HOCKEY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 183, 4 July 1936, Page 6

HOCKEY

NOTES ON THE GAME.

(By “Full-Back.”)

With the two leading teams in the competition matched, interest, was : keen in the Phoenix v. Broadway A j game on Wednesday, and the specI tators were not disappointed in the display that was given. Both teams went very well indeed, and though the score would seem to indicate that the Phoenix forwards were especially good, ‘ there was not a great deal of difference in the standard of the players in this respect. Phoenix are fortunate in having two good men in Morgan and J. Sutton in the front row, who, by swift attack, often added points after the opposition forwards had been hammering at the goal-mouth for a considerable time without effect. In fact, it is seldom that Phoenix get the ball to their opponents’ circle without being very dangerous. Oil the other hand, though Broadway A were on several occasions in the second half doing great attacking work, they could not get past the stolid defence of the white backs. The Woodville v. Combined Services game in the senior section was not up to the usual standard of either team and could not compare with the Plioenix-Broadwav A encounter. This need not have been so, for the teams were evenly matched. One fault that was very apparent was the great amount of talking that went on by players on both sides. This was carried to such an extent that one umpire twice found it necessary to issue a caution. The Manawatu Hockey Association have taken note of the fact that, among the juniors, players are not turning out in club jerseys. Action in this respect is intended. Owing to the fact, perhaps, that the game was onesided, some players in the Phoenix v. Combined Services junior match thought that they were justified in giving a running commentary on the progress of play. The idea might have been all right from their point of view, but the umpire is the only person who need have anything to say on the field. Besides, the habit of talking, once started, is hard to eradicate. THE PLAYERS. H. Bone played n great game in the back line tor Ply nix on \Veduesday, time and again having situations that looked very aangeious. He is calm in a tight place and oiten holds the full responsibility of clearing in his hands. His side does not play a goalie, and once the ball is through the back line the chances of stopping it are remote. . ’ , D. O’Brien went well in the Broadway A forward line, showing good stick work and control of the ball when moving fast. He is not afraid .to pass the ball out if lie thinks that lie is likely to be beaten for it. J. Morgan, the Phoenix centre forward, also combined well with his front row men and made several good solo efforts. H-e is probably one of the fastest forwards off the mark in the senior competition and this is in a large measure responsible for his success in getting to the ball. J. Sutton, who was associated with Morgan in the forwards, was well up oil the attack, especially in the first spell. He was responsible for the addition of three goals before the interval, and .in the second half, though closely marked, staged several good breakaways which placed his forward line in a very favourable position.

GOOD STICK WORK. PRACTICE KSSENTIAL. Far too many hockey players consider that an occasional practice on the field is all that is required. Nothing could bo further from the truth, states a critic. Anything that is worth doing is worth doing well, and a player who cannot hit a ball with reasonable certainty should practise hitting and practise it assiduously. The ability to hit the ball with the stick by no means exhausts what can be learned about a stick. Any player who observed the All-India tgam in action last season will remember that every player showed expertuess in both forehand and backhand hitting; in fact, the Indian representatives appeared to have unusually supple wrists. That suppleness can bo secured by practice and by practice alone, and until it is acquired the player cannot claim to know how to use liis stick properly. Good stick manipulation is just as difficult to learn as good backhand work with a tennis racket, but a large percentage of players are all too obviously of the opinion that the abibfv to grasp a stick and swipe at the ball is all that is required. The large majority of hockey players are young men who are anxious to improve their game, and if they do so they will improve the game generally and help it onwards. Team practice is an excellent thing, but it does not allow much time for the mastery of elementals, and every player can help in that direction by making,individual practice a habit.

MANAWATU ASSOCIATION. A meeting of the Manawatu Hockey Association was held on Thursday. Mr L. Laurenson presiding. Also present were Messrs E. O. F. McLachlan, W. Lundy, N. L'k;on and the secretary (Mr W. J. Fitzgerald). A request was received from the Feilding Hockey Association that the Manawatu Association play a cur-tain-raiser with the Feilding men on the day that the Fijian women’s hockey team play the Feilding women’s team. It was pointed out that the request came from an association which had greatly assisted Manawatu in the past. It was resolved to abandon the weekly competition in Palmerston North on that day and visit Feilding to play in the match as requested. The New Zealand Hockey Association advised that it had- been decided to hold a conference of district representatives in Wellington on August 11, provided sufficient support was as-sured.—-Received, Mr W. H. Wilson being appointed delegate. With regard to a question as to the replacement of players injured during match play, the New Zealand Association advised that as no ruling provided for this it recommended that associations allow the replacement of injured players up to half-time. Mr. Fitzgerald reported on the New Zealand Shield game with Auckland played during the Show, and the dinner afterwards, and was accorded a vote of thanks. Mr McLachlan drew attention to the fact that the junior players were not turning out.in uniform jerseys, and it was resolved to inquire into the matter. Another suggestion from Mr McLachlan was that the various senior clubs be asked to appoint two of their experienced players to take up umpiring. It was not a difficult task to learn to interpret the rules, he said, and such a course would 6well the ranks of the umpires, a necessary factor at the present time.