SEMI-FINAL HOCKEY

Taranaki Daily News, 16 August 1935, Page 9

SEMI-FINAL HOCKEY

POOR STANDARD OF PLAY

FAILURE OF THE NORTH

(By

“Sticks.”)

In the semi-final of the Taranaki men's championship one expects to see better hockey than was staged on Saturday in the Wanderers-Kaponga match at Kaponga. Kaponga trounced the New Plymouth team to the tune of 6 goals to 1 but much less by. its own merit than by the other’s mistakes. New Plymouth has players who, were they trained, would be fit to compare with any in the province but as combinations its teams are poor. Even so, however, poor team work or not, there is no excuse for such neglect of hockey principles as, for example, clearing across the goal. Any mere tyro knows that as one of the major sins, and when men of the experience of the Wanderers’ team commit it the lapse is inexcusable. # * . * Hockey in the north is not strong. It is sustained solely by a small tribe .of enthusiasts —who play it for recreation purpose rather than to win matches. They complain that they are ignored by the association, the headquarters of which are at Eltham, and so they go on in their own way, getting a great deal of fun out of their games but bothering very : little’ to improve their individual (?r team technique. It is unfortunate that the ideally excellent, material in the northern • district is being allowed to run riot in this way. # • * ■ * * Of course who is to do the pruning is the problem, The players, themselves might do much but the association could. possibly do more. It is not contended that at present it neglects or stifles the division in the manner the division thinks; but it certainly does not foster the division’s interests. A small centre with potentialities might well be’nursed, even coddled, by far-sighted officials, much more tenderly than the robust and thriving centres of the south; ■ At the beginning of' this season the two New Plymouth clubs were informed that no country clubs were to be included in their division. Such Inclusion would have given the men the prospect i)f travelling on Saturdays which with a proportion constitutes a definite incentive, and it would have added variety and novelty to the actual matches. Faced with the possibility of the same two clubs meeting each other every Saturday the New Plymduth men and the Territorials decided to amalgamate, reshuffle the players and draw up four approximately equal teams. The scheme has worked well enough and the men have had • numerous closely-fought, strenuous games. It is still, however, true that the inclusion of even one country team would have made considerable difference both to the standard of play and- to .the interest of players.