HOCKEY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1491, 13 July 1912, Page 12

HOCKEY.

[By "Bullt-ofp."]

BACK TO CLUB MATCHES AGAIN,

The Blessing of Losing the Shield,

After o fortnight's 'break, occasioned by the shield match with Canterbury, the men's senior competition was resumed on Saturday. Now that the trophy has departed, we can look forward to a scries of uninterrupted club games. Of course, wo would have liked to have retained the shield, but who will deny it was not the cause of much interference in, club matches? And there is no doubt that interest falls away if the games are not continued each. Saturday. As it is, (ho junior competition will l>e long drawn out, and, weather permitting, we .s'hall bo able tarhave three rounds in the senior competition instead of two as in former years.

Tho "Ordering Off" Case. ■ Coming to last Saturday's games. Whether it was the spell, ,or whether it was tho bad state of the grounds (or perhaps the condition of the players—ono hesitates to guess), but it can truly lie said that, in all the three senior games, play was dull, patchy, and uninteresting. At Knrori, Wellington clashed with Government Life Insurance. When their wicks are trimmed, and their lamps full of oil, the Wellingtonians form a formidable brigade, but, alack and alas, what o'orcamo them on Saturday? They seemed quite disorganised; combination was nowhere to be found. Morpeth, however, was in the forwards again, nnd the mention of him leads one to the question: 'Why did Mr. Cockrell order him off the •ground?]' Morpeth would not intentipnally hurt a fly, and the referee rather sems to have'made a grave mistake. It seenis a little ungenerous—both to Morpoth and to tho referee—to say it, but it is a hard fact : that the occurrence had a marked •moral effect on Morpeth's clubmates, for they "laid on" the wood, and played with suc'h. venom that the winning goal was soon registered. ' ' On the Wellington : sride, Schlandt and Morrah, the two full-backs, played splendidly, their defence being especially good. In the half-line, Haase was weak." fieid, in.the forwards, would-be of much more use to his side if he sent in his "centre's" before he goes too far down the field. None of the other forwards plaved up to form. ' '■•■■ .

Garrulous 'Government Life." As has sometimes been mentioned before this column, "Government Life" would .do much better if they played more with their heads than with their* tongues. They are everlastingly appealing to the referee, and .the sooner they Irani that a silent, tongue is not at all a bad adjunct on the hockey field, the better it wil bo for the general serenity of things, rhey plnycd much better en Saturday but they still lack that finish. Spasms of individual play count for rought, and .the/.pnly effort that does matter is 'the' .combined one. As a musician must know music, to produce harmony,;'so must a hockey team ha'ye good tactics to. ensure goals. "Government Life;" read,!mark, and leain! ', . • ' • .

The "Surprise Racket". Last Week. The next match under review—Wesley v.'. Metropolitan—furnished th'e "surprise packet" of tho day. The Light Blues gave their best display this season, and their "victory was full'of merit. Metropolitan are a fishbone that would stick in any of the teams' throats, but Wesley thoroughly masticated tliwn. Birch, on tho .left-wing, gave a display of representative hockey, nnd it is to him that Wesley owe their win. "He wade many a fine dash along tho lineV- 1-ut men' he pot to Baker—woe betide him!—he was usually .unsupported, and his-good'work wont for nought. On-the right-wing, Karl Strack 'showed fine form, and it is rather strange .that both he and Birch should bo the goal-getters. .

As is customary in the Metropolitan team,. Baker, M'Gregor, aDd Cleave all played fine games. In fact, Cleave 6hould be included in tho noxt representative team. In tho forward line,' If uldoon and Ingram Isoro the brunt cf the work.

Another Club .Surprise. . • .■ ;■''Who;-thought that .Victoria. College ; would succumb to United? Nobody did. ;United themselves were'surprised ut their triumph. True' it is that Burbidge was an absentee from the (lollcgo r.iiiks, but, oren.itheii, it was thought that the Collegians would win. United d-ti'ivcd their win, for they -i Hacked, ■'■ettusigly ar all times during, the ,game;- Organ (fullback) seems rejuvenated, for lie played excellently. . Then Thompson (left-half) played a dashing game,; and Guy Smythe •(lft&ide-right) was just like his old self. Of the other forwards, Boyd, , Andrews, and Collins all played well, whilst Bennett showed that he had not forgotten how to use.the stick.

Of the ■ Collegians, the Straoks stood head and 'shoulders above any of the others. Had they been properly supported; it' is certain ,that .their score must have been' larger. . '

:The Dreary Task of Discussing Referees. Just a word or two re the refereeing .in this match. It is conceded tliat a 'referee's task is a thankless one, and ■'•whilst the writer's policy is. not to at.tack, he must tomfess that the referee in gjieefcion (Mr. Imckie) gave a very bad interpretation of the. off-sido rule. Before α-icferep can see' the off-side play lie .must bo in the right position—that is, on' the side, lines,'and pretty level with the This plan Mr. Luckie did ,nbt follow but, and consequently he gave several misrulings. , ' Then, again-^and-here the writer is speakirig'. generally—referees should -put down, appealing., Nothing spoils'a game ■ more than to , hear frequent appeals. It . takes players' attention off the ball—. it,makes .the referee nonplussed at times, and very often' causes ill-feeling. Referees! In;the interest of everybody, put a stop to this appealing, and if needs be, penalise the man who does.it.

Position of'the Teams. The position'c-of.- tho. senior, teams is much tho same as formerly, with the exception that United take College's place, next to Karorj.' The Collegians, however, have played one match less than the other teams, and, as they would win that one, their position in reallity is second. The following concise table shows the position of the senior teams-:— . 'Karori, 12 points 1 United, 9 points 2 College,' 8 points' ..,.„ f Wellington, 8 points f Metropolitan, 6 points i Wesley, 5 points..... 5 Government Life Insurance, 0 points G In tho junior competition, Karori still lead the way, whilst the third grade is a littlo more open. Two moro teams are now playing, so tho interest will be increased.

Oddments of Interest, Communication has been received from the Wairarapa Association, asking for a third gAde representative team to play a Wairarapa junior B team. Play in our tliird grade competition is poor, 60 this should be an incentive for • them to put their best foot forward for representative honours. A letter has also been received from tho South Canterbury Hockey Association, asking if our representative team would go to Timnrii, in the event of touring south in quest for the shield. Hockey in South Canterbury is below par just now, and a visit would do good. Tho writer has accompanied 6evcral hockey teams toTimaru, nnd can vouch well for the hospitality of the southerners. Auckland and Taranaki, however, nro both playinp Canterbury for tho shield prior to Wellington, 60 there is a chance of the shield £oing north once again. The Aucklanders will soon be leaving for their sou thorn' tour, and are playing a gamo hero en route.