So much to talk about, so little time! VietnamSwans.com looks at the key talking points ahead of this weekends tour to sunny Penang, where we’ll take on the Malaysian Warriors’ Men’s and Women’s squads.

The Location: Our First Time in Penang!

The Swan’s first ever tour to Penang brings some excitement. Malaysia’s capital city Kuala Lumpur is already on the schedule for the Asian Champs in October this year, so we’re pumped to be getting a game on the island of Penang. The Swans touring party are looking forward to the new venue being something of a Vung Tau seaside vibe: KL’s primary game location is in the heart of a dry zone, so hopefully the switch to Penang means no more post-game sneaky beers in the gutter!

Another Big Step Forward for #AFLW

The demonstration match at the 2016 Asian Champs in Saigon was a great debut for women’s footy in Asia. Chia Sabbatucci stood up very early in the 2018 season and committed to getting a women’s squad going… and she hasn’t looked back. This will be the Swans’ 2nd international women’s hitout and, after going down to Cambodia at home by the slimmest of margins, the girls will be keen to get the W. Healthy numbers for the first away tour are a great sign for the growing popularity of the women’s game in Vietnam!

Chia Sabbatucci has stepped up and got the Swans Women's team up and flying. She's leading on and off the field taking up significant roles on the committee at the same time! There's been plenty of player movement between the Bintangs and Swans over the years with the Swans recently gaining the upper hand and Chia is shaping as another highly influential acquisition!

Chia Sabbatucci has stepped up and got the Swans Women’s team up and flying.

Welcome to the Crown Relocations Cup!

For the very first time in Asian Footy, a cup will be awarded to the Club with the highest aggregate score for the mens’ and womens’ teams games. Welcome to the Crown Relocations Cup!

Crown Relocations have been long term sponsors of the Vietnam Swans and our events, likewise the Malaysian Warriors so it’s fitting and exciting to have them connected to a great ongoing rivalry. The men’s game, up first, is tipped to be crucial as early international women’s hitouts have tended to be highly defensive and very close scoring affairs.

This Cup will be an ongoing feature of future games between the two clubs.

Our Local Men are Away at the Big Game!

Our local players are vitally important, but the Swans’ mens team find themselves in the unusual situation of being without some of our stalwart local guns! Nguyen Dinh Anh and Doan Dang(ster) will be playing the feature match on Saturday in Shanghai between the Asian Lions and the China Reds. The boys were picked from Asia’s finest and the whole club will be cheering them on from all corners of the world. For the record, they play after Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast Suns, a far less impactful game on the region!

Will the Swans’ have the numbers in this absence? The lads from Hanoi have truly stepped up this year. Quang from Hanoi has been called up after some outstanding performances (2 of them) on ANZAC Day in Vung Tau, and our 2017 Most Improved player Vinh 2 will also make the trip over.

With rumours circulating of some surprise appearances, the mens team are really looking forward to the game against one of the best teams in Asia.

Uncle GUS celebrated his birthday in the lead up training session to this game and looked sharp. Who knows how old that makes him but he's looking sharp early in the 2018 season. Look for big things!

GUS’ 35th tour to Malaysia: fittest and best form taken into any of them, first time to Penang!

The Celebrations

This tour has also been rumoured to be a celebratory one for the Swans. Unfortunately, with the buck pulling out citing several injuries from a busy first half of the season, the initial party may not occur. Of course, there is still a day to convince him otherwise, but several senior club figures have claimed the no show is more likely an early case of being under the thumb ahead of upcoming nuptials.

Whichever it is, 2 of the baldest blokes at the club, James Bairstow and Micka Matthews are stepping up with birthdays to be celebrated. As the 2 representatives of the 2018 leadership group on the tour, you can expect the bulk of the celebrations to shift to Saturday evening and the coaches 12pm Friday curfew to come into effect.

Micka Matthews has joined the Swans game plan and leadership very smoothly early in 2018!

What he lacks in hair he makes up for in skills. Despite the chrome dome Micka Matthews is still young enough to celebrate birthdays and what better way then on tour!