Southland Should Have Strong Men’s Hockey Team This Year

Southland Times, Issue 23825, 24 May 1939, Page 11

Southland Should Have Strong Men’s Hockey Team This Year

By

PAD

There should be no shortage of good players for the Southland representative hockey teams this season judging by the play in club matches so far. Really good forwards have been hard to find in past years, but this year Southland seems to be rather fortunate. Apart from those forwards playing in Invercargill, there are some in the Eastern-Northern competition worthy of selection. Prominent among these is O. B. Dey, a former New Zealand representative. I Those Invercargill players who will come in for consideration when the teams are being selected number about 10. V. Poole will be in the running for the centre-forward position again this year. He has represented Southland on several previous occasions and he has been a strong supporter of the game for many years. Poole was centre-forward in the Southland team which played the Prince of Manavadar’s Indian hockey team last year. His style is open to criticism, but he has a strong shot and keeps well up on the ball. T. Hennessy, Central’s centre-for-ward, will be V. Poole’s strongest contender for the position. Hennessy has been playing hockey in Southland for two years, but in that time he has made a big impression. Last year he played as a half-back, but this season he has found his right place, in the forwards. Hennessy is the spear-head of Central’s attack and has shown in club games that it takes a good man indeed to stop him. It will ■ be a great mistake if he is not included in the forward line.

H. Gray, a newcomer to the Civil Service team, will also have to be considered. This is Gray’s first year, of hockey in the province, but by the improvement he has made to the forward line of his team, he has shown marked ability. Gray is a fast forward and combines accuracy in shooting and good ball control with his speed.. C. Gray, also of the Civil Service club, may be considered, but the selector may reserve him for the colts’ team. He has plenty of speed and a certain ability with the ball, but he has a tendency towards solo play. E. Mullen can be looked upon as almost a certainty for inclusion in the Southland team. He has a dashing style of play, plenty of strokes at his command, and a shot that would worry almost any goal-keeper. He has represented Southland several times in past seasons and was in the forward line against the Indians. I. D. Speirs, Central, has strong claims for inclusion again in this year’s representative side. He has played for Southland several times. He has a tendency, however, to take the ball too far down-field before centring or shooting. His general play in mid-field

is sound, and he has a tricky way of passing a man. * Two more of the younger players who may have to be considered if there are any defections among the older players, are H. Poole and L. Anderson. Both have proved themselves capable A grade players and they have a certain amount of speed. J. Greer, of Central, is not beyond being considered. He has shot some splendid goals for his team. « O. B. Dey and M. Ferris, of the East-ern-Northern association, will undoubtedly enter into consideration. Both have proved themselves in Southland hockey. HALF-BACK PLAYERS There are not so many half-backs who can be seriously considered. The outstanding half-back of the season is W. Semmens, of the Central club. Semmens has bene a Southland representative for the last six years and his play this season is fully up to his best. There are few half-backs in Southland or Otago who can approach him for consistent accuracy and anticipation. I. D. Campbell, Civil Service, will probably be considered. Campbell has a neat push shot that helps his passing considerably. He has a tendency, however, to wander over towards the other half-backs, and this leaves gaps in the line that a quick opposition will soon take advantage of. A. McLean, of the Central club, is a young player who may be considered. He plays a steadygame, but. he is not particularly fast. However, his general play in mid-field is sound and reliable. Hunt will come into serious consideration when the half-backs are chosen. He has a hard hit and is sound and reliable. Field will also be considered. He, too, is playing well this season. The full-backs for the Southland 'team will probably be W. Barraclough and K. Lyihgoe, the same combination as last year. Barraclough, as many senior players know, is a very hard man to pass and he can be relied upon to give a good account of himself in any match. Lythgoe was in the team which play,ed the Indians last year, as was Barraclough. He, too, is a steady and reliable player. N. Speirs and N. Burps may have to be considered. They are young players, but they have ability. SIX-A-SIDE TOURNAMENT The association’s scheme to hold a six-a-side tournament has its good points. Really, the tournament should be five-a-side, but this would make the day too strenuous for those teams which reach the semi-finals and finals. However, the scheme can be tried out this year, and if it’does not meet with success, it can be discarded.