HOCKEY

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 30, 4 August 1923, Page 17

HOCKEY

[•V •'STICKS'•;

LADIES AT PLAY

NORTH-SOUTH GAME REVIEWED

NEW ZEALAND'S BEST IN ACTION.

At last the many New Zealand girls •who spend their spare time upon the hockey field have been given an incentive to always play up to their best form, and to generally take a live interest in the game. The reason lies in the fact that the N.Z.L.H.A. has donated to the ladies a handsome silver cup, for which competition will take place each year between teams representing the North and the South Islands. The cup is to be held, for twelve months by the captain of the victorious eleven, who this year, as a result of the game on Saturday, is Miss Marie Williams, of Wellington. The only useful purpose that is served by the actual trophy is that it will probably act as a : kind of semi-guarantee that the fixture will be decided each year, for whenever any suggestion of abandonment or postponement of the match is raised, the natural question to be asked by the challengers will be, "Who is to hold the cup?" Of course, "Sticks'" has always made it abundantly clear that he believes in hockey being played simply because it is hockey, and not because of any mercenary inducement, but at the earns time he feels sure that the New Zealand ladies play the game in the right spirit. This was proven beyond doubt by their display on Saturday. To say that the game was a brilliant' exhibition by teams representing the best players in the Dominion is to aptly describe the position. The ground at the Basin Reserve,' after the heavy rain, was. in a deplorably muddy state, and the chilly southerly wind and> the dark overcast sky did not tend to give matters a very cheerful, aspect, but the ladies took the field in the most optimistic of spirits, and put their utmost into the game, until the final whistle announced that the struggle was over, and, incidentally, that the North had annexed a very narrow victory by o goals to 2.

The persistency, staying power, and generally good form displayed by the players would have put to snaine-quue a large percentage of our senior men, some of whom usually do not take long before they show signs of fatigue. The pace ■was a cracker from start to finish, and never at any sta^e o f the journey did any girl show nerself to be-, "stalling," which, after all, is only a euphemism tor "slacking." The heaviness of the ground must have been most fatiguing, and this, combined with the exacting nature of the play, would certainly have been sufficient excuse for any of ' the ladies endeavouring to gain a few moments' respite; but they all realised the responsibilities which every representative accepts, and played the game to a stubborn finish. Everything pointed to the fact that the members of both the teams were trained almost to • the minute; this must have been the case, else to keep up with the game would have been nearly impossible.

It was obvious from "the opening bully that the North had a formidable advance guard. The manner in which the individual members combined or. played lone-handed, as the case demanded, was really pretty.to,wat.ch, but,the.outstanding feature "of their play. was certainly the way in which, they answered to the lead of the captain, M. Williams. This lady, .who is an exceptionally fast and heady player, gave a splendid exhibition o£ generalship, and established beyond doubt that she is all that her colleagues have stated her to be. The eecond best fonvard among the victors was M. Wilkins, who proved herself to be a sprinter of no mean ability. Playins on the right wing, she combined well with the captain,, with whom she has played in various representative teams for the past five years. Her speed at times seemed tp be almost a disadvantage, as occasionally she got Tight away from her fellow forwards, and was obliged to battle single-handed . w;th all the opposing backs. However, she did all that was required of her, and more; giving a creditable all-round exhibition.

At inside-right, F. Booth, the WaiTarapa star, was'a decided asset. She was always where she was most needed, and headed several promising Northern movements. F. Hill, of Poverty Bay, ■was seen to good advantage at insideleft, and she also showed herself to be possessed of a substantial knowledge of the bully, officiating at a " penalty" with such judgment and speed that one more goal was added to her side's tally. For a young lady who has only seen fourteen summers, D. Stunner, of Taranaki, gave a great exhibition on the left wing. She was quick to seize opportunities, and had often secured the leather and was away down field before tho opposing defence could rally. A good centre by ,her to M. Williams was really responsible for the notching of the deciding goal, the' finishing touches to which were added by the captain. Among the backs, the centre-half, M. Moxehu, of Ruahine, was conspicuous, her hard hitting at the right time' helping the Northern eleven out of many a difficult situation. E. Swain, of Hawkes Bay, and M. Corbett, who has represented Wellington on several occasions,, gave splendid support. At right full-back, G. Gibson, a leading Manawatu player, was brilliantly sound, in defence, while her partner,. E. Newey, easily justified her reputation as the best back in Poverty Bay. One would have to, be a particularly exacting critic to find fault with the efforts of the goalkeeper, N. Gallagher, also of Poverty Bay. She invariably managed to keep between the ball and the net. but on one occasion the leather stuck in the mud right on the line, and as she rather casually endeavoured to send it back into play, the speedy skipper of the opposing team, L. Guest, rushed up and forced it into the net. The other shot which passed her was almost unstoppable, so that her general showing was one of outstanding merit. Individually, the Black and Gold forwards were a fine body, but collectively their work was not nearly so effective as that of their opponents. The captain, L. Guest, _ was easily the mast prominent, and in scoring iiie only two goals which fell to the lot of her team, she. only did what her reputation would lead one to expect of her. An Otago representative for the past five or six years, she is particularly fast, and this, com-bined-with a reliable knowledge of the game, gained in the hard school of experience, makes her worthy of inclusion in almost any representative eleven. A very dashing game was played by G. Melvin (Eastern), who was always dangerous, and had to be well marked, while M. Balk, another Otago girl, combined well with the captain, a nd once gaining possession of the leather she madegood use of any opening which happened to present itself. K. Hei, an old Poverty Bay player, who is now resident in Otago, gave a splendid exhibition of stick-work, perhaps the cleverest of the day's play. She showed herself to bo possessed of particular skill in taking the ball on her stick while the leather •was "travelling a fair distance above the ground, and this in- itself is a decided asset. The left-wing position waj

well filled by H. Homer, of Southland, who put in some splendid passing work, a department which is far too often neglected in.modern hockey.

Very little respite was given the goalie, H. Tini, of Canterbury, but she performed most creditably, and, although she had about SO per cent, more work to do than her vis-a-vis, she met the attacks of the fast-moving Northern forwards with every confidence. Good defensive work characterised the play of N. Furness (Greymouth) and M. Crawley (Canterbury). Both girls had plenty to keep them busy, but-they met their opponents at every turn. To the writer, it seemed that the halves, A. Rabbidge (Canterbury), E. Stubbs (Blackball), and W. Lawson (Marlborough), were playing too far back from the forwards, but, on the whole, they played a good, sound, defensive game. Taken on tho whole, the match was certainly one of the best seen in Wellington for some considerable time.

Very little of the true sporting spirit was displayed by the Wellington Hockey Association, in refusing to postpone the men's fixtures on Saturday last, when the North v. South ladies' match was being decided. The men were approached by the N.Z.L.H.A. with a view to having the fixtures put back for a week, but they replied that owing to the bad weather which had been experienced locally during the current season they had ajready missed several nlaying days, and could not, on any consideration, consent to the postponement of play in this particular case. Happily, however, the elements once more intervened, and the numeront players who desired to witness the ladies' came were able to do so, without committing breaches of faith with their teams. With the exception of the Test matches with the English girls, the srame in question was perhaps the most important that has been decided in New Zealand under the Ladies' Association, and ordinary courtesy, if not sporting spirit, should have "weighed with the W.H.A. in deciding to go on with their games.

In the curtain raiser to the North v. South match, the Wairarapa ladies had little difficulty in defeating Wellington by 2 goals to nil. The visitors showed splendid corhbinatjon, and time and time again they invaded the opposing circle, but owing to the uncertain nature of the ground were unable to put the finishing touch to the movements in the shape of eflective shots at wsJ. The fact that the three leading girls from Wellington, 31. Williams, M. Corbett, and M. Wilkins, were included in the North Inland eleven absolutely smashed up the local combination, and it was only by dogged persistence and good individual play that Wellington were able to keep the opposing score at such a comparatively low figure. Mrs. Beuck, the Wairarapa centre-forward, gave a splendid exhibition of generalship, and besides scoring the only two goals, which fell to the lot of her team, she was at the head of most of the aggressive forward movements. F! Sage, at centre-half, also played a good sound game, and was easily the best of the backs. N. Thomas, on the right-wing, and F. Martin, the centre forward, were the outstanding Wellington forwards, although H. Kitto, on the left wing, at times, also was seen to advantage. Among the backs, A. Hoge, tho centre half, played a great game, and always managed to be where she was most needed. She was well supported by S. Simon, the left half.

After the North-Sonth game, all teams were entertained in the evening, at Dustin s, where a very pleasant evening was spent. Miss F. Hill and L. Guest, chosen as the best players in the North and South Island teams, respectively, were each presented with a hockey stick as. .a mark of. appreciation of .their, efr forts' during, the.match.' .''.'' A champion has. no honour in another country. A Wellington hockey player, who, two or three years ago, was one of the finest representatives in the province, turned out for a weak team in a small South Island town recently, states the "Christchurch Sun." After playing the game of a life-time against overwhelming opposition, the ex-representa-tive was approached by a rustic enthusiast with the encouraging words, "Look here! You show promise. If you keep on practising you should become a good player."

Owing to the fact that the Wellington third grade representatives are playing Wairarapa at Masterton to-day, the matches in this grade, decided this afternoon, will not have any effect upon the championship.