WA Over 65's - 2012 Match Reports

WA vs WAC - Monday, October 1, 2012

The Sunday morning flights touch down at Hobart and we feel like we're at a small country town in outback Australia as we walk down the steps onto the tarmac. Coach Banksy is there to meet us with the minibus, and as we head for the hotel taking the left hander on the city block, Jimmy accelerates through the corner, a move akin to F1 driver, Fernando Alonso utilising the drag reduction system, leaving the white Corolla driver on the inside lane for dead. 
No sooner are we established in Hotel Hadley's /Peppers / Grand Mercure, call it what you will, than we are heading out to the ground with some routing discrepancies between the Soares and the Challenor satellite navigation systems. Coach helps us to hone our skills and fine-tune us for the hockey battles that lie ahead. At this moment we have ten players plus Coach Jimbo, so selector Len will be cerebrally challenged in order to expand the bench players from nought to a maximum of four if he can persuade our cheer squad of Marylin, Liz, Irene and Jen to don the shin-pads. While not even the charm of Len is able to carry the ladies on this one, suddenly out of left field arriving under the radar on a late flight appears the redoubtable Mr Les Waldon, torn shoulder tendons duly trussed up and ready for action. One more sleep and we're on the turf.  
As the dawn breaks on Monday, we look out of the hotel window with the vista of Mount Wellington towering above us, and reflect on the mountain to climb should injury rear it's ugly head....... prophetic words indeed as "Seagull" Ken, slow to leave the dug-out, is struck on the head by a flying ball as the rest of the boys are doing their warm-up drills before Game One is even under way. The whistle blows, we're off and running. As W.A. Country left half shuts down our right wing attacks, our half-back line of Peter "Rumpole" Murray, Simon "Thommo" Thomson and Graham "Chi p" Challenor switch the attacks through the left. Inside forwards Clyde Evans and Hammy de Souza are making some penetrating runs and, with Ken "Seagull" Walter, are taking on the Country defence. We win four short corners but fail to convert and it's all even at the first break. Into the second quarter and Simon "Lunger" Williams, who's been shut out of the game early on apart from a flying diagonal run to the top of the circle when he flattens the advancing Country goalie, picks up a pass and puts the through ball to Hammy who has overlapped towards the right corner. Ham leaves a defender in his wake, links with "Seagull" Kenny, the square ball is crossed and outside the left post closes Brian "Rowdy" Soares who back sticks a perfectly angled shot and we're a goal in front. 
But amidst the jubilation there comes a momentary lapse of concentration and W.A. C. rebound straight into attack, the ball from the top of the circle deflecting off Les's stick causing goalie Graham "Agro" Sansom to be unsighted and a lucky goal to WAC. to level the scores. With 30seconds to the main break, Captain Thomson is yellow carded ..."who, me, umpl? What for?" Coach Banksy revs us up for the second half, we're coming back and around, through Les and Len, dominating the midfield and the game's opening up, we're back in the circle, the ball comes through from "Rowdy" Soares as the WAC defenders momentarily hesitate looking for a W.A. infringement, and "the Seagull" swoops nudging across the face of goal for the lurking Lunger to score the second goal. Now finding some space on the right, Lunger picks up some sublimely weighted passes from right-half Peter "Rumpole" Murray and inside Clyde, twice beating Country full-back Lynney to cross the ball left but failing to pick up Chip's return pass with Lunger ending up falling over his own feet and crashing into the back of the goal with the ball by this time somewhere in the next parish. We're into the final term when Hammy leaves the field with a hand injury and it is at this moment that Banksy pulls an ace from the pack, making a very astute player interchange in bringing himself off the bench ....... the fact that there is no else on the bench has, of course, no relevance at all !!! But coach Jimmy reveals impeccable skills with some fine traps and lay-offs, and with under a minute left on the clock, he takes the free hit by the right corner flag, playing with the ball over a pocket handkerchief of turf, tantalising the WAC defender until the siren blows and there's three points in the bag. 

Result: WA 2 – WAC 1 

Goal scorers: B Soares, S Williams 
Best player as voted by WA: John Burt 
Best player as voted by WAC: Len Blyth

WA vs NSW - Wednesday, October 3, 2012 

Flushed with success after a convincing, if less than spectacular win in the opening game of the tournament, the toasting of victory on the Monday evening is closely followed by a toasting at the hotel. While some of us are still in a deep slumber, others in the shower or in various states of undress, we are overcome with a sudden sense of absolute panic and palpitations as the hotel fire alarm is resounding deafeningly in our ear with advice to await further instruction. Dependant upon the individual personality is the reaction, ranging from the highly anxious types, still only half dressed, clutching desperately to some personal item that they perceive to be irreplaceable, and are out in the street quicker than Usain Bolt. Then there are the laid back "she'll be right, mate" brigade who ignore everything and carry on with whatever they were about, together with the completely deaf sixty year olds who are totally oblivious as they haven't heard anything anyway !!! Meanwhile, fire engines race into the street outside the hotel, the road's half blocked off, cars are mounting the pavement to avoid the chaos, and firemen are suddenly hammering on the door of one fourth floor apartment. The three sheepish occupants have only the toast as their burnt offering, the Fire-ies depart, and we are left to ponder which of the three was the culprit. The eloquent, articulate "Rumpole" attempts to weave his way out of suspicion as only the legal profession are able, leaving the jury to ponder whether it might have been a "Ham"fisted attempt at cooking breakfast - for otherwise it is quite "Beyond Our Ken". 

We cool off up the top of Mount Wellington where it's ten degrees colder and there's an icy blast of wind, and look down from a great height on the hockey turf far below, but that's a day away as we head to Richmond for some lunch and wine-tasting.  
Apparently toast is off the menu next morning in Room 4012 and as we gather for the team meeting, Coach Banksy is igniting our passion for the game ahead against New South. He has us in black socks (which is clearly in keeping with the outcome of yesterday morning's breakfast) and is firing us up. The teams meet outside the playing arena before the start as Lunger is leading our structured warm-up and stretches, while Team NSW amble out in a ragged, disjointed shambles. Viewing the two teams at this moment, we are already inside their heads and have mentally won the game. 
And today, we have secret weapon Peter "Arch" Andrews, flown in last night from The West, to join Coach Banksy on the bench. Hammy's hand has recovered and we're all running as we hit the turf. We take a few minutes to settle in and with Agro calling the shots from the back, full-backs Les and Len are finding good outlets from defence through Chip on the left and out through Rumpole and Lunger on the right. Simon "Thommo" Thomson is lording over the midfield with Hammy and Clyde making probing runs towards the circle. From a short corner Hammy de Souza strikes left and there is Ken "the Seagull" to swoop on the ball and gobble up the first goal. The opposition play remains unimaginative in the second quarter, predictably but ineffectively using the long-handle to clear the ball. Lunger makes a run down the right and fires a perpendicular ball across the ground to the overlapping Chip, it comes to the top of the circle, is fired goal-wards by Kenny, and Brian "Rowdy" Soares is at the left post and we're two ahead at the half-time break. 

Coach Jimmy Banks is in the starting line-up as the second-half gets under way, standing close to the umpiring dug-out in the right wing position. Surprisingly, he rotates himself off after five seconds and assures us that this has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that he lost his stick after the end of Game One, and still hasn't found it !!! NSW adopt a new tactic of three high strikers, create a short corner and score, so the hard-working Chip drops back to counter this move.  
Len "Toro the Bull " Blyth is feeding the ball out of defence through Clyde, who constantly troubles the opposition and we're regaining control, winning some short corners but not converting. A goal up at the final break and, with the game in the balance, we're back in attack, a bouncing ball comes from the right across to the left side of the circle and there is Arch, in his debut game.......he appears out of nowhere and, reminiscent of Dougie Walters to a rising ball outside the off stump, Archie flays the ball into the back of the net, and Marylin, Irene, Liz and Jen, with the rest of the West Aussie supporters, are out of their seats and cheering. 


Result: WA 3 - NSW 1 

Goals: K.Walter, B.Soares, P.Andrews 
Best player as voted by WA : Noel Johnston 
Best player as voted by NSW: Clyde Evans

WA vs TAS - Saturday, October 6, 2012 

When you're a sports writer and your editor makes a special request for you to record the match result at the start of the article, they just do not appreciate that your readership has suddenly been decimated. Just think about it, a goalless draw, so who is likely to read on in order to find out about the finer details of how each side constructed their play to achieve such a result? In the words of our learned counsel, Mr Peter "Rumpole" Murray, at the post-match presentation, he reminds about a writer (whose readership was arguably a little higher than that of your scribe!!!), and suggesting that the said Will Shakespeare's play and our own hockey play both deserved the title Much Ado About Nothing. 

Coach Banksy has thoughtfully given us two days rest from hockey prior to this encounter, and takes a bus load of hockey tourists to what once was literally the end of the earth at Port Arthur for some former Pommie tourists who were guests of His Majesty two hundred years earlier. As Banksy and co-driver Chip battle with wind gusts of up to 100kph, wrestling with the steering wheel to keep the van safely on the road, with spray off the water as they head across causeway bridges, the fuel gauge is alarmingly dropping. There's a sigh of relief as they crawl into a service station on the sniff of an oil rag only to find that a power failure, courtesy of the inclement weather conditions, has caused the pumps to have a cardiac arrest. It is Jimmy who has palpitations and a vision of a van load of hockey players incarcerated in Port Arthur with no petrol and impassable bridges and his hockey team aspirations blown away in the winds. Four hours later, the power's on, there's fuel in the tank, and Jimbo's on the road home. Next day the winds have blown through and the more scenic route through Huonville and Cygnet sees Coach Banks arranging nutritional stops at fish farms, and sampling grape juice and sheep's milk to suitably fortify his players for the next encounter, given that the favourite socks noire are off the menu. 

As for the hockey, well, as you know, there' nothing much worth reporting about a goalless draw that nobody's going to bother to read !!! But, in brief, the opposition tag us closely, their forwards being sufficiently inept that they fail to take the chances they create and, when they do, Graham "Agro" Samson repels the Tassie invaders. As Peter "Pedro" Hearne makes his debut appearance in the tournament and Graham "Chip" Challenor works tirelessly in defence and attack, we are not sharp enough around the ground allowing too many turnover balls. In the dying moments, we pull our only short corner variation but it is too much to expect a group of 65 year olds to be able to count down from two to one, and there's a complete stuff-up. We sense that Coach Banksy is a bit hot under the collar with this result and needs us all to cool off, so we head for the cold waters of Cornelian Bay and are given some feeble excuse that it's good for the muscle recovery. Team trainer Lunger has cold feet about this move, but Banksy and Chip lead the boys out into the water extolling the virtues of the icy temperatures, while the rest of us follow Lunger's hasty retreat out of nature's ice bath, and now literally with cold feet. 


Result: WA 0 - TAS 0 

Best player as voted by WA : Brenton Peck 
Best player as voted by TAS: Len Blyth 

WA vs ACT - Sunday, October 7, 2012 

As we look out across the Derwent River, the sunshine reflecting off the calm waters, some of us have been inspired by the exhibits of Mona, and the thought that Pedro, who missed the boat, might still be searching for Lisa, brings a wry smile to the face. The scenic estuary seems a far away world from the hockey stadium and yesterday's game against A.C.T. when we arrive early at the ground for a photographic session. Len and Hammy ensure that there is not a hair out of place so that they look their best for the cameraman. As we step across the threshold into Ground 3 change rooms, it is like time has stood still. The old wooden sports pavilion, back to the post-war era, like an army hut, back to our youth, it looks like it could blow over in the next gust of wind, it's like we have come home. Captain Thomson leads the troops onto the field to do battle, with General Blyth sweeping in defence. Brian is looking a little toey, Kenny's performance may be hamstrung, but Les is still able to shoulder some responsibility. The Territorians are giving us a run for our money, but as we make some effective raids into the enemy camp, there's cannon-fire from Hammy, his salvo finds the target and we're one ahead. Our opponents counter-attack and square the ledger, but Major Murray is shoring up the defence on the right flank and then sends a bullet into the heart of the enemy circle where Lunger's attempted trap falls towards the baseline and Ken "the Seagull" swoops again to find an alien boot. Pedro steps up to the plate for the penalty corner, his ensuing missile finds the target and we're back in front. 

At the half-time break, guest assistant coach Frank impresses the arrowhead formation upon us. Clyde and Arch are making some inroads into the opposition defences and Pedro, the new right-flank spearhead, creates some short corners. We're in the circle, the ball spills left for Brian "Rowdy" Soares to deliver to the spot. Lunger sweeps the back-stick shot at goal which is blocked but rebounds into his path for number three. Graham "Agro" Sansom has shored up the defences, allowing a daring solo raid by Chip "the Ferret" Challenor who makes a scintillating interception at half-way, outpaces the entire defence, drags the goalie who falls near the top of the circle, but somehow a despairing lunge by the full-back deflects the ball over the back line before Chip can deliver the coup de grace. But the clock runs down, the enemy are vanquished and tactician Banksy has three points in the bag. 


Result: WA 3 - ACT 1 

Best player as voted by WA : Gordon Gregory 
Best player as voted by ACT: Graham Challenor 

WA vs VIC - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 

We're up for the early game, departing Hadley's Hotel at a quarter to seven in the morning as we need a full hour at the ground for the multiple injured sufficient time for their bodies to be spliced together by physical therapist Phil.  
Your scribe doesn't do mornings and reports in a daze, but in a somewhat better frame of mind than his namesake Simon T. who arrives with steam coming out of his ears. The mild-mannered Englishman lets fly with a torrent of abuse directed towards the occupant of the next-door room, reputedly a hotel employee, who evidently had a steady stream of visitors throughout the night at least until 3a.m. , creating a cacophony of noise and considerable banging of doors and we are not sure what else!  
Simon "Thommo" is rope-able about his ensuing lack of sleep, and is absolutely fuming as we head for the ground, where the walking wounded are patched up, and the whistle blows.  
Simon "Lunger" Williams takes off with the ball, taking on the Vics, is infringed and takes off again, Clyde is there to assist, the ball falls to the Captain on the five metre line at the top of the circle where he traps and wins the free hit. As his immediate opponents back off, the still irate Mr Thomson takes off into the circle and his shot is smote with such force that vengeance for the previous night's events is taken out upon his hockey opponents.  
The Vics are shell-shocked finding themselves one down only a minute into the game , the West Aussie 65's, "Team Black Socks", are on a high, the call is made for the team to hang tough and avoid previous complacency that has resulted in a quick equaliser against us. You can feel the team lift, the workrate intensifies, Arch is running hard up front to create some chances in attack, with inners Hammy and Clyde doing a mountain of work assisting the halfbacks to control the midfield. Pedro is troubling the Vics in the right wing position, but one sprint too many, and our Pedro pulls up lame with a fetlock gone. He is replaced by canny Kenny but, within minutes, his previous injury goes again leaving Coach Banksy the fittest of the bench players. "Rowdy" Soares is taking them on at left wing with Archie switching to the right, as central striker "Lunger" picks up a ball in the circle. The Vic goalie takes him on, falling across his left ankle as the half-trapped Lunger is slow to get up and his late lunge at the ball goes wide of the post. 

As we hobble out to the playing arena after the main break, we're under immediate pressure from the Vics, but Peter Rumpole Murray is cool and unflustered, lays the ball off, or wins the free hit. 
Les and Len are sweeping up at the back with "Agro" in goal blocking, parrying and kicking anything that looks threatening.  
Lunger is inconsiderate enough, given the increasingly long team injury list, to turn quickly on his already injured left ankle and is forced to leave the field to have it strapped. 
Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and the man is Coach Jimmy Banks, he's on the turf. He glides seemingly unnoticed to the high striker position, receives the pass at the top of the circle and for a fleeting moment the green lights are flashing. But before you can say "Jimmy Banks" the Vic defence shuts him down, the quarter is played out, and as we start the last term we still have the one goal break.  
Possession is said to be nine tenths of the law and so it is for nine tenths of winning a game of hockey. And who best to demonstrate this than "Rumpole" - he mesmerises the opposition with some dazzling stick work, never turning the ball over, and laying off passes with deft touches.  
Meanwhile, Les and Len are immoveable at the back and Captain Thommo is doing a mountain of work closing down the opposition in the midfield. 
The clock runs down and more seconds tick by as Lunger fiddles around with the ball near the attacking right corner flag, sucking Vic full-back Mal into another time-wasting exercise reminiscent of 2011.  
The siren goes and the walking wounded have locked up second position on the ladder and a semi-final berth on Friday. 

Result: WA 1 - VIC 0 

Goal scorers: Simon Thomson 
Best player as voted by WA : Norman Walker 
Best player as voted by VIC: Peter Murray 

WA vs QLD - Wednesday, October 10, 2012 

The prospect of the fourth game in five days is starting to take its toll. Our selected team Captain, Mal Horrigan flies in from Perth with Jan, giving news that his hamstring tear MRI shows a gap wider than the English Channel.  
As we assemble for the pre-game meeting, Coach Banksy obtains a fitness report on Lunger's ankle injury and is advised that his speed will be reduced to fifty percent and will be restricted to running in straight lines. Given that this is better than some players when they are fully fit, Banksy adds him to the line-up, particularly when both Pedro, who comes without his stick, and Kenny who comes without his playing attire, are giving clear messages with regard to their respective fitness.  
Archie confirms that this is his last game before he has to fly out for pre-existing commitments and puts in a star performance in the first half combining well with Lunger down the right wing but they battle to pass the seemingly immoveable Queensland full-back Don Richards.  
Graham "Chip" Challenor makes a probing run to open up the left, Brian "Rowdy" Soares makes a good lead to drag the defence as "Chip" rockets the ball to the circle where Hammy's magical deflection flies past the goalie and falls inside the left post.  
We're one ahead and the star-studded Queensland line-up are looking even more rattled when Lunger follows in a loose back-pass which the goalie fails to clear and centres the ball to Arch on the spot but they just manage to stop us scoring a second.  

As we move into the second quarter a change comes over the game, the heavens open, small white hailstones descend from above and the Maroons score the luckiest of goals deflecting off one of our defenders (who shall be nameless as he's now competing for top goalscorer!).  
Another lucky goal off a short corner and the Queenslanders are ahead at the long break but we have no fresh legs to come out for the second half.  

Graham "Agro" Sansom is looking very solid in the last line of defence ably assisted by his defending duo of Les and Len, but they are under intense pressure from wave after wave of opposition attacks.  
Captain "Thommo" and "Rumpole" are tackling heroically to turn defence into attack which is carried forward with darting runs from Clyde and Ham.  
Given the quality and tenacity of the West Aussie 65's defence, the Queensland attack come up with a classic hockey move that culminates in a brilliantly conceived goal by their Best on Ground, Fred Carter. 

As our bodies tire into the fourth term, the opposition increasingly controls the game and run out winners by three goals to one, but our weary warriors from W.A. demonstrate immense heart and great tenacity given the absence of any fit replacements on the bench.  

We finish the pool games in second spot and these boys have deservedly won their place in the final four.  
Banksy, your coaching efforts have done us proud - we applaud you !!! 

Result: WA 3 - QLD 1 

Goal scorers: Hammond deSouza 
Best player as voted by QLD: Hammond deSouza 

Semi-Final WA vs VIC - Friday, October 12, 2012 

Dawn is breaking, tired faces and tired bodies tumble out of the lift. The morning's medical bulletin takes longer than ever to read.  

Waldon - shoulder, torn tendons 
Blyth - shoulder, not sure what, in sympathy with Waldon 
Thomson - jaw, but hasn't stopped him talking 
Murray - anything that moves from thoracic spine downwards 
Evans - ankle, hamstrings historically ropey, never known to be still running after six games ??? 
Soares - toe (could be gout but he's not declaring it) 
D'Souza - left shoulder, left ankle .....but all right 
Walter - hamstring, lower back, thinks he might line up in the stalls as a starter 
Williams - left ankle, needs the strapper 
Horrigan - horrible hammy, never made it except as a spectator 
Banks - somewhere in the lower anatomy - probably just needs a new leg 
Hearne - left calf, non-starter 
Sansom - never complains about anything, but wears more armour 
Challenor - the only fit field player, the road runner, the supreme athlete As we arrive at the stadium, the queue for physical therapist Phil is so long that we barely make the starter's gun.  
The first quarter is all Vics - we are not switched on. It's as if we have only just climbed out of bed - we have !!!  
Great goal-keeping by Graham "Agro" Sansom coupled with the ineptness of Vics forward No.16 who twice misses an open goal and it's no score at quarter time. 

But our nemesis rears its ugly head once again as Ken "the Seagull" Walter succumbs to injury after only ten minutes and hobbles heavily hamstrung from the field.  
It's a cold, cheerless morning in Hobart, and our early play is in keeping with this outlook.  
As the second quarter develops our play becomes more constructive and we begin to turn the tide. Len "the LionHeart" is calling the tune from the back, and we start to achieve some possession.  

It's still no score at the long break with the Vics needing to win by one to go through to the final.  
They revert to the long ball game, make some crude tackles leading to one Victorian being green carded off the ground. 
Hammy is bought down causing severe pain and parasthesiae down the left arm.  
Momentarily, he looks distinctly groggy, but as Lunger offers him a few minutes respite on the right wing, Hammie retorts that he is not going to give anything to the opposition and, anyway, there is a grand final at stake tomorrow.  
Within minutes, Hammie has hold of the ball and cuts a swathe though the opposition, leaving four of them in his wake.  
As he hits the top of the circle at speed, he feints to go right, then pivots to the left and pulls out a backstick shot at goal that rattles the backboards and strikes a dagger into the heart of the Victorians.  

We turn for home one in front with the Vics now needing to score twice.  
They push hard, create some short corner chances which Agro repels and, with our back five dominant, Banksy's battle-hardened warriors with no replacements on the bench have qualified to challenge for the Grand Final gold medal. 

Result: WA 1 - VIC 0 

Goal scorer: Hammond D'Souza

Final WA vs QLD - Saturday, October 13, 2012 

Well, readers, if you have got this far and are still looking for the final instalment of match reports for your sporting literary fix, then it's a real worry for your scribe that you do not have any better reading material.  
Given that there is a plethora of high profile literature available to read, ranging from Winston Churchill's History of the English Speaking Peoples to E.L.James's Fifty Shades of Grey, I rest my case. He, Sir Winston, that is, has been quoted as saying .... "If you cannot read all your books, fondle them, peer into them, let them fall open where they will, read them from the first sentence that arrests the eye......." 
But times have of course changed, which is brought to my attention as I sit tapping away on my I-Pad with three of the four travellers nearest to me on the aircraft sitting reading their Kindles.  
But maybe all of you Kindle users DO fondle them for all I know. Anyway, you may well be asking what relevance any of this has to a game of hockey. The Great Englishman's understanding of the word 'Kindle' would have been to ignite, to fire up, to inspire - which is what Coach Banksy was all about as we head out to the stadium for the Gold Medal game. 

Banksy's Wounded Warriors from the West line up against the star-studded Queenslanders, awash with Australian players, unbeaten in four years.  
The story should have a fairy tale ending .....something like, never in the field of hockey conflict have so many goals been scored by so few.  
But, alas, with about nine and a half fit players (and most of these heavily strapped) and no replacements on the bench, we are unable to stop the Queensland juggernaut who go one ahead after five minutes.  
Banksy's team lift in the second quarter after uplifting words from guest assistant coach Frank, and dominate the third term.  
But the elusive equaliser never comes, the lion-hearted lads from the West have run themselves into the ground and given it their all, and with ten minutes remaining in the final term the maroons score two more lucky goals, leaving Banksy's team with the Silver Medal. 

Result: WA 0 - QLD 3