The 3rd annual Manila 12-a-side Cup was once again held at the illustrious confines of the magnificent Manila Polo Club, without doubt the best playing field in Asia. With 3 months of little or no rain in Manila there was a nice drop of rain on Thursday and Friday afternoons, which assisted in greening up and softening the fields in preparation for a fantastic event this year with seven teams making the effort to be involved. Based on the odd number of teams, it was decided to have a round robin set up rather than pools of teams drawn from a hat.

This year’s tournament meant each team had to play six matches on the day, with 21 matches all in all, across two fields. It was a big effort for everyone in the heat , especially for Jakarta and Singapore who were only able to bring a small squad of dedicated players. All games were played in good spirit and it was clear from the outset that the Hong Kong Dragons with their fast running, and skillful movement of the ball by hand and foot were going to be very hard to beat. This proved to be the case by the end of the day as they completed a clean sweep in all matches to take out the Manila Cup for 2010 going through the tournament defeated.

All other teams put up great efforts in the games and there were a few very close matches decided by less than a goal including a tie between the Philippine Eagles and Jakarta Bintangs. This contributed to an exciting atmosphere around the players/spectators tents and kept the scoreboard guys on their toes all day long.

The Philippine Eagles put up a great display this year with a solid squad of players available to play. Led by Captain courageous Matt Stephens the Philippine boys exceeded their efforts of the past two years by posting two wins against Darkside Dragons and Singapore and a tie against Jakarta. A great result for the host team this year.

Summary: The Hong Kong Dragons have further stamped their authority on the Asian Aussie Rules circuit by making it a three-peat win of Manila Cups, and really setting the standard for future Manila Cup tournaments. Although the scoreboard doesn’t quite convey the true story of all the games, with some very hard fought games and improved efforts from all teams with China, Malaysia and the Philippines showing further improvement from last year. With the addition of Jakarta and Singapore, this will ensure that the standard of the competition is maintained and will continue to improve. We thank all teams for their support and look forward to hosting the Manila Cup again on May 28, 2011 and welcome other countries to participate.

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The award winners are as follows:

1. Best Player: Lee Van Gills (Jakarta Bintangs) and Warren Williams (Singapore Wombats)
2. Leading Goal Scorer: Troy “Woody” Clements (Hong Kong Dragons)
3. Best Goal: Scott McDonough (Malaysian Warriors)
4. Best Mark: Dom "Bowski" Dunn (Hong Kong Dragons)

Philippine Eagles goal scorers:
Andy White 5, Mark Pekin 3, David Barton 2, Peter Stone 2, Nathan Clarke 1, Frank Goold 1, Mick O'Connor 1, Sam Priest 1, Julian Farrugia 1.