HOCKEY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15307, 21 May 1913, Page 9

HOCKEY.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. Fine weather prevailed for the commencement of the Auckland Hockey Association's grade championships on Saturday, , and a fa ; i attendance of spectators witnessed the opening games. In the senior grade wins were . recorded by * Auckland, Areta, : University, ' and Mount Eden, -while North Shore had the bye. The Mount Eden second grade team topped the day's scoyo with 16 goals against . United's nil, but .the absence of half the members of the last-named team,- who were fulfilling, their military obligations, explains the high score. - . ' • The late arrival of one or two referees, and the absence of -two more; delayed the commencement of several of the early , game?, and often players were inclined to grumble. Nobody looks forward to their game more than the ladies and the younger players, and if fifteen and sometimes, twenty minutes be deducted from their playing time they are very disappointed. : On No. 4- ground United and University,, two of the original clubs, * met to decide yet another game. The contest was : played in the proper spirit, but penalties—-and not a few for obstructionwere frequent.,-, One would have thought that two such clubs, : the members of which could probably quote the rules from A to Z, would be scarcely noticeable for such breaches as ' "sticks" and bad cases of obstruction, and perhaps one must put- down their failings in this connection to keenness. . " 1 ' Notwithstanding United's determination to play, all- out,, the, game was . rather an unequal one, and all the scoring was dono by the students, who maintained a speed through the greater part of the game which kept, tho whites at homo defending. Weaknesses wpro apparent in . both teams, ' but United suffered most ; by their newly-filled places, and the failure of two or three of their men to exhibit senior form mitigated (greatly against the proper, working, of the team. _ Perhaps tho selector's hint of last year had something -to do with it, or the'absence of Norman Jacobsen may have made it necessary, buti in any case the playing of Reynolds inside left , and of Clif. Jacobsen on the left wing is a move which the writer thinks the 'Varsity selectors will not regret. Reynolds's quickness in the circle and shooting "ability makes it advisable to give him as many opportunities ' as - possible. Tho United backs learned ,on Saturday what it means to leave, him unmarked, for a morrfent, and Hallam will testify to the quality of his shots. Jacobsen, bar a weakness to give " sticks," was no less successful on the outside, and the fast work and combination of these two monopolised the forward play. King was; the best of the remainder, but the right of the vanguard was not dangerous. Rowe was responsible for the, bulk of the work in the half-line, Whittakcr striking the writer as being out of bis place. Speight of the. fullbacks alone caught the eye, and the confident manner in which he turned the attack .left little to be desired. The blues' custodian had an uninteresting afternoon's sport. \ Outside Gilfillan, Barry got little assisI tance from the rest of the losers' forwards, while a noticeable weakness in the halves left Porter with too much to do. His time was generally occupiod keeping out the opposing forwards, and in this he met with . much success. "Brown, who went into the fullback lino half-way through, put in much solid work. This player, however, was rather inclined towards "sticks" and obstruction. Outside the players named and Woods the rest of the back division were palpably out of form. Hallam, in goal, effected one or two good saves, but has done much better. The failure of . the backs to tackle in the circle somewhat hampered his work. ■ - ■. i 0 Victoria Park Areta showed how well they could play a losing game. • With only 20 minutes to go they were a goal to the bad against Ponsonby, but notwithstanding that their centre-half was incapacitated they pulled themselves.together wonderfully and scored three goals before the call of time. Generally, the game was not notable for scientific hockey, although individually , some good play was witnessed.! Breaches of the rules were unfortunately too frequent, and a closer control of the game by the referee might have been beneficial. One halfback might consider himself lucky that he did not finish the game on the side-lino as the result of a' show of temper, and perhaps this warning will not go amiss. The referee showed ~a strange interpretation of the rule relating to penalty bullies," and it' isi fortunately not often that a defaulting forward is 'given a " penalty bully" against him in his- opponent's circle. Of the two teams the better side on the day undoubtedly won. . Euison and England proved to bo fullbacks of no mean order, some of the former's work being splendid. The half line was the. weak spot, and both Richards and Stainton might have cleared quicker and to better advantage. The advent of White to the centre position showed this player more at home, and matters improved immediately. Thomas, at centreforward, showed some nice judgment, and H. Preston was. also responsible for some smart work throughout the afternoon. Moginie was the more noticeable of the rest. . ■ . On the Ponsonby side Jacobsen played splendidly, and was the mainstay of the defence, while Alison and Collins were the pick of the halves. The forwards did not show a great deal of cleverness in attack. The wings were not'strong, and , play was centralised. Parton showed . considerable dash, and his goal was ■ a splendid one. R. Murray did some fair work. In their match with Unitarian tho red and blacks were fortunate to gain the full points, and a drawn game would have been a better indication of the - play. Play was at times of a fast order, and although ■ Unitarian did more " than their .; share of attacking they were unable to drive home tho advantage on account of Allen's good work in goal. • This . player was called upon ; to save time and again, and always did so ; E effectively. Roberts proved •to be ' a full- J back of the right temperament, and with j j

Baker ' the team is well served. ; The half . line was not .impressive. . Kavanagh at. centre was'. the only one to show senior, form, the wings being very weak. Of the vanguard Moore stood out, but might havo been fed more often. Smytho may., perhaps , / be excused after his long absence. from Saturday hockey, but a, more judicious feeding of the forwards might bring better • results. ' ' V " ; Unitarian appeared , am evenly-balanced side, and some of the work "was very good.. Their backs with a little more senior experience, should show a solid defence.- , CJoodison, the custodian, shaped, well i for a junior, while it is difficult toseparate tho fullbacks. Parker maintains' his form as centre-half, and got through. much work. The forwards showed no exceptional merit, and the work was fairly well distributed.* They could follow up in the circle to better advantage. " An even contest resulted from the meet-' ing of College Rifles and Mount Eden, and, although the last-named team came out with a goal advantage this might easily have been wiped off in the second spell,','.when the • College vanguard brightened up considerably. The result was a little surprising, and' may be put down to two reasons, viz., missed opportunities by the College forwards, who found it easy to over-run the ball on the uneven surface, and an indmcrent support by their half line. Their defence, however, was distinctly good, and Sloman' kept' his ground particularly clear from invasion. Cotton, the goalkeeper, must also be credited with some good efforts. - . Mount Eden, •on tho other hand, had an advantage in the forward line, exhibiting . , more combination and passing better; but here again tho half line failed to make good. The fullbacks Drower and Dale maintained a good defence, and were in no small measure responsible for the success of their colours.