Aussie rules Macau Lightning debuts in HK

A Pearl River derby will mark today the first official match for the Macau Lightning Australian Football Club. At 11 am, the newcomers will face the Hong Kong Dragons followed by the Pokfulam Vikings at the new Kai Tak Cricket Ground. After a year of training, Macau Lightning has its sights set on the October Asian Championships, in Shanghai.
“We are just going to have a go at it, no expectations at this point,” Lightning captain Troy Harris told the Macau Daily Times. The Dragons “are much more serious about footy, they’ve been playing for 20 years”, added the Australian. The Macau team will probably have a better chance against the rookie Vikings, also on their first appearance.
In order to have three matches in just one morning, the games will be shortened from four quarters of 20 minutes to two halves of 15 minutes. A help for the short manned Lightning, who will only take 15 players across the Delta. Aussie rules is usually played by 18 starters and 4 reserves, but 7 Macau players are off the trip due to professional commitments. “Guess we will have to borrow some players from the other teams,” Harris said.
The Lightning was founded a year ago and is composed solely of Australian expatriates. The players, ranging from 15 to 48 years of age, train once a week, on Thursday nights at Taipa Stadium. Today’s match will be the first but surely not the last: “hopefully these Hong Kong meetings will happen regularly from now on”, stated Harris.

Betting on kids

The ultimate goal of the Lightning is to play a part at the 11th Asian Championship, on October 16. Against the backdrop of the World Expo, Shanghai will welcome teams from Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Lao. The Dubai Heat are the current two-time champions but the Hong Kong Dragons have already won three titles, the last one in 2007.
During its first year, Lightning focused on “getting more kids involved” in Australian football, Harris explained. About 20 youngsters from Macau, Hong Kong and even Sweden practise every Saturday morning at the Taipa Stadium. He said the main purpose for these sessions, with kids from 5 to 15 years old, is “to have fun”.
Harris believes that this is an easy mission with Aussie rules. Compared to the conventional 15-players rugby union, “it’s a lot faster and it requires more skill than physical power”, he claimed. The players can run with the ball as well as bounce it on the floor and there is no offside rule. “The match doesn’t stop all the time and it’s great for learning a variety of skills, especially hand to ball coordination,” the Lightning captain added.

V.Q.