HOCKEY.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 154, 1 July 1924, Page 8

HOCKEY.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS. The championship mutches under the auspices of the Auckland Hockey Association advanced a stage last Saturday, when the third series of matches in the second round eventuated, 'the ground had not recovered from tbe recent rains aud operations were carried out with a certain amount of anxiety. The chief attraction was the secoud meeting ot Arcta and St. Luke's, aud as the result of a keen and interesting struggle Areta emerged victorious by two goals to one. Ou tbe adjoining grouud M-. Eden offered excellent resistance to Soniervlllc, aud the game was drawn True to their recent performance, Areta ' after a tough struggle, turned the tables" on their opponents, who happeueil to be St. Luke's last Saturday, nnd gained a well-earned victory by the narrowest of margins. The crowd who looked on witnessed a hard keen tight, marked by patches of brilliancy, clever stick work, and. some excellent movements, notwithstanding the condition of the turf, but there was one conspicuous Haw, and that was a weakr.ess iv front of goal, especially the losers. Both teams were early on their mettle, and from start to finish fought strenuously for winning honours. St. Luke's were first to gain the upper hand, and led for a greater part of tbe struggle, but Areta put up a game fight and in the second spell drew level, anil before they had barely time to recover Areta notched another goal. There appeared to he a weakness for a moment in tbe St. Luke's defence, nevertheless Areta made no mistake in the operations that furnished the goals. There was no question that St. Luke's condui-ted some fine nioypments on the Held, but they failed badly in their efforts to materialise. Although Areta did not work their attack on the same principles as St. Luke's they caused the opposing backs no end of trouble and anxiety with their lightning thrusts and short passes. Several of their sorties were ,tbe outcome of bard hitting by the backs jaml speedy movements of tbe forwards in following and deflecting the ball between the members of the defence. The backs on both sides had a busy time, and throughout the piece there was a tendency to hit hard in an effort to keep down tbe numerous attacks.

For Areta "Wilkie in soal extricated the side from a couple of scrummages in front of the goal, and also accounted for one. good shot. The fullbacks. Lewis and Davis, played excellent panics. The former showed coo'd stick work. Davis* defence was admirable. In the half line Savage was the most important factor. Ashley did fairly well. Conpland was seen to most advantage in the second spell. Of the forwards J. Carter at centre was the most conspicuous. Tie was well snpnortod by the two inner forwards. I/, and Tf. Carter, who displayed much nipniness and clash. Ormsby. on the left, is doinrr hotter each week, and scored a good ioal. Potter has hardly settled down in his new position.

Menzies had not much to do in goal, and the two that passed him were fairly hot propositions. It.iwe was not so accurate as in some of the previous matches. Mills played a fair game, but the brunt of the defence was borne by the middle division. Steele was most in the picture in the first spell. McLeod played a reliable game and went close to scoring on one occasinu. Potter had a big slice of territory to cover and was the only one of the trio to cover the forwards on the attack. Hookbam and Carslon were the best of the van. Williams at centre got away at times. Craig and Barnes were steady. Once again Mt. Eden and Somerville played a drawn game—a lucky finish for Konierville. Flay throughout was of a fast hard nature, and it was a case of tactics to suit the rough playing surface Play opened in Somerville's favour, and chance after chance to register came their way The forwards were, however, lamentably weak, from the quarter line to the circle they knew nothing of position, while in the coveted dancer zone shooting was dis-cgarded for wild, ill-directed hitting. Each forward possessed for some unknown reason, a roving policy, a new feature but an expensive one. Mt. Eden on the othei hand maintained position, with the result the chances that came their way were accepted. Of the Somerville backs Gardner up from the juniors calls for first mention His stopping and clearing was very safe. Of the half line Baildon and Simpson were best. Of the Mt. Eden forwards Giles Fletcher and Alexander call for mention. Rankin up to the time of his accident wan playing soundly. RadclUTe and Brown were the outstanding backs. WHITE HORSE CUP HOLDERS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) MORRINSVILLE, Monday. The Piako Hockey Association, the holders of the White Horse Cup. intends to defend the trophy at the tournament in Auckland, which commences on July 14. but so far prospects of sending a strong combination are not at all cheering. Light or last year's team will not be available, touthaving left the district. Hockey in the district, however, has been of a much higher standard than last year, and a fair team can be selected from the remaining P A ladies' team is also being sent to compete in the country competitions at Auckland. __^__^_^___