HOCKEY OPENING

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20495, 11 May 1938, Page 11

HOCKEY OPENING

FAIR STANDARD OBTAINS j PLAYERS LACK COMBINATIONI COLTS COMMENCE SEAS n N WELL * As is usual with the opening games ; of the season. Saturday's hockey j matches in Hamilton provided only a j fair standard of play which was not { due xvholly to the poor combination amongst the players but partly owing to the lack of training evident with several of the participants. Certainly i the ground was heavy and the condi- i tions not conducive to brilliant hockey but it was obvious to the onlooker j that there were some hangers-on [ amongst the teams. The shine displayed by one or two of the players ! was dulled by the lack of interest of , others, and thus the team-work which must exist, to provide success, was noticeably lacking. Tokomaru Will Improve The Tokomaru team contains some very promising material and there can be no doubt that this Technical team will later develop into a strong side. All the members of the team are young players and possesse all the necessary enthusiasm to give the other teams a good run for their money. Their captain. K. Snell, is a good all-round player, and he should have willing support from the vice-captain. A. Wilson, in building up a strong combination. Better Combination Needed While the Tokomaru players are good individually, they have not yet acquired the necessary combination to make their play as effective as it might he. In Yheir match against Colts on Saturday they went away to an early lead mainly because of bright individual enterprise rather than as the result of team work. However. Colts, with their greater experience and better appreciation of team work, soon assumed the ascendancy and after the interval were never really seriously challenged. Tokomaru have got the material and the only thing remaining for them to do to obtain a high place on the championship ladder is to develop team work. How Old Boys Lost Although Old Boys occupied the attacking end of the field for practically the whole of the first half of their match with Aotea. their defence was severely tested in the latter •part of the game when their opponents assumed the advantage and won by three goals to two. For the first game of season the pace was made too fast by* the losers with the consequence that Aotea, who had tak*=>n things more easily in the first half, were able to hustle the Old Boys into losing Hie game. Old Boys lacked combination principally through several of the members of the team being out of | position at the vital moment which presented their opponents with easy openings. Colts will be Difficult. Although they by no means reproduced the form which won them the championship last year, Colts in their match against Tokomaru on Saturday gave quite a dashing display at times, although apparently they had to concede much to their opponents by way of fitness. McKibben is again leading Colts this season and Colts should obtain considerable help from his leadership for he is a versatile forward and is always well to the fore in any scoring movements. Badcock will be vicecaptain. Last season he proved himself a reliable half-back with the ability to get his team out of dangerous positions. Unlike Tokomaru, Colts are fortunate * enough to retain the service's of the majority of their old players. Their veteran wineer. Wycherley, is again turning out. while Curteis on i the other wing has many years of experience behind him. Practically e'very member of the team is rich in experience with a proper understanding of team work. They should be difficult to be'at this season. Poor Shooting Both Old Boys and Aotea displayed very poor goal shooting in their encounter on Saturday. Time and again points were lost through this weakness and also through repeated mishitting when soldidly resisted in front of th * goal. West and Davies played well when on the attack while Ewan was useful at times, but was repeatedly out of position when most needed. Sandford displayed lack of practice mainly in his hitting which was very uncertain. In the Aotea team the only two players to show consistent form throughout the games were Powdrlll and Hoff, the latter playing a particularly dashing game and scoring two goals, while Forster was the usual fast outside right, but on several occasions was beaten for the ball when on defence. Colt’s Victory It was mainly the strength of their forwards that gave Colts their comfortable win over Tokomaru on Saturday. Perrett was a prolific scorer with three' goals to his credit and he was always well supported by McKibben, who appreciates the wisdom of fast following up. "Wycherley, on the wing, was always dangerous in the cirel®, his hard hitting giving his team two goals. Harvey, as centre half, proved himself as good a player as ever and many of the attacking movements enianatpd from his stick. Tokomaru also had willing forwards, but, although they continually swept play to Colts’ circle, they did not. appear equally successful in finishing off the movements. Colts, too, showed weakness in the circle, but they made more use of their opportunities than did their opponents. The whole match was characterised by mis-hitting and indecisive play in the Gircle, but this was perhaps excusable for so early in the season. Hard Hitting Tactics Continual hard hitting tends to deprive a game of its interest and this was made manifest on Saturday when Old Boys and Aotea had their flrst match this season. With the poor combination which existed amongst the players of both teams several of the more speedy men would have' found advantage in taking the ball a\vay on thuttf* own or else indulging in 6hort i passes. This might have proved of j great benefit to some of the Old Boys I players whose poor learn work gave I Aotea the chance to score on more j than one occasion. Especially in the I second half the play was carried from one end of the fleid to tho other bv long hard hits which proved of little I advantage to either wide.