HOCKEY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1509, 3 August 1912, Page 12

HOCKEY.

« [Bx "Buxmt-off."]

THE UNSUSPECTED STRATEGY. The Dark Trap that was Laid for Us. The following article, culled from a southern paper, and written by a Canterbury enthusiast, should provo interesting, not to say amusing, Those who saw tho shield ma'teh hero will remember Canterbury's style of play—how poorly tho. two wing-forwards played, and the brilliance of tho three insides. And now this Cantabrian makes bold. to say that tho play )Vag "strategical," that tho Wcllingtoninns wero caught in the trap duly laid. Bo that as it may, it is highly interesting to note that, although Auckland's play is similar to our own, nevertheless tho Cautabrians' method in meeting with Auckland was totally different. The writer, who has played senior hockey in Christchurch for three seasons, is inclined to tako the article as good vaudeville. Howover, let us read:— "The Canterbury hockeyite, who had never seen the Wellington crack team fight for tho shield, thought tho Canterbury victory a foregone conclusion; but, to those who had witnessed former struggles between these teams, the outlook was tar less hopeful. The brilliancy of the Wellington forward line is unchallengeable. On their own. ground at Day's Bay they sweep the field from side to sido and end to end, with a masterfulness that is at times wonderful. It is difficult to describe the precision of tho in-field play. Tho ball,passes from half to forward, generally tho outside, and whilst over onward, it goes from outside to inside, from inside to centre, from centre to inside, from inside to wing, with but slight variation, the difference being sometimes in a feint, when the ball overleaps an inside man. The ball is ever on the fly, and, if the shot be taken, at the psychological moment, woe betide the defence. For a lovel ground, the ball is hit very hard, and the spectator, expecting to see it leave the forwards well behind, finds it turned with the stick at a littlo greater than right angles—always forward.

"It was not, however, until this season that Canterbury had much hope in working out a system of defence and attack that would prove fatal to the holders. It is a bold ' statement/to make, vet nevertheless true, that' the Canterbury team play- ,; ed to a set form of definite instruction.' The attack was to mask their operations by using the_ outside wingforwards as the means of drawing the defence, and use the three inside men as the sole means of attack, by what ( .is known as centre play. "Upon Gellety, mainly, and Hulbert, the success of the operations depend- • ed, and also on the halves intercepting, and allowing these two to cut in with the gliding stroke, and so overcome the defence, thus allowing Har- ' rington to do the scoring. "This was the arranged game, and this also was practically the actual means of Canterbury's victory. It has seldom been the lot of a team to so ably manage a strategy, and bring .it to a successful issue, as was done in the recent shield game against Wellington. The tricky play of Gellety, the feeding and shooting of Harrington, and the gliding and finish of Hulbert, together with the soundness of the defence, and the deliberateuess of the method of play, won Can- ' terbury the shield on the fourth try."

Only a Moltko Could Have Devised It. Well, now, what must we Wellingtouians think of all that? What a maste'rhand of strategy must have been behind Canterbury's team! -Never before in the annals of sport did such genius show itself. And how the warriors obeyed the instructions of /their generals! Surely for such a scheme Canterbury deserved a dozen shields. However, let us go back to, this almost-forgotten game, as it really was played, and what do wo find ? We find that • victory went to the southerners, mainly on their burly aggressiveness. We find also that tho wing-forwards were well fed, but we also find that tho food was taken from their mouths by our winghalves. And then ns re£irds the centre. It is well known that our own centre was the weak spot. Had G. S track been in Andrew's place-the game'would have been different. But this is no place for "would-ltave-beens." A- prominent writer on Waterloo thus begins: "Had.it not rained, etc., the future of Europe/would have been changed." Of course wo'laugh. ". But this wo know: the resting-place of the hockey shield has been changed, and when our representatives travel south in quest of the trophy ono feels that they will show that their method of clever hockey is at least equal to the intricate "strategy" of which Canterbury apparently claims 6ole patent rights.

Ladies' Club Positions, The ladies' annual tournament will soon be hero again. Locally, ladies' hockey is very satisfactory, as there are no fewer than eleven teams playing. Two of the teams—Ramblers A and Syrens—have such a substantial lead that the final contest will no doubt bo fought out by them. There are two more matches yet to be played before the first round is completed, and. when it is finished,- the teams are to be arranged into two grades—the five leading teams and the six lowest. The former will comprise A, B, C, D, E. A will play B, C will play D, whilst B will navo a.bye. The winners of each match will play each other, and the remaining two will fight for 'supremacy—the trophy being o. silver roso bowl,, given by her Excellency Lady Islington. The six lowest teams will be similarly divided, and the two teams left in the final will bully off for the Consolation Cup (the old third-class cup). The following table shows how the various ladies' teams stand in the competition: —

'*%i « 5,-a || .g rt -3 t2 9 i ° 9uo OftP A fi O Oafi Syrens 0 8 0 1 50 3 17 Ramblers A ... 8 7 0 1 38 5 15 St. Augustine's 8 5 2 1 Mi 7 11 Petone Ladies 8 5 2 1 7 9 11 College Old Girls A 8 5 S 0 13 13 10 Rata 8 2 I 2 18 21 0 Ramblers B ... 8 2 5 1. 8 18 5 Petono D.H.S. 7 2 6 0 10 19 i Girls' College 8 2 C 0 7- 19 4 Herewhirii ...8101 8 27 3 College Old Girts B 8 17 0 0 40 2 Ladies' Yearly Carnival. So far, it is uncertain where the annual ladies' tournament will be held. A week ago Auckland was to hare been the venue, but troublo has occurred between the Auckland -Ladies' Association, and the controlling body—the New Zealand Hockey Association. It was thought that a settlement would, have been reached, but apparently the Northerners have decided not to take charge of the tournament. It is therefore fairly certain that the fixture will bo shifted to ChristchuTch, ,and this is certainly much moro convenient for the Wellington ladies.

The local Ladies' Association have been energetic, and, thanks to Miss Brantley's untiring efforts, tho financial success is 'well assured. Cards have been issued, and .it is hoped by this method to raise at least .£3O, so tho local team's chances of getting away are good. It is rather unfortunate that tho hitch has occurred, but then, as somo wag will say, "What can you expect, with two sets of ladies at 'loggerheads ?" Tho Auckland ladios have decided that they will not bo oveT-ruled by tho New-Zealand Association, so they have put their foot down firmly—if not wisely. But this is a debatable point. Who was in tho right, or who was wrong will not interest anyone now. Why care at all? What matters it? As long as tho tournament is a mieccss, and tho Wellington ladies carry off tho banner ?