Hard hockey test for Canty team

Press, 26 July 1980, Page 56

Hard hockey test for Canty team

By

KEVIN TUTTY

It is six years since Canterbury has won the Challenge Shield at the national men’s hockey tournament. Just how good its prospects are of regaining the shield at this year’s Newman’s-Adidas tournament will be determined this week-end. •_ Today Canterbury plays Northland, at Whangarei, and tomorrow Auckland, at Hobson Park. Auckland is the holder of the Challenge Shield and it is this game that will be the chief guide to Canterbury’s tournament chances. ■

Canterbury made a dismal start to the representative season, losing the final of the quadrangular tournament at Queen’s Birthday Weekend to Wellington.

But three weeks later there was a dramatic transformation in the Canterbury team and it beat Wellington, 3-2. Two weeks ago it produced a splendid display to beat a bewildered South Canterbury side, 12-0."

Hobson Park is not an easy place for Canterbury teams to win. The crowd is ultra-parochial, but when

Canterbury last played there two years ago it was undisturbed and beat Auckland* then the national champion, as it is now, 4-2.

Northland is generally regarded as the fourth best provincial side in New Zealand. Its bustling hard-hit-ting style is never easy to combat and Canterbury’s trapping and passing will need to be first-class if it is to win.

The Canterbury coach Cyril Walter is taking only one spare field player north so there will be two hard games in two days, but for a side building up to a national tournament that assignment should not be too difficult.

Canterbury’s defence is relatively inexperienced and it will rely heavily on the maturity of Selwyn Maister and Jeff Gibson for solidarity and steadiness. The Canterbury team is: Graeme Sligo, Marty Fitzsimons; Craig Burtt, Ross Ambler, Robin Wilson, Selwyn Maister (captain), Gibsori; George Carrioutsos, Balvant Bhana, Barry Maister, Mark Burtt, Chris Maister, Steve Ambler.