HOCKEY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 615, 18 September 1909, Page 12

HOCKEY.

r (Br Dmvßß.) f AU the local hockey'championships have been t closed down, and it was thought that,. after i defeating Wanganui on September 6, players 1' would have been allowed to deposit their sticks and .pads in their summer restipg--0 places and pick up the racket and cricket bat, e but it has proved otherwise owing to the Wcl- -- lington representatives having-been called upon 0 to defend tho shield so recently won from s Auokland on Saturday next, a Jlanawatu 0 eleven is coniing here to endeavour to wrest e tho hard-wo'n trophy from the present holders. - By' all accounts, the challengers will bo able f to put an excellent team in the field, and the s contest" is" certain to bo interesting. Earlier 1 in the a,team came' down from Slanas watu, and Wellington did not win with much ■- ;to spare. ■, The, visitors were a young lot, dash- " ing and persistent in attack, and. very owift s on. their feet, and it seems that they have .greatly improved. At any rate, they, will _bo 1 ho mean , ad versary. :. The .defenders, thinking 0 that hockey'was nt an end Tor the season, have \ not been training, but a trial representative 1 match is to be played to-day. Wellington's J first team to <lefend tho shield will be pre--1 cissly the same as that which won it, with B the possiblo exception of N. ','Sinythe. It is " justi a question whether "Dawson should not • liavo the honour of filling the left-half posi- \ lion; he having-been unable to get away for 1 tho Auckland trip. The selectors ■ rccogniso •>. that Smytho's 'osoellent, display at Aucklaut ' gives him a prior claim, but the point will '• not bo definitely settled until Saturday night, 8 when the defending team will bo chosen. ' \ The polo ground, Remuera, Auckland, on J Saturday last, was the scene of several. intcreating matches, in which country teams played against city clubs or combinations. The leadiug fixture was that between the Auckland ' and Thames TTiiions' representatives. Tho match was originally, intended to, bo'for the New Zealand challenge shield, but-the success of Wellington against Auokland on the previous. Saturday reduced the game, to ono of ordinary inter-union interest. Thero was not a very largo attendance, >tho strong coun-ter-attraction of tho Auckland-Taranaki reprc- ■ esntative Rugby football match;probably being .'• the main::cause. Auckland won aiteria'poor exhibition by:four goals to one. ; Auckland's goals wore scored by Young (3) and Barry, . while Hosking Ecorc'd for tho visitors. Barry had sufficiently recovered from tho effects of the southern tour to play against Thames, but Mather and Badliam, however, were unable to tako part. The right-half, waj Von Sturmer, who has played loft-full-back for the tluited ■ Club, Wellington. : , , ' : ' '~ ■•.':'" Says a writer in the "Weekly Press":—"Cari- • terbury has every reason to be satisfied with . itself'this season, as far as representative matches are concerned.:; Tho teams, selected have',played-'matches-against Wellington, Auck- , land, , ., Southland, Otago; and Wanganui,/ in C'liristchurch, and' South Canterbury at-Tim-nni,' and have been successful in every game,. ■ Tho selectors deserve a word of praise for the excellent manner,' on the whole, in ' which they , picked tho various teams. Nearly every deserving player was given a chance of ■ playing, in some team: or. other,, but, of course, there wero several, who were, overlooked. Howover, a selector's task is an arduoui one, and I think the players in general'have every rea- ' son to be thankful to, them for the amount of labour and tiine they devoted to the select--1 ing." . .;-; .'---■' , ..' , j V - Some interesting remarks were made, by, }Ir.. *' W.E.-Pearson to an Auckland'-interviewer ! after the shield match. "Auckland's defeat," : ho said, "was due to too much individual brillianoy. The forward line lacked combination, and sdmo of their ■ play was of a very selfish order. The half/ line was tho weakest spot of tho team. Our team to a man rose to the occasion, and their display was. be- ' yond the hopes of ,thoir most' sanguine, sup--1 porters. The ground was 'in perfect order, 1 and the sportsmanlike manner in which the 1 Aucklandors' played tho/gamo and took their ■• defeat, and tho. impartial naturo of the huge ! gathering of. spectators, have added much to the g'reat pleasure the win has given us. We ■ hope ,to see Auckland in quest of the shield ' next season, and with individual play abol- : ished and combination gained, an even greater ■ fight than that of to-day should 'bo witnessed." .-. '■'-' . 1 A pointed comment was made by the."A'uck- , land: Star" concerning the match:—"Two of Wellington's goals were soft ones, arid it is in goal-scoring tne team's weakness lay. Not a reliable shot is to bo found, and the want was ' badly-felt in the contest. The visitors gained the measure of the ground quicker than their 1 opponents, and:the, speculating they indulged in came off. Collectively, their vanguard was superior to' Auckland's, and although I have ; mentioned that two of Wellington's goals were soft ones, I am not in the least ..detracting from their win. They wero the better team, [ played the better game, and the keenest of the Blue and White's supporters congratulate them 1 on .becoming tho New Zealand' champions. The ; generalship of Mr. W. J. Organ, their captain, deserves much praise, for the weak spots 1 of their opponents were quickly found out, and ' every advantage was made of them, and, with 1 many others. I still wonder why' several changes in the position of the' Auckland team " wero not made at spell time." Perhaps the local committee can take, a hint - from the activity of the Auckland Association ; in the matter of creating public interest in the • game. The "Herald" says:—"The manner in which the officials of the Auckland Association • thrust the game'on the public in past seasons ; —'seized the bull by the horns' would be the appropriate phrase—is deserving of the heartiest of commendation from all patrons. The result • of the vigorous educational policy of 1907-8 was 1 apparent on September 4, when the record , crowd for a hockey match in the Dominion, ; and probably in Australia, congregated at Vic- ■ -toria Park, the gate takings (exclusive of the sale of tickete) amounting to about £110. That result is distinctly encouraging, considering the infancy of the "game under the legitimate ; code. The old game of hockey, which we all - played at school, and where sticks might bo of 1 any size, from a 'four-by-two' scantling to a supplejack with root attached, more roeembling a prehistoric golf olub than a.. hockey stick, certainly, gave most persons an insight into'•-,the stick." ganie. . The, present' scientific coding of the rules on the lines of Association football field tactics is vastly different to the old game, where any number a-side_ could play, : and where, if a plavor got off-side, he wa? liable, as a penalty for transgressing the uni written law, to get a whack across the shin from an opponent's stick." A lady spectator has been disqualified till May, 1910, for hooting a referee in a hockey match at Tiinoru. ' The writer commends the following to the Management Committee:—lf Wellington is in possession of the shield next year, a strong effort must be made to arouse public interest in tho game.. There aro many who would go to see a ntatch—especially a shield match—if it were not too far away from the city—but it is doubtful if mijiy would journey over to Day's Bay. The '■difficulty in the way of going elsewhere is that there are no good grounds outside of Days Buy, but hero is a proposal: Why not utilise the Petone Recreation Ground? The ground tis certainly rough at present, but the writer has authority for stating that if an orrangemcut. can be arrived lit, tho Pctono Borough Council idll-prepare an excellent ground on tho Recreation Reserve nt tho council s expense, with a view of attracting tho public. The'journey from tho Government station (Wellington) to the ground at Petone would only take twenty-five'minutes, and it is urged that this would result in a much more satisfactory solution of the difficulty than any j other, .-it any rate, tho proposal is well worthv nf careful 'codeldflmtiou and investigation by I th* WcUtagtaa Hodiay Association,