The 1st XI team made the journey to Auckland Grammar School at 7.00am on Wednesday 1 May for the ANZAC Preseason Hockey Tournament. Students and teachers looked smart, dressed in No.1’s and suits, making a good impression as they arrived in Auckland with a number of coaches complimenting management on their dress sense and sharpness.
A number of quality hockey schools from Rankin Cup to India Shield attended the tournament. All schools had large squad numbers which provided lots of opportunity for coaches to watch their players perform against quality opposition. The weather conditions were good, which enabled the players and team to show off their hockey skills.
Tournament Teams
- St. Andrew’s College
- Auckland Grammar
- Christ College
- Palmerston North BHS
- Wellington College
- St Paul’s Collegiate
- Mt Albert Grammar
- New Plymouth Boys HS
St Paul’s v New Plymouth Boys High School
In the first game against New Plymouth Boys High School (NPBHS), St Paul’s controlled the game and took their opportunities by scoring four goals in the first half. NPBHS came back in the second half however strong defensive from our back four kept NPBHS scoreless. St Paul’s finished up by winning 5-0.
Player of the game: Conor Shalloe
St Paul’s v Auckland Grammar School
In the second game St Pauls took control of the game early by scoring two goals from accurate passing and good communication. In the second half we struggled with passing game and patience with the ball. The score line did not reflect St Paul’s dominance of the game. However we were happy with the second win of the tournament against Auckland Grammar School who are traditionally a very strong hockey school.
Player of the game: Jono Bloor
St Paul’s v Palmerston North Boys High School
On Thursday St Paul’s played Palmerston North Boys High School (PNBHS). We started slowly and found ourselves under immense pressure from making too many mistakes from:
- poor decisions when passing the ball
- a lack communication
- a lack of supporting the player with the ball
- PNBHS scored two soft goals.
At half time the coaching staff spoke to the team about these problems. The players followed the coach’s instructions and St Paul’s started to exert greater pressure on the opposition. Unfortunately, St Paul’s lost the game 2-1.
Player of the game: Sam Holmes
St Paul’s v Wellington College
On the Thursday afternoon St Paul’s played Wellington College. We played extremely well, dominating field position and scoring some sublime goals; firstly from Daniel Scanlan and then by Sean Henley-Smith after receiving a ball from Daniel Scanlan. Zek Crawford and Kobe Nicholson also scored; this put the half time score at 4-0 to St Paul’s.
In the second half Wellington College lifted their efforts and came back into the game by scoring three goals. However, St Paul’s followed up with another goal to put the game out of Wellington College’s reach. St Paul’s won 5 -3.
St Paul’s v St Andrew’s College
The final game was against St Andrew’s College, a team with a very strong side with a number of senior players. They showed their maturity and composure in the first half as they pounced on our mistakes by scoring two goals in five minutes of each other.
At half time the coaches made some strategic changes to the formation of players and pointed out the problems that needed to be sorted. St Paul’s did play well in the second half and were very unlucky to have been denied two goals. Final score 2-0 with St Andrew’s College taking out the win.
Player of the game: Sam Holmes
