The Thailand Tigers Australian Rules Football Club’s Rut Ngarmariyakul, self-proclaimed as ‘Rutkermanis’, is one of the most recognizable faces of local development in Asian footy.
His passion for the game and his beloved Western Bulldogs is unrivalled and it plays a very important part in his day to day life.
Rut plays an important role for the Thailand Tigers as the spiritual leader and the connection between the local players and the expats that brought our great game to Thailand.
Not many people have a footy inspired wedding, but when you bring your two greatest loves together that are almost inseparable why not bring them together and that’s exactly what Rut and his wife Paka did with their wedding!
Tune into this remarkable podcast to find out more about the urban myth and the legend that is Rutkermanis!!!
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Nicknames: Rutkermanis, Rutty, Rut Dahlhaus, Bananas.
What Clubs have you played for? Thailand Tigers and Indochina Bulldogs.
How many years have you been playing in Asia? 10 years.
Preferred position/s: Half-back or on the wing.
AFL team: Western Bulldogs.
Best player/s in Asia: Paddy and Jotta. Shared best-player during the 2012 Indochina Cup.
Most difficult opponents: Vietnam Swans and the PNG Muruks.
Best AFL Asia memory: The first time we had an Indochina team in Pattaya when Andrew Embley coached us.
Favourite meal: Chicken Parmigiana (the best one I’ve ever had was at a pub in Vientiane, Laos!)
Cats or dogs: Cats
Coffee or tea: Coffee
Favourite holiday destination: Pattaya and Melbourne.
Invite 4 people of your choice to a dinner party: Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Robin Williams and Jason Akermanis.
Best footy trip: Angeles City, Philippines in 2014.
What do you like the most about playing footy in Asia? Mateship, it’s well organised and there’s never anyone left behind. Everyone has a chance to play football, make friends and learn from each other.
3 things people don’t know about you: I’m funny (weird funny) and I’m honest (once I parked in a no-parking zone, took a photo of my car and went to the police station to show them I broke the law to pay a fine).
What does the future of AFL Asia look like and/or how do you see the sport impacting local communities across Asia? AFL Asia will be in a good position from what I’ve seen after a long period with the development of the game under the same umbrella of AFL Asia. We’ve seen clubs grow up, many new clubs, new players, new divisions, AFLW has developed amazingly. So, we are in a good stage. Hopefully one day we have a league like the AFL where we fly every Saturday to play a game. For communities, it’s amazing to see what Bangkok Auskick has done for orphanages and schools, as well as teaching English to some of the kids after training. Credit to them. Credit to AFL Asia and the Tigers for creating the environment and the tournament. It’s because of that that we have a chance to play, so appreciate everyone!
