2008 Manila Cup
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The inaugural Manila 12-a-side Cup was held at the prestigious grounds of the Manila Polo Club on May 31, 2008 in what was PAFL's first attempt at holding an international 12-a-side competition. This year saw five teams participate - Philippine Eagles, Hong Kong Dragons, Malaysian Warriors, China Reds (Beijing/Shanghai combo team) and the Hongila Dogs (a combo team of Hong Kong and Philippines players).
After savouring the best of Manila’s famed nightlife, the visiting teams dragged themselves onto the buses for the short and very early trip, to the Manila Polo Club. Under very warm and sunny conditions not really conducive to hangovers, each team played each other once in a round robin format to determine the two Grand Finalists and who would ultimately be the inaugural Manila Cup winner. It was a gruelling day of footy for all the teams with the hot Manila sun beating down without a cloud in sight, but despite this, the standard of football played by all teams was exceptional with some excellent passages of play reminding us of why Aussie Rules is the greatest game on the planet.
After 10 well contested games in the round robin, it was the Hong Kong Dragons and the Malaysian Warriors that finished on top of the table and battled it out for the inaugural Manila Cup in the grand final. In a hard fought first half, there was some good tough footy displayed as both teams gave their all, despite having been playing footy for the whole day in sweltering conditions. The Warriors were taking it up to the Dragons, but just couldn’t apply any scoreboard pressure allowing the Dragons to take a handy 21 point lead into the half time break. The second half saw the Dragons build on their half time lead through their endurance and experience despite the Warriors putting up a brave fight right the way to the finish. In the end, the Dragons ran out comfortable 33 point winners.
Final Scores:
Hong Kong Dragons: 7.4 (46)
Malaysian Warriors: 2.1 (13)
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The Hong Kong Dragons celebrating their Manila Cup victory
Player of the Grand Final:
Matty Barron (Hong Kong Dragons)
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(from left to right) Hong Kong coach Gary Wines, Leighton's Gary Ames, Hong Kong President Craig 'Bogan' Francis and Hong Kong captain and player of the Grand Final, Matty Barron
Please see below for the rest of the awards and results:
Player of the tournament:
Jonathan Worthley (Hong Kong Dragons)
Goal of the day:
Craig Wislang (Philippine Eagles)
Mark of the day:
Stefan Aebi (Hongila Dogs)
Leading goal scorer for the tournament:
Jonathan Worthley (Hong Kong Dragons) - 11 goals.
Wooden Spoon:
Hongila Dogs
Manila Cup Ladder
| Team |
Won |
Lost |
For |
Against |
% |
Points |
| Hong Kong Dragons
|
4 |
0 |
179 |
82 |
218.29 |
16 |
| Malaysian Warriors
|
3 |
1 |
133 |
82 |
162.20 |
12 |
| China Reds
|
2 |
2 |
162 |
108 |
150.00 |
8 |
| Philippine Eagles
|
1 |
3 |
94 |
154 |
61.04
|
4 |
| Hongila Dogs
|
0 |
4 |
43 |
185 |
23.24 |
0 |
|
Manila Cup match results:
| Game 1 |
Goals |
Behinds |
Total |
| Hong Kong Dragons |
4 |
5 |
29 |
| China Reds |
4 |
3 |
27 |
|
|
|
|
| Game 2 |
Goals |
Behinds |
Total |
| Hongila Dogs
|
1 |
0 |
6 |
| Malaysian Warriors
|
4 |
7 |
31 |
|
|
|
|
| Game 3 |
Goals |
Behinds |
Total |
| Philippine Eagles
|
2 |
1 |
13 |
| Hong Kong Dragons
|
9 |
2 |
56 |
|
|
|
|
| Game 4 |
Goals |
Behinds |
Total |
| China Reds
|
9 |
3 |
57 |
| Hongila Dogs
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
| Game 5 |
Goals |
Behinds |
Total |
| Malaysian Warriors
|
2 |
2 |
14 |
| Hong Kong Dragons
|
6 |
6 |
42 |
|
|
|
|
| Game 6 |
Goals |
Behinds |
Total |
| Philippine Eagles
|
4 |
3 |
27 |
| China Reds
|
8 |
5 |
53 |
|
|
|
|
| Game 7 |
Goals |
Behinds |
Total |
| Philippine Eagles
|
7 |
3 |
45 |
| Hongila Dogs
|
1 |
3 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
| Game 8 |
Goals |
Behinds |
Total |
| China Reds
|
4 |
1 |
25 |
| Malaysian Warriors
|
8 |
4 |
52 |
|
|
|
|
| Game 9 |
Goals |
Behinds |
Total |
| Hongila Dogs
|
4 |
4 |
28 |
| Hong Kong Dragons
|
8 |
4 |
52 |
|
|
|
|
| Game 10 |
Goals |
Behinds |
Total |
| Philippine Eagles
|
1 |
3 |
9 |
| Malaysian Warriors
|
5 |
6 |
36 |
Considering this was the first year for PAFL to host the Manila Cup, it was a huge success and was well received by all the visiting teams. We have the full support of those teams in helping to make the Manila Cup an annual event. We see that in the future, participating teams will not be limited to the Asian region but this is where the strongest interest has come from to date. We are trying to keep the timing of this event so that it complements, and does not compete with, other regional tournaments - namely the annual Asian Championships - and look forward to hosting the event in 2009. For any teams that wish to participate, although dates have not been set as yet (will most likely be last weekend in May), you can register your expression of interest by emailing info@pafl.com.ph. Teams will be accepted on a first come first served basis and the tournament will be limited to 8 participating teams.
A special thank you goes out to all of our sponsors (Leighton, Metals Exploration, ANZ, James Hardie Industries, Roche, Coca Cola, Lane Asian Tigers Moving & Storage, Intercare and Howzat Sports Bar), officials and organisers, particularly Worldexco, for their efforts in making the event a great success. Also thanks to Hong Kong, Malaysia and China for coming to Manila and participating in what was a very memorable competition. We look forward to welcoming back all teams, and adding a few more, to what we hope will become one of the most eagerly anticipated Australian Rules football competitions in the Asian region.
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