HOCKEY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 147, 22 June 1915, Page 9

HOCKEY.

Tlie seeoud seriee of matches in connection with the second round of the senior competition under the auspices of Itihe Auckland Hockey Association was played Jast Saturday afternoon, on tihe Rcmuera ground. The soft ground and equally weather ■wcto not favourable for scientific exhibitions <of 'hockey, never-tMet-E; the mate-bra were keenly cr tested. The cliicf attraction was the. meeting of University and .Vrota, and the game furnished plenty of incidents besides furnishing the biig total of nine goals, of wlilvOi University supplied five and Areta four. Not only in ithis contest was the scoring enbetanthil, but it al-so rearfi-ed half a dozen in the game between Auckland and >lt. Eden. The limited number in the competition, though noit, making any material alteration .in tlie position of tlie teams so far, causes -much fluctuation in the points. By defeating .Areta last week L'niverMty hold a load of foirr points from Areta and Auckland. TBie Oafater are now on the same level as Areta, thanks to their victory over Mt. Eden hurt week. As tliesfl two elevens meet next Saturday there will probably be some alteration. Next Saturday completes Uhe second round of tlie competition, and on the following Saturday all mnbohos will be suspended on account of the big sports carnival to bo hold at tho Doma/tn to enlarge tlie local fund for the hospital siliip. AUCKLAND AND MT. EDEN. Tlie match In which Auckland and Mt. Eden were the participants did not furnirth -a vi-rv spct'tacular game of liockcy, yet it was- not altogether uninteresting, as it was a treat to ■watch Bakor and Stoman checking the attacks of the Mt. Eden forwards. Mt. Eden changed their tactics entirely. Instead of waiting for tihe second spell before making (headway, they went off at a credit pace and gave Auckland soriH- anxious moments. It was some t'.nu- before Auckland could get control of the liall owing to the halt-line b«"-~ we:ik, but when the middle division improve, matters changed a litl*.<r, and Auckland won evened thin-gs. nnd then gained a lead which Mt. Eden never succeeded in overtaking. Mt. Eden's host effort after the change over was midway thrmigih the second hi«>]|. but tiliey were unable to make go<Kl. Out of the five points scored in the competition by Auckland four have been the result of the two matches against Mt. Men. Tile most conspicuous back on tlie Auckland side was SJomaa, and he speculated in a marvellous man near. Baker played with more repose, yet was just a<* effective. Steele a<-com[>Usli«-<i a lot of g(K>d work at centre half, and Lepine used the pixxrj) stroke to advantage. In the forward division. Osborne and Sneddcn wore <-.iwi|v the bc±-t, and did t/'.e hulk .if the work. Tho two most prominent men Mt. KdenV ,I.■f.-nce w.-re King and Hunt, although the former Ir.is boon wen to greater adv.intake. At Uie commencement iWhns was fi:-'l of [iromiee, but ho did not majntaiii f-rrm. The for war Ik with the exception of Kletohor, played Kcratchy games, jus.t failing to do t,':io nrreseary a t the rigiit time. FleUlicr made many openines but received very little support. "Bob" Killip, secretary <>f the Referees' Association, is making good recovery from his recent accident. The recent casualty lists have contained the names of several hockeyitos well known in Auckland. There was R. W. Barry, one of the* founders of local hockey, K. E. L McClure. the ox-Varsity and rep. fullback: T. F. Adams, player and referee, and M. R. Roberts, a capable halfback. Recruiting in the \Vhang;irei district has affected hockey to such an extent that tho various competitions have been abandoned. The referee examiners have made n sAurt in their duties. :ind put two members through their facings last Saturday. ARETA V. UNIVERSITY". It was generally anticipated that th«? meeting of Areta and University would provide a good game. AWarers' of the black jerw-ys had looked forward to this match a.s .their chance to chock tie students' winning career, but the fates were against them. Tin- absence of Wihittakcr disorganised the forward line: in fact tlie combination of the team. The students played above .themselves, on.! gave :i in<>t. convincing display. At tLines it was more like the hockey of several years ago. 'Varsity set out upon an nggroßsive policy, and then splendid concerted movements brought their rewarn*. The bluOR were, on the day. tho better team, and fully justified their success. Areta. on .the other hnnd. resorted to t:u-tics more of in individual character, which, of course, lacked the da.sh nnd pting that characterised their opponents' work. One feature wiie that University accepted their chances; Arota did not. It is seldom in local club games pue-h a big score nine goals in all —is recorded. The Areta weakness was tho naif line: it failed to support the forwards requirements. CockorHl. the "Varsity goalie, gave his Iw-st display, and in no small measure the team's success is due to him. The fu'lliack pair. Speight anil West, were very r nfe. but the half-line wart the test of the reaniuard. Both in attack and defence it was there when needed. Th" inclusion of "Bongard ;is eontre-half was fully justified, and removes n difficulty Oie blues hnve been faced with. Rennie wns in his usual sound form. .Tacobscn. left wing stood out righl from th rest of the forwards.. He pJayed a brilliant tr:iroe. Mnhoncv was not nt hifl best, lmt prolmbly ho 'has not fully recovered from bis recent injury. Somers hold the line together well, and notched three trials. Orice and Rowe coniplot.etl the line. Tiie right wing put in some very fine runs. TJaildon. Areta's custodian, nllowei liimself to be drawn out too far. and tho (•needy blue? then lmd no difficulty in fttHStling their misftion. BoHi 'Englnnd nnd KTlison were below form. Tlieir'bitting greatly lacked direct ion. Richard* was '.he best of the half-lino, and made ?.ome fine efforts. Sranton worked hard enough, but accomplished nothing. Sims was very weak. Preston, right wing, and Moginie, inner , .right, were .most prominent of the van- | «runrd. Thormis did very well in tho centre, and Whyte, in a new position as inner left, offered tlie opposition much trouble. The previous junior match bad taken too much out of Knight, the second grade skipper, who was called upon to play loft wing ai bhe last moment.