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The loss of six of last year’s regulars saw a youthful 1st XI this year
perform pretty well except for a few mental lapses which were
costly. Those experiences will hopefully harden the resolve in
next year’s competition. Another problem was the walk-out from
the secondary school competition of the 1st XI’s of Napier BHS,
Hastings BHS and Lindisfarne. This had the effect on the team
of nullifying the opportunity of pitting their skills against the best
schools in Hawkes Bay and, compromising their prospects against
the best schools from outside the area .
The team learnt a lot during the season. There were changes in
formation and positions in an attempt to find a system that suited.
Some of the team turned the skill of ball watching into an art
form, and admired many a fine pass sliding by the far post. Goal
scoring early on was a problem, with our forwards adopting the
view that the circle was a contaminated area and not to be
entered. Once in there, hitting the man with the pads on seemed
a good idea, and we made opposition goalies look good
against us. At the other end, our defenders resembled football
players, as they tried to kick the ball out in defence. The good
thing was, it improved our penalty corner defence no end.
At the beginning of the season, we put together some goals, and
probably achieved one out of the four. Our local competition
saw us come third, and our problem of getting past Taradale
was our downfall. A mid-season of 2-2 draws didn’t help, and
continual lack of the ‘rub of the green’ saw us fall short of the final.
Wairarapa College are always tough. They are rated up
there along with the best teams in New Zealand. Without the
opportunity to raise our game against our local top schools, we
were always up against it, as our newcomers were in shock at
the blitzkrieg being served up. All our weaknesses were exposed
ruthlessly, and our best players had their own hands full without
covering up for others. We competed for long periods, but a
couple of bad passages in each half saw them capitalise.
One goal we did achieve was defeating Tawa 2-1. This was a
good win, as they had ten year 13’s in their side. At that stage, it
was the team’s best win of the season.
The Founders Cup tournament in Stratford saw the team improve
on their seventh to sixth this year. Unfortunately, just missing out
on top spot in their pool meant the team met the Waikato rep
loaded Hamilton BHS, the eventual winners, in the quarter final.
The loss against them saw us matched up with Taranaki SS
champions, Stratford HS, and in a performance that was the best
of the season, in intimidating circumstances, the team played with
tremendous heart to take out a 1-0 victory.
Marcus Yule did a fine job of captaining the team, a positive
influence throughout, setting an exemplary standard both on and
off the field. He was the only year 13 student in the side.
Our two U18 rep players, Sean Morrison and Jarrod Lobb were
very quiet early season, but once freed from rep duty, started
to really hit their straps. Their performances at tournament were
outstanding. The shifting of Sean to a centre forward role and
Jarrod to a half saw the team start to score goals.
Callum Wilkie, who is goalie in the HB U15 rep side has really
gained confidence this year. He has become more and more
of a presence as the season has gone on and at tournament
week hardly made a mistake. His performance against
Wairarapa was outstanding, making a string of magnificent
saves.
Gareth Lewis was another who had a very good season, and his
experience was valuable either in the halves or defence. Oscar
Gittings was a revelation at the back, and improved markedly in
his first season with the team. He made the centre of defence his
own domain and ended up playing every minute at tournament
week. Our two Year 9 players developed well during the season
and Cameron Lee was named in the HB U15 development
team. He had the ability to play both half and forward, with his
core skills standing up under pressure. Hamish Legarth, despite
never playing hockey before, has all the attributes of being an
outstanding player of the future, once his skill level matches his
energy levels. We gained Felix Lankovsky from Selwyn College,
and he became very useful in defence. He has much to learn,
but has a great reach and a mean hit. Charles Talbot, Liam
Reeves, Jayson Su and Hayden Hughes had their moments up
front with none of them making that decisive move to make the
position their own. Vayu