HOCKEY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 194, 18 August 1931, Page 13

HOCKEY.

REPRESENTATIVE GAME

AUCKLAND DEFEATS WAIKATO

The success against Waikato last Saturday inspired hope for the prospects of Auckland in the forthcoming match with Canterbury for possession of the shield. It will be remembered that Waikato gained a big reputation by their splendid display at Christchurch. Taking a line from the easy conquest of Waikato by Auckland, the task of capturing the trophy should not be beyond achievement. However, statistics are full of pitfalls, and it may be stated that the Auckland team will have to reveal then.- best before there is much hope of bringing the shield north again. , Iu yielding to Auckland so disastrously, it must be admitted that Waikato were not at full strength and were operating on a strange ground. Still, they boasted of a sound eleven, and fully expected to seriously extend Auckland, even if they were away from home.

It is not certain whether they counted upon meeting a forward of the calibre of Eric Watts, and the last moment inclusion ot the bom«rville centre forward aftere taking part m only one game this season, considerably improved the. locals in the art ot scoring. There is not the least doubt the total would not have attained such magnitude but for his presence.

Most of Auckland's goals appeared to be the result of solo efforts; still they were cleverly accomplished. A superficial thought about combination is that the traditional attacks were in evidence. Most of them were centralised, but while successful there was no need to extend them further. In the early stages of the game'there were plain indications of the players tending towards combination, which probably would have been developed had Waikato managed to bottle up the prevailing onslaughts. With Waikato on the defensive the Auckland backs were not severely tested, so there is still a little doubt about their ability under real pressure. On attack they were seldom found wanting. The work of the Waikato forwards was not so good as expected. They did not combine so well as the Aucklanders. Frequently their passing was too slow and square, giving the Auckland backs ample opportunities to intercept, and thus provide unexpected openings for converting defence into attack. In the circle there appeared to be a lack of understanding among the visiting forwards.

The halves did not give sufficient support to their full-backs, although in the first spell they were seen to better advantage. In the Auckland goal, Vail had very little to do, and, beyond one blunder, was quite satisfactory. Gardner seldom erred, and played a safe game at full-back, covering in good style. Cole showed so:ne of

hie old form at half-back, and proved a stumbling block for the Waikato winger in the second spell. Robertson, in an attacking game, did good work.

Amongst the forwards, E. Watts stood out beyond compare. C. Watts adroitly assisted in the swift change of individual progression.

Jack, the Waikato goalie, was on his toes before the ball reached the twentyfive, but had little hope against most of the shots that went home. Spiers was the better of the two full-backs, playing a capital game. Ewan appeared more in the picture in the second spell. It cannot be said that the halves were consistent. T. Finch started well, but Munro was the cleverest of the trio. He found his old clubmate very elusive. G. Finch shaped the best of the forwards, but was up against a tough proposition in Cole. Civil worked hard, but lacked dash. A Win at Whangarei. Auckland sent a couple of teams to Whangarei, and succeeded in winning both games. The combined clubs beat Whangarei by three goals to one, after a good game considering the state of the ground. Notwithstanding that combination was not a feature of the game, the Aticklanders brought off some good work at times, but in finishing off the movements the shooting was weak. Whangarei played a bustling type of game, and might have augmented their score but for indifferent work in the circle. , For Auckland, Wattam was safe in goal. Smith proved the better of the full-backs, while Glanville did good work in the middle division, although inclined too much towards defence. Grace initiated good forward movements. McNab was steady, and made the most of his opportunities.

The Whangarei goalie, Challoner, applied the boot to advantage. Byles was the best of the halves, showing good defence. A. Sloan, at inner left, claimed the honours of the forward line.