SECOND ROUND.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 142, 18 June 1929, Page 14

SECOND ROUND.

THE STANDARD" IMPROVES. best competition yet. SOMEPJVILLE AGAIN ON TOP. Out of the hurly burly which marked the early stage* or the competition, occasioned by rough and soft grounds, senior hockey has taken a new le°se of life, mainly owing to the improved conditions, lor the past two weeks two thirds of the senior games eventuated in the smooth ground m front of in a pavilion and there is not the 1-vist shadow of doubt tbet the standard of hockey has improved considerably. Players appreciated the change aad in consequence the games have been faster and far more interesting lhe keenness of the* struggle has revived the enthusiasm ancl- attracted more attention amongst followers of .the stick game. Therefore it was no surprise for the spectators-to depart from the Rcuiuera ground after witnessing two stirring struggles-with a glow of enthusiasm. In°'View of the approaching Test match -with the Australians in August and the likelihood of the Auckland representatives going south in quest of the shield, the wonderful improvement is most important and if the standard of excellence is maintained, then there is reasonable hope of. welding together an eleven capable of upholding the best traditions of Auckland hockey. The result of the matches on Saturday caused a little, re-shuffling of positions. By defeating Mount Eden Somerviile go" to the top once more, although sharing honours with their formidable rivals, St. Luke's, who beat North Shore in a match that contained hockey of quality and concealed the winner until the end. On the far side et the ground. University had no diificultv in scoring a win over Epiphany by five goals to one. The following' table shows the positions of the teams: Goals, r. W. L. D. F. A. rts. Somerviile r > 4 2 — 10 It 8 St. Luke's fi 4 - ~ i ' 5 Mount Eden f > 3 2 1 14 13 < University B 3 2 1 It !•> 7 North Shore .... 0 3 3— 11 12 6 Epiphany 6 — 6 — 7 20 —

SOMERVILLE BEAT MOUNT EDEN,

Somerville made amends for their second defeat of the season by scoring a brilliant victory over Mount Eden. A win to Mount Eden meant a substantial claim upon premiership honours, but their, hopes were shattered to some extent by the rise of Somerville. It was a thrilling game, marked by patches of real brilliancy, though on the whole it was a tough encounter, play being determined and unyielding. Somerville achieved success through a complete change of tactics. Central attacks so characteristic of their play as a means of reaching the goal of the opposition were overshadowed by thrusts towards the right flank. These movements were cleverly initiated, admirably executed, and received more than the usual amount of support from the backs. The new feature came as somewhat of a surprise, and; showed Somerville in a new phase. It was clear proof that the extension of attack enables them to utilise the wings to advantage. The play of the Mount Eden forwards was invigorating, but there • appeared to be a lack of settled purpose in their methods, while their scoring efforts lacked the coolness and resourcefulness of their opponents. In making their main source of attack Somerville had to rely considerably on their right wing. In that position H. Watts rose to the occasion. Although his play was seasoned with a spice of good fortune, it contained much excellent and profitable work. C. Watts also revealed some of his best form, his stick work being accomplished cleverly. E. Watts was the main factor in the development of the movements, and laid the foundation to most of the goals. Seccombe was a connecting link. L. Schneideman made a good impression in his first senior game. The halves were more reliable than'usual. Munro was sound. Rogers played evenly. Cole gave glimpses of pood stick work, but suffered penalties for sticks. Gardner shaped well at fullback, stopping and hitting cleanly, while jSmith lent effective support. Chiplin accounted for some awkward situations fraught with anxiety. At times the Mount Eden forwards attempted the almost impossible, and occasionally they met with success. They wore nippy, and on the slightest provocation to get away. M. Jones v.fis perhaps the most consistent, and figured in wost of tlie advances. H. Jones showed so»ie daring in his play, ;uid collected a coupj,e of goals brilliantly. Hor.sp'oql did gwd work »t times on the rigiii .flank, |$\i.t ,mjssed a good chance. Chaplin endeavoured to cater for the line, bijt his movements were )).Qt fast enough, and several of ftis passes were easily intercepted. Kurman did best in the first spell, but .011 the whole play was not sufficiently porscyercd with Oft the left.

The half-backs >vt;re up a sijflf proposition. Of tlie tj'io .was tjj.e liest. Kelly's horror of 'Vticks" feted with his' play'. tlje hoiherville "centre difficult to overcome. tli'e midget of the' teanj, gave a I'ital display at fuil-back. Aiuierfcoil.ss brilliancy was frequently ' ove'r-

shadowed by mistakes in attempting the unnecessary. Vail stopped and cleared when there was sufficient time, but he found out that the Somerviile attack was not very reposeful. ST. LUKE'S IN FORM. The victory of North Shore over Somerviile gave the trans-harbour team some confidence in tackling St. Luke's, and so successful was their play that they occupied the lead for a portion of the game. However, St.. Luke's gradually wore down the opposition and came out ■victorious by the odd goal in five. Play right from the start was full of incident, both sides knocking the ball about freely and at times with fine judgment. On the whole St. Luke's worked with more cohesion than their respected opponents, bringing off some combined movements that broke down or were smothered by the activity of the North Shore backs, who were playing with remarkable steadiness at that stage. North Shore's onslaughts were conductcd with a tendency to work towards the wings, and there is no question that a lot of ground was covered by their fast wingers. Still the remainder of the line also played a prominent part in the conflict, although their methods lacked tho finish. Both full-backs, Burnett and Williams, were steady. The latter may have prevented Monteith's goal. In the middle division Harding, an ex-Taranaki player, made his second appearance for St. Luke's, and acquitted himself favourably. Clark again demonstrated his ability with the stick and is a topnotcher in the making. Robertson worked hard but was prone to "obstruction." J. Giles found the going to his liking and was prominent in most of the St. Luke's advances. Hookham is taking the game more seriously and was a capable rightwinger, operating between the two most prominent forwards. Wotherspoon seized opportunities. The North Shore full-backs had a busy time towards the end. Parker showed determination in dealing with the attacks. All-round Frater performed well in the half line. Amongst the forwards the honours go to Reid and Anthony. The latter used his stick skilfully. Monteith advanced matters on the right flank. A DULL DISPLAY. The meeting of University and Epiphany calls for little comment, the display given being decidedly below the

senior standard. The ground was rough | and bumpy, and proved a contributing factor. The tactics of the two elevens were as unlike as it was possible to stage. The students did display combination, but their rivals' efforts were of the individual type. The blues held the balance of the attack but lack of finish greatly contributed to their scoie not being larger. Full credit, however, must be given to the Epiphany custodian, Baxter, whose fine work also assisted in keeping the goal tally down. Epiphany lacked combination. Individual efforts dominated the work. Of the students' back division Brown and Radcliffe were prominent, while forward Don and Seelen claim mention. Nicholson and Hewitt claim first mention of Epiphany's advanceguard. Winks, C. Mills and Michel bore the brunt of the work in the back di\ision. COUNTRY WEEK. The White Horse Cup tournament is set down to commence on July 8. Entries close on June 25. _ Mr. L. C. Kent, recently as one of the three selectors of the New Zealand team to meet Australia, is in close touch with country hockey. - He informs a "Star" representative that hockey is making rapid progress in the country. At Whangarei there are thirteen teams. Thames has gone ahead and half a dozen teams are taking part in the competitions. Piako also repoit additional teams, while Tauranga show a certain amount of modesty in stating that hockey is fairly strong.