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Any footballer who takes to the field on Anzac Day does so with a sense of pride, honour and respect.
While thousands of football fans around the nation were gearing up for Monday’s now traditional Anzac Day clash between reigning premier Collingwood and resurgent power Essendon, some overseas Aussies were reflecting on their own Anzac Day game played on Saturday, one with just as significant a meaning.
Fittingly, those fields were in Vietnam, on a ground at which Australian soldiers played football during what the locals call the American War.
Among them was South Australian Shaun Cooper, representing the Hong Kong Dragons in what was the first international Aussie rules tour of Vietnam.
Cooper, who last year moved to Hong Kong to work as a research executive, enjoyed playing in the 2011 ANZAC Friendship Match in Vung Tau.
“There were a few Diggers who played back during the war present and Vietnam had (former AFL star) Richard Osborne representing them on the day,” Cooper said.
Osborne actually played the first half for the Swans and the second for the Dragons, giving both sides a chance to enjoy the benefits of his still exquisite skills.
The uniqueness of the situation was not lost on Cooper, nor was its symbolism.
“Being an Australian, playing a game of Australian rules football and being able to exercise a civil liberty that so many have sacrificed to preserve is a pretty special thing, something to be celebrated,” he said.
“We were taken for a tour of some of the battlefields and war memorials on Sunday and attended the dawn service on Anzac Day.”
The visiting Dragons didn’t get the result they were after, losing by 42 points (12.17.89 to 7.5.47). It was the Swans’ first victory over the Dragons in several attempts.
David Hadley, playing in his last game for the Vietnam Swans was named best on ground, as judged by Ron Vernon (Vietnam Football League 1967 premiership player)and Kevin McMillan (Vietnam Vet).
Cooper enjoyed the opportunity to play in Vietnam and came home with his own battle scar, caused by a grassburn on his leg. Which is nothing, of course, compared to the injuries suffered by many of those who served in Vietnam and unlike those impacted by the war, all of his memories will be pleasant.
While, the Anzac Day match was a significant highlight for the Dragons, it is only a small part of the ever growing Aussie rules football picture in South East Asia.
This year has seen the introduction of the South China Australian Football League competition.
The competition features two teams from Hong Kong, Red and Blue, along with Guangzho and Macau.
In the first round of the SCAFL, all four teams played a round robin competition, with each team playing three games of 15 minute halves.
Further matches are programmed throughout the season, with the sixth and final round played in June.
The Hong Kong Dragons will also enjoy a tour to the Phillipines, as well as to Bangkok for the Asian Championships in August.
Hong Kong came third in the championships last year and in 2011 is hoping to knock off Dubai, which won its third straight title at the most recent convening of the nations.
Of course, football in Asia is nothing like it is back home in Australia.
Given the scarcity of land in Hong Kong, the players, mostly ex-pats, find a ground wherever they can to play. Earlier this month, the SCAFL round two match between the two Hong Kong sides was played on a rugby field in the middle of the famous Happy Valley Racecourse with 12 players a side.
The rugby goals, including crossbar, were used to score majors, while a couple of witches hats acted as behind posts.
“I have been assured that this is generally not the case, the games are usually on a bigger ground and there are some goal posts getting around,” Cooper remarked.
There are cricket fields in Hong Kong and occasionally matches can be played on them, when the local officials will allow access.
Hockey and soccer fields also serve a purpose for the Aussie rules fanatics.
The teams have to travel to mainland China if they wish to play on an oval the equivalent of the verdant pastures back home.
According to Cooper, the Guangdong University of Technology Stadium has an oval that was purpose built for cricket at the Asian Games, so the field was spacious and the surface was of good quality.
As for the playing standard, it’s a bit of a mixed bag and there are no support staff to make sure the players are strapped up or oiled down for the matches.
“Overall, the standard and playing conditions aren’t too bad considering we’re in Asia, although I don’t see us taking on Australia any time soon,” Cooper said.
Matches are also played during summer, in hot and humid conditions of around 36 degrees and 95 per cent humidity.
The teams are, of course, generally made up of ex-pats which, according to Cooper, means there are some good players getting around.
The club’s captain Dwight Stuchbery is originally from Mount Gambier and while attending Sacred Heart College in Adelaide was in the same team as current AFL stars Matthew Pavlich and Chad Cornes.
Former St Kilda player Matthew Jackson and ex-Norwood star Troy Clements, who has only recently returned to Adelaide, have also worn the Dragons guernsey.
Following a move to the island for work, former Geelong and St Kilda player Darren Flanigan recently joined the club as coach.
It is a position Flanigan is eminently suitable for, having coached in the Victorian football nursery of the TAC Cup.
While it’s mostly Aussies hitting the park for the club, which was formed in 1990, there are also some newcomers to the game.
“There are the guys who have never seen the game before but come out with their Aussie mates from work,” Cooper said.
“We have a few Irish guys, Americans, French and a Swiss guy having a run around.”
As for the locals, very few have taken an interest in the crazy game and those who have, have experienced it in Australia during studies or holidays.
“Other than that, there is not a lot of awareness about Aussie rules football,” Cooper said.
“From my office, there isn’t a single person who knows what AFL is, or understand how it differs from rugby or gridiron, despite my considerable efforts to educate them!”
Interestingly, there is a little bit of interest in the game in mainland China.
Brisbane and Melbourne played the first AFL game in the world’s most populous nation in October last year.
The Lions led for much of the game but a late goal to Liam Jarrah saw Melbourne steal the game.
The China venture is probably better known to football fans due to yet another boozy Brendan Fevola incident that ultimately was among the long list of issues that saw Brisbane, his second club, rip up his contract.
AFL administrators are building strong links in China, due to the large population, from which it is hoped a rare talent might be unearthed (think of an Aussie rules version of bastketballer Yao Ming).
There would also be immense economic benefits should Chinese involvement in the game take off and Cooper has seen firsthand some of the work being done to promote the game there.
“Speaking with Australia’s Consular General in Guangzhou, Grant Dooley, on the recent tour and he said that they were beginning to raise a bit of interest amongst the locals there, so hopefully the game can continue to expand in this region,” Cooper said.
“I think the introduction of the SCAFL will go a long way towards achieving this.”
It is probable that Dooley, the club coach and patron of the Guangzhou Scorpions, sees it as part of his mission in China to leave the game’s footprint in the key Asian nation.
All of which begs the question as to how Cooper keeps in touch with the footy back home.
Today’s technology allows ex-pats to follow the game on-line, while the Australia Network is on cable television in Hong Kong and has, this season, dropped its commitment to the NRL, meaning there are now even more AFL games shown each week.
All of this means there is plenty of opportunity for the ex-pats in Hong Kong, which is on a similar time zone to Australia, to get their footy fix.
“For me, footy is a social aspect,” Cooper said.
“Getting around a good bunch of guys who are in a similar situation as myself, watching the AFL on Friday/Saturday nights.
“It all brings a bit of normalcy to life, and a taste of home.”
For more information about the Hong Kong Dragons visit their website: http://www.hk-dragons.com
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