HOCKEY.

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19890, 20 May 1936, Page 12

HOCKEY.

HAMILTON COMPETITIONS. SATURDAY’S GAMES IN REVIEW. KAIPAKI S SECOND VICTORY. (By “Left Half.”) With the grounds still on the rough side, but with the grass well cut, there was a distinct improvement in the standard of play in the preliminary round games of the Waikato Hockey Association decided at Steele Park on Saturday. Kaipaki enhanced the reputation which they gained on opening day by defeating Old Boys by the odd j goal in five, while the Cambridge, team.! packed with a number of players who were scarcely up to senior standard, were accounted for by Colts by four goals to one. Individual form was generally sound and all the senior teams should bo at their best, for the opening of the Killip Memorial Shield competition next Saturday. The points gained over the two games of the preliminary round are as follows: — P. XV. L. D. F. A. Pts. Kaipaki ..22-- 6 4 4 Colts ..211- 6 8 2 Old Boys ..211- 9 5 2 Old Tech. t - I -2 3 0 Cambridge 1 - 1 - 1 4 o Whirlwind Introduction. In a whirlwind introduction Kaipaki swept Old Boys off their feet in their bright encounter on Saturday. With backs operating like clockwork and a devastating forward onslaught led by Cecil Bones. Kaipaki swept down to the Old Boys’ circle in a series of attacking movements that brooked no opposition. Had every attack culminated successfully, then the country team must have piled up a substantial margin of points in the first few minutes. Although the bustling tactics of their opponents in the opening play completely overwhelmed Old Boys they rapidly settled down and the remainder of the game was fairly even with the margin of attack slightly in favour of Kaipaki. Weak Forwards. The weakest forward line over many years was put out by Cambridge against Colts on Saturday. The sting possessed by the van which was known to senior hockey in Hamilton a few years ago was lacking and the errors made i n individual and cohesivo movements were glaring and costly. The outside men were scarcely up to senior standard, Chard inking size and experience to withstand a half of the calihnj of Jane and James seeing little of the bnll and being unable to do much with if. when it came his way. Drew showed an accurate eye and if he had entered more into the play instead of loitering on the outskirts he maj have met with marked success. The redeeming feature of the club's forward play was the manner in which L. McKinnon covered up the mistakes of his associates. He was always on the ball and worked hard when the circle was reached. With more reliable backing from his Inside men he would have added a larger quota of goals for the visitors. Wingers Impress. The consummate ease which G. Boyd displayed in taking the ball down the side and centring was an impressive feature of Kalpaki’s attack and. for the first ten minutes of play, he gave probably his best dlsplav at Steele Park. Oddy. Kaipaki's ' new' winger, impress#*,] with his speed and. with more polish, should develop into a player of class. Delay in centring, how'pver. frustrated several of his promising dashes. Jane on Form. Jane, the Colts* flank half, was on form on Saturday and proved one of the soundest, links in the chain of defence. The opposition van was w-eak on his side and. with Clough at centre-half, his main responsibility w'as to keep the forwards well fed. As agile as ever, he was never far from the ball and came back fast to the relief of the backs w(jen ever danger threatened Badcock, on the other side did not impress, muffing good shots by topping the ball and showing a risky tendency to drift In towards the centre of the field, leaving the wing unguarded. Had the opposing forwards been stronger, this error might have proved costly. Success of Hard Hitting. Hard hitting rather than passing rushes was Old Roys’ forte in their clash with Kaipaki and again it fell to the lot. of their stalwarts in the rear division. Ewan and Pountney, to send back repeated advances by long, clearing shots. Pountnev was sue cessfuliy tackled more than once, however, and on s#*veral occasions was unahU to do anything with Ihe ball. Morgan, a new comer to Old Boys’ balf-b.i'k line was versatile and was tb#* outstanding player in his team, being in the thick of everything and clearing on numerous occasions. Muller Works Hard. Prohahlv the hardest-working of the Cambridge halves was Muller, who showed himself a much improved plaver since he last appeared in Hamilton hockev. Time and time again he was the salvation of his side, fackling well and hitting strongly. D. McKinnon in the key position was useful if at times unstable, hut, Yerral. a former Massey College player, did not attain the same standard. He rarely appeared comfortahlp and was not placing his shots with any marked degree of accuracy. Old Boys on Attack. Davies was the most, vigorous of iMd Roys’ vanguard and was 9een frequently in solo forays out. of the home half. He was given solid support by Hammond and West, and the last named were always dangerous In Kaipaki’s circle. However, they did not impress with their team work and would have been more effective if they had concentrated on combination rather than individual efforts. Kai paki’s forwards, on the other hand, while perhaps not shining Individually Mm thalr opponents, were superior in combined movements and it. was to this that the) owed much of their sue Cambridge Backs Sound. With N McKinnon the bulwark of the defence, tho Cambridge backs showed up well against the opportunistic tactics of the Colts’ vanguard. McKinnon proved very sound and the. occasions when ihe forwards got past him were extremely rare. He has " . i represents • live trial games and deserves advancement. although.it will he a lone t me before on the true merits of the

play he could worst either Pountney or Ewan from the representative positions. His associate. Morse, proved a hard-hitting defender and got through a considerable amount of work. Prollfl© Soorer. While apt, to be inaccurate in crucial moments. Burrows, of the Kaipaki team, is perhaps the most prolific goal getter in all the competition. Scoring two out of the three goals for his team, the Kaipaki forward had to b* 1 watched when lie had control in the circle, but his tendency to swing wildly always benefits the opposition. However, it. is the vigorous nature of his play thkt ensures its success and if he were to curb his aggressiveness for the sake of accuracy it might take all the sting out of his play. Near Rep. Honours. If his previous season’s form is maintained the Colts’ winger. Gurteis. will go near to securing represents five honours over the present, year. In the two games he has pla>ed in the preliminary round he has not been particularly impressive, although his speedy sallies along the sideline have rapidly changed the complexion of play for his team. He runs nicely ; into position and is a good man to support a movement, hut he still re- I tains the tendency to hold on to the ball too long In view of almost | perfect centring, this fault is somewhat surprising.