for those Swannies in Saigon, a road trip by team bus to Phnom Penh, not by plane, was mandatory. It would be the Swannies’ first Cambodian Cannonball Run and it would start a tradition. And so that tradition has continued to flourish. The next Cambodian Cannonball Run is scheduled for next month from 25-27 January, 2013.

When the Swannies leave Vietnam, the Club now gives the departee a trophy that says, “You can leave the country, but you can’t leave the Club. Honk!”

Scotty is a great example of this. In 2010, he returned to Saigon from Australia to join the Swannies’ AFL Grand Final Party. Last month, he flew into Hanoi from Australia specifically to umpire in the 6th Annual Indochina Cup.

To Scotty, from all the Vietnam Swans, thank you for all that you have given to this Club. Your fingerprints are all over the national entity that is now thriving. For the Little Guy, you have had a massive impact!

Congratulations from everyone at the Vietnam Swans for becoming the third inductee to the Swannies’ Hall of Fame.