Hockey: Former reps shine for dominant Bay teams

Shirley Eddy

Spotting the former New Zealand reps in action at the National Masters Hockey tournament in Hawke's Bay this week is easy.

They stand out with their superior skills and pace. Spotting the former New Zealand reps among the coaches and managers is a little tougher.

Former New Zealand coach and player and Hawke's Bay Hall of Famer Shirley Eddy is managing the Hawke's Bay 40-plus women's team who opened their campaign with a 2-1 win against Manawatu in Hastings yesterday. Listen to her short and sharp messages to her players and that's the give away ... Eddy has been there and done that.

"It was very exciting and it's always a big contest when our two provinces play. We led 2-0 at halftime but Manawatu came back and we had to hang on towards the end," Eddy said.

Former New Zealand under-21 player Leanne Sutherland shone with her defensive work in a top team effort.

The Bay's other unbeaten team, the men's 40-plus side, walloped Auckland 7-0 in Napier after leading 4-0 at halftime. Double Olympian Greg Nicol scored a hattrick, player-manager Clayton Elmes scored two and Paul Smelling and Graeme Nel added the other goals.

Along with Nicol, Patrick Hargreaves was classy up front and Craig Burley ruled the midfield.

The highly fancied Hawke's Bay 50-plus men's side lost 2-1 to Wellington in Hastings but are confident of qualifying for the semifinals on Friday. Although beaten 4-0 by their Auckland counterparts in Napier, the winless Bay 45-plus women produced some gutsy defensive work.

Missed opportunities proved costly for the Bay's 35-plus men's side which lost 10-2 to North Harbour in Hastings. This score didn't reflect the domination the Bay enjoyed during the first 13 minutes of each half.

Aaron McWilliams and Jacob Matson were standouts. They opened their campaign with a 3-1 win against Auckland the previous night.

The winless Hawke's Bay men's 55-plus side displayed vast improvement on the previous day's 11-1 loss to Nelson when beaten 3-0 by North Harbour in Napier.