HOCKEY

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 34, 8 August 1925, Page 18

HOCKEY

■V "STICKS"

STIRRING GAMES

At the tint* these notes were compiled "Wellington had been ibnoet % week in the throes of the Shield Tournament. The six teams engaged in the competition have, generally speaking, provided interesting and, at times, spectacular hockey. The Wellington A team have displayed good form in all their games, and it appeared at the time of writing that they had an excellent chance of surviving the finals. . Auckland were the first to be eliminated, and Wellington B and Nelson were knocked out on Wednesday. Below are a few comments on the games played up to Wednesday. Ntlsen v. Wellington B. The Nelson v. Wellington B fixture proved an excellent game with which to I open the tournament. Spectator* were treated to gome sparkling play, and tlio contest was not lacking'interest from beginning to end. The ground after a week of fine weather was well suited for hard, fast, and open hockey, and the teams took full advantage of the pleasant conditions prevailing to give of their best. There was none of that close, solid forward play which has spoilt so many big representative matches in the past. Both aides kept the game aa open as they possibly could, and displayed excellent combination. Nelson early gave cvi- ! dence of their prowess, and before the first spell had ended old and experiences player* were prophesying that they were no easy nuts to crack. The Southerner* play the long-passing game, always pretty to watch. Time and again they had the Wellington men in difficulties, and it was only the latter team's stout defence that kept their score down. The Wellington eleven gave an all-round display, ana surprised even the most sanguine of their •upporters. The local boys were outmanoeuvred on one or two occasions, in the second spell, by the smart, machine-like Nelson forward line, ana several players were a little apt to get out of position. 'The most conspicuous forward on the field was Wellington's right winger, Barry. He made good use of his pace, and his centreing, shots were beautifully timed. Cooper and Freethy were also sound in the Wellington front line, and gave a good account of themselves. Martis and Martin did all that wag required of them in a creditable manner, and Brennan, in goal for "Wellington, lived up to hia reputation as a goalkeeper. On the Nelson side the two Whitwell brothers, Giblin, Coombee, and Kerr impressed. Giblin, by the way, tips the scale at 14st 81b, but for all that he is nippy on his feet. Auckland's First Oefiat. The reputation with which the Auck- | landers came to Wellington was not supported by their play in Saturday's match against Wellington A. Their combination was not outstanding, though there wer B several examples of the short-pass style to which they are addicted. The majority of the players, were individualists, in that each, on his own, was capable of good hockey, but invariably support from fellow-players was lacking Their full-backs, gave for a lapse early in the game,-stood up well to the heavy work imposed upon them, but by comparison with the local forwards, their forward division was weak. Wellington's front line combined well, and wer6 always dangerous, bu^-in common with the rest of the ieara—they were too prone to give "sticks." Auckland were also offenders in this respect, although not to the same extent. The Northern goalkeeper, Woolley, was in good fetUe, and made few mistakes, and Baildon, after the first spell, kept hi! place ac full-back well. Fletcher was always on the ball, and with C. Watts, he kept the Wellington goalie busy for a time. For Wellington, Spiers and Pernn played steadily in full-back position, and were very safe, while Guy, in goal, was never better. Jacobsen was not on his game at right wing, but the Hood brothers, Stratton, and B. Lusty were in excellent form. The last-named reproduced some of hia old form in the second spell when he snatched the ball from the opposing goalie's stick and followed in to score. On the play, the score of 5 goals to 1 in Wellington's favour was a very true indication of the merits of the teams. Otage Surprli*. When the chances of the various teams were being figured out prior to the commencement of the tournament, no one seemed to give much thought about the Otago team. They came into the limelight, though, in their game against Canterbury, in the drizzling rain and on a sodden ground on Monday. The Canterbury men were picked as easy winners, and it was not considered for one moment that Otago would come out on top. They sprang a surprise, however, and their forward line easily eclipsed ths efforts of the opposing van. Canterbury did not have their best team in the field, and several players were played out of their usual positions. This, of course, made a big difference, their combination being very much disorganised and their play a little ragged at times. On the whole, the game was excellent in the conditions. The pace for a sodden ground wag remarkably fast, mid there was no letting up by either team until no-side was called. Both teams had a fault in common, and that was that their forwards were inclined to bunch at times, with the result that they were often cramped up with little room to move when it came to shooting goals. Bridgman stood out prominently in the Otago forward line, and was ever in the thick of the fight. Hinton and Wood field were reliable, an M»y»lbn on the left wing showed plenty of dasli and scored his team's opening goal. In Lea. Ireland and V. Flctt Otago have two good men in the full-back positions. W. Davies, in goal, although very much younger both in years and experience i tliaa kit >'lt-k>rit encalu* afftcUd icauj

PHASES IN THE TOURNAMENT

WELLINGTON A TEAM SHOWS GOOD. FORM

good seres. Macdonald played a sterling game at right full-back for Canterbury, and very little passed him. Stan Bell played solid hockey, and Sid . and Clams Holland showed up prominently in attack. The Canterbury half line, was weak, and did not give the forwards the necessary support. Canterbury v. Wellington B. j Wellington B, after winning against I Nelson in the ext*a twenty minutes a!-. lowed on Tuesday afternoon, went down later to Canterbury by the big margin of 6 goals to 1. ft was expected that they would put up a better showing than they did. Almost from the start they were a beaten team, and their exhibition, following on the keen contest with Nelson, was disappointing. The Canterbury eleven was not the same as that which met Otago on the. day previous. It contained several new • faces, and the team'a combination was very much improved. Play, generally speaking, was not good and below the standard expected in tournament games. True, there were one or two bright flashes of play, but they were nearly • always spoilt by over-eagerness when in the circle. Erratic shooting'and off-side play spoilt several likely Canterbury movements, and but for . these faults their score no doubt would have been very much larger. The Wellington backs were called upon too much. They stemmed numerous rushes in the first spell, and in consequence were not nearly so effective in the second half. Martis distinguished himself'time and again, and showed that it takes a good man to get past him. His confrere, Harold Martin, was alto .conspicuous and did good work. Clout was reliable in the half line, but Free waß very much off his game. Cooper, Freethy, and Smith.were most prominent among the forwards. The Canterbury forwards were all very sound, and Snooks and Macdonald did all that was expected of them as goalkeeper and right full-back respectively. Ottgo Scart Willlngten A. . Wellington A scored their second win on Tuesday, when they defeated Otago. Their victory was, however, the result purely of a first-spell lead, for in the second spell the local team literally faded away before- the onslaughts of the Otago forwards, and nothing else but luck and Guy's excellent 'keeping saved several goals. Wellington's forward division worked like Trojans in the first half, and, thanks to the good efforts of the Hood brothers and R. Lusty, were soon ahead by three goals. A feature of tho game was the sterling play of Jacobsen, whose centring from the right wing was something to marvel at and admire. It was a direct contrast to his play on the Saturday previous. The very heavy ground naturally spoilt ?11 chances of brilliant stickwork, but the Otago halves and backs made the best of a bad job, and very seldom in the . second spell were Wellington given even an opening to attempt a score. They were too busy defending their own goal to think of attacking, and in common with the Wellington supporters they must hnvc heaved a sigh of relief when the game ended with the score: Wellington A 4, Otago 1. • ■ . Nelson Outclass Auckland. Monday was Nelson's lucky day, at the Basin Reserve. After they had played another drawn game with Wellington B, they were given the match with the Northerners, and put up a most convincing display, eventually leading the way home by a margin of one goal. Auckland drew first blood, attacking from the initial whistle in a very determined manner. Thereafter they were not given the chance to score, or, rather, were not lucky enough to be able to take advantage of the chances offered. The Nelson defence was impregnable, all of the backs playing well ' back and offering no, loophole through. which the Aucklanders could shoot. While the. Northern players relied more' upon short passes ana pretty etick-work, their opponents were content to hit hard and far and depend on the- speed of their forwards to pick up the ball. These were good defensive tactics, but' they were quite unsuitable for an offensive, as Auckland soon found in the second spell. Often the Nelson goal was uncovered, but a wild. shot would send the ball over the top or over the line—anywhere but in the net. Had it not been for these mistakes, it is possible that Auckland- would have scored more than once in the closing stages of the game. Nelson were not perfect, however, for their weakness was in their following-in. This fault on one occasion lost them a goal. Their tackling was deadly and their hitting sure, and it was on these two counts that they won the match. Auckland thus suffered their second defeat, and were jiot eligible for further tournament pky. Wellington's Schoolbey Team. Hardly a better team could have been chosen to represent the Wellington primary schools than that which Mr. In. Jacobsen has selected to visit Auckland in a fortnight's time for the Norton Cup competition. The forward line is one of the best, if not the best, available, and the full-backs, Osborno (Hatnitai) and Burton (Newtown) iiro steady and reliable. The two teams from which the final selection was made played a trial game at Pirie street Reserve on Saturday last, and impressed critics by their good display. One particularly fine piece of work which tlie writer noticed was a forward movement in which Martin, the left-wing, centred to Tipping and Henderson, who transferred to the right-inside, Barratt,. who shot successfully. Play such as tin's should do much to bring the team through the competition with -flying colours. TJici'o is a possibility that the team may play a gamo at Hamilton on its return, but this has not been definitely settled.

Canterbury is to meet Auckland at' Auckland ou Saturday next, in * chal-