The Swannies Asian Champs banner
A message from the National President, Phil Johns.
Dear Swannies
- Vietnam Swans head to 10th Asian Championships
- AFL Grand Final Parties in Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An and Saigon on 26 September
- Match against Australian Navy, Saigon 29 September
- From the archives: Triple AFL Premiership Player “Crackers” Keating writes to the Vietnam Swans prior to our first ever Asian Champs back in 2007. “THERE IS NO NEXT WEEK. It’s today. It’s now!”
Asian Championships
Yesterday, the Vietnam Swans started flying out to Kuala Lumpur for the 10th Asian Australian Football Championships that will be held tomorrow on 5 Spetember. 10 countries will compete for Asian Footy’s Holy Grail. Reigning Premiers Dubai will need to fend off strong challenges from Singapore (with 65 players! Talk about fresh legs) and probably Hong Kong and Jakarta. The Swannies are travelling with a squad of just over 30 players making up, arguably, our strongest Champs team and are well positioned to cause a couple of upsets. Check out www.thevietnamswans.com to find out how we go.
In Asian Football, the Asian Champs is Asia’s equivalent of the AFL Grand Final. It’s the one that matters
See below for what Triple AFL Premiership player, Crackers Keating wrote to the Vietnam Swans when we set off for our first Champs in July 2007.
To the Vietnam Swans in KL this weekend, Good Luck!
AFL Grand Final Parties
Official Vietnam Swans AFL Grand Final Parties are being held in Saigon and Hanoi on 26 September 2009. Tickets will go on sale next week. In addition, Grand Final Parties with Swans-mad hosts are being held in Hue and Hoi An. Check here for full details.
Navy Match, 29 September 2009, Saigon
3 Days after the Grand Final Party in Saigon, the Swannies are straight back into it again – this time with a match against the crew of the Australian warship, HMAS DARWIN. The match will start at 5pm on Tuesday 29 September at RMIT University. Thank you to RMIT for delaying the annual field maintenance to ensure that this match can proceed.
To The Boys of the Mighty Vietnam Swans,
Congratulations on being the first Vietnam team appearing in the Asian Championships.
I could write you a letter saying well done, good job and go have fun;
But all that aside you obviously deserve to be there, you have trained hard, played hard and as a team have come together as one which is what this great game of ours is all about It’s not about individuals going out there and playing for themselves, it’s about the team pulling on that jumper, the same jumper and having pride in wearing it, holding your heads high, puffing the chest out, being 10 foot tall and bullet proof and knowing you have your mates out there with you to back you up at a moment’s notice.
You have to treat each game like a final THERE IS NO NEXT WEEK, you put all your energy in to that moment that passage of play, worry about ¼ time at ¼ time, put everything else out of your mind because at the end of the game it’s too late for the what if we did this or what if we did that. It’s today, it’s now!
I’ll leave you with the same quote as I did last time I was in Vietnam;
“To compete, and win on Grand Final day, is every player’s dream. As a member of the Premier team, you are now part of the history and culture of the greatest game of all. Congratulations!”
Boys kick ass and have a beer for me.
Clark (Crackers) Keating.
(Triple Premiership Player with Brisbane Lions 2001/2/3)
