HOCKEY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 140, 12 June 1912, Page 7

HOCKEY.

The weather uouGiUuns la«t Saturday were by far the worst yet experienced in the championship competitions this season. A bitterly cold sou-westerly win-I with "heavy mill squalls .swept across the ( ground, and only the must cnthiuiaetiu supporters remained until the linal whistle was sounded, it was a day upon which many of the teams' ranks .were depleted, especially ill the junior grade, owing to illness, while the Referees' Association were lijird put to to fiuiSl engagements, several .member- luriiiiig o-.u who would have been better off in bed. The various playing areas were very rough, consequently the hails rose dangerously, perha-ps the worst ground being iio. 4, upon which University and College Kifies were drawn. This match, despiLe the bia; score iri the students' favour, provided many exußhig incidents, and mu-;-ii interesting and in.=t ru.-i ive play. In fact, from 'Varsity Llio Rifles have learnt a fine tea&on which should prove most ijeiielicial to theij- play in the remaining matches. University made the .pace and ■quickly confined operations around their opponents' circle, but much erratic shooting and the splendid ,goalkeeping of Cotton averted a score being registered The ■College Kifies' ba-c-ks. who indulged in some very fine failed to make the defence effective owing to tho lack of direction whan elf.irintf. and the opposing halves and firtlb-U-ks soon took advantage of tilt" irti.linq. "\':irsity'.s f.iin were fq,r the greatpr portion of the first half all playing 1,, lht ' College SQ. thus supporting an alta-ck that w/lb care should have yielded many scores. In every portion of play, taom fullback to

forward 'Varsity outplayed the opposition, and much, of their sticKwork must have come as a revelation to the latest asjnrants to senior hockey. One great failing in the game (and it applies in practically every team under the Auckland Centre's jurisdiction) is the inclination to play so much to the left, leaving the right of the forward line to do a freeze. This accounts in no small measure for "Whitaker's (of the blues) wandering infield. 'When lie did get the leather he knew what to do with it. and ;tbe students' first goal was the result of his heady play. Fawcett, the 'Varsity custodian, had not the opportunity to demonstrate his ability, but the two fullbacks, Speight and Jackson—more so in J the second half—had plenty of work that was performed in splendid style. Kotve, in Robinson's absence, took charge of the centre of the half line and was ever prominent. His .-stiekwork -culls for special praise, while his nipping of the College attacks must have caused them much anxiety. To attempt to detail the merits of the forwards, space will not permit, but a reference to Mahoncy is permissible. His play ;;s inside right U exceptionally nippy, and he is a splendid shot (his goal from the corner hit being one of the "finest scored this season), ii he will .perform in the same manner against more experienced players fie must find inclusion in the Shield team.

There have been many goul keepers in Auckland who have promised to develop into players of the 'first flight, but that is the furthest they have got. Jtt Cotton, who looks after the College Rides stivks-, is undoubtedly the coming "goalie" for our representative team*. Each ra.-itfh produces improvement. Hi: is steady, reliable. ;ind h:is i he great knack of completely leading Ins opponents astray as to what methods he will adapt to chpck tlirm. Sloman wns the best of the fullback-, but in the first half was patchy, seeming to lose the roll of the ball, in the second stage ho

appeared more in bis true colours. liimethods being in marked con-trust to O'Jjogrhlin. his partner, who incurred penalties owing to his (ii.--n.osition for contact with the wearer.-; of the blue jersey. The tcnlre-holf did sin immense amount of work, but ;i little more judgment would h;ive s.-ived him a lv ; . of running about, Retcher vonld profitably have gone o;i his own more, for the iriitro forward's fine |ias.io.~, especially lo \\ :>odroll'e on the right wing, were Hasted. this player being palpably weak, and seldom in .posi! ion.

Tiie two old rivals, .Auckland and L'llited, met once again, but they were not the teams of old, for time- lias worked havoc iri the ranks of :ho whites. The g.ime was robbed of much interest owinsi lo tiio absence of Jour of L'liitctl's regular players, their places lilied l>y junior?. The whites were never really dflmjeroiH. and it w:i.< jmt ,\ i/tiestlon of how many goals Auckland would wsn by. Thanks to tin- goalkcepius of Halla.ni the margin, .five to nil, m, m>t a-, largo as might easily Imve been the <~l<c. and his piaoc in the Shield team should hesafe. Woods and Ellison indu-lged i" hard hitting and removed danger time and again. 'Pic halves did not show to advantage, and the forwards were often left to cool their heela when the ball might have been passed out to them. Forward plenty of life was shcrwn, but the passing was too fierce, and often straight up field. Barry :md tho iii-.ide right showed up prominently, but received little support. On the winning side Allen and Morton froze for most of the game. Farquharson got through his work with his usual coolness and made no mistakes. Kavanagh's clever stickwork iplaved havoc with the opposing forwards. lupine and Horspool were safe. The forwards were nn even lot. .Murray sent in some splendid centres, while 'his goal was a good effort. Mason played unselfishly, while Fuller, Moore, and Burton g-n't through their work in fine style. Ponsonby registered their first win b\--2 goals to 1 over Mount Eden. The first half saw the blue and blacks practically on the attack the whole time, and in this paTt of *h< , game the score -was mounted. Their circle work was very weak, shooting being a lost art, for Young's two goals were the result of his characteristic play of dashing in. The half-barks, .Mills and Turner, remained too far back, and Mount Kden utilised their chances, .hicobsen, 'Maunders and Alison among the backs, and Young and Parton of the forwards, claims mention. For Mount Kden Kimmcr, in goal, stopped some hot shots. Drower was in as centre-half, and played solidly, out was inclined to "sticks." .f. Cow, Malcolm and Bartleet strove hard forward (o top the Ponsonby score.

I\ext Saturday comes the match of the season. University v. Auckland, and only fine weather is required to assure a record attendance: and a splendid exposition of hockey. The two teams play the same game, the short passing, and are h'n exponents of tho true stylo of hockey. Auckland hnvp not this, season tasted defeat. I'nivorsity have, and tlie reverse has so aroused them that no Wl'ort will bo spared to enable them to retain their titl'i of champions, for another defeat puts them nut of the running , . The students and Auckland nrr old rival*, and it will no doubt interest readers to know that the first match ever played in Auckland was between those two r-lr.bs

—on 'hine 3rd, lf)03: and while the n- ,- conl doe- not p'vn I he score, to She rcwl and black:/ credit s>lauds a win. The nexf.meeting was in tlie championships of that year, and to the tune, of 6 goals to 1 tho. stndpnts wont under. University had their revenge in the second round, and left the field winners by 1 goal to nil. The season of IHO4 was disastrous to 'Varsity, for wins by C to 1 and 5 to ■2 were gftinod by Auckland, and tho following year 'Varsity failed to appear in the senior grade. From 1005 till l!) 09 the Auckland combination could not be mastered, but. the ilifTerenrc in the score was greatly reduced. The next couple of Barnes.were drawn; then came thp memorable match of last yeaT, won by 'Varsity, which led to the protest that discovered the fact that no mention is made in the rales of the g:ime entitling a referre to carry :\ whistle. The last meetius of the teams resulted in a drawn game, and the winning of the championship by University by the narrow margin of one point. In all 13 matches have been played, 8 wins standing to Auckland's credit, 2 wins to University, the remaining 3 frames being drawn.

The game will m> played sit Remiwra, and every preparation to the playing urea is being ma-de. Two referees have l>een suggested, 'but it is hardly likely to be given effect to on that ground. What is required is that each team should provide at least two balls; in fact, more if the weather is at all doubtful. Last week the danger of dirty balls was only too plainly shown.

The following dates iiave been allotted for shield matches: —Canterbury v. Wellington, Juno 29th; -Anekiand v. Wellington. July 20th: Taranaki v. Wellington, Aupwt 10th; Otajro v. Wellington, Re)>tenuirr 7tli: Hiiwhc'.* Buy have-also cballer.Tcd.