The  Vets first team had a tough 3-2 Semi Final win over Sutherland last night, qualifying them for the Grand Final v UNSW next Wednesday (19th September) on the Olympic pitch at 8.30 pm.

Two flashy goals came from Chowny in the first half, but then Sutho came back from 2-0 to be 2-2 at half time.

Birthday boy Barrett then showed why he is rumoured to be Jamie Dwyer's role model. He  received a pass near our 25 from Crichton (keeper), beat a couple of tackles,  passed to left wing Dell just after halfway, kept sprinting to the spot to get the ball back and slam home the winner...a length of the field goal to get us to 3-2.

The defence then held out for the final 15 minutes under sustained attack from the competition favourites (as they then were).

It would be good to see everyone there next week to cheer the boys on.

The Grand Final team will be:

Dale  Aitken, Ron  Aquilina, Paul Barrett, Craig Bowness, Damien Chown, Allan Clay, Julian Dell, Brian Fitzpatrick, Stuart Grimshaw, Dig Howitt, Mike Irby, Ian Jessup, Phil Price, Greg Reynolds, Crichton Smith and Cameron Whittaker.

How star-studded can a line-up be? Remember, on this planet you do not see real stars until they have been around for a long, long time... 

The Junior Club offered to provide ball-boys for the Grand Final, but it was generally agreed this would not be good because it might eliminate some valuable breathing time.

 

We came, we saw, we got conquored.

In the Vets Grand Final on 19 September our Vets team snatched defeat from the jaws of a very promising coin toss, and ultimately saw UNSW win the game 7-2. We had our chances, and with the scores 2-3 at half time it was a game that could have gone our way. It just was not to be, though, and UNSW deserved to win on the day.

But we will be back next year!!  Older, true, but even more experienced and even more determined to get back on the middle of the podium. Look on the bright side - an extra year is an important issue for many of our younger colleagues, but for most of us it is statistically immaterial!

Congratulations to all the players for a great effort through the season, and see you all at the games (training???) next year.

 

Semi-finalists decided... from SHA

So you reckon tipping the footy is tough ? Try the last round of B Division vets. Teams were in and out of the semi-finals faster than the queue at a laxatives convention.

The washup is that competition new boys UTS have taken out the minor premiership and will face Gordon North Sydney in the first semi. To take 4th spot GNS needed to beat Macarthur at Moorebank - always a tough assignment - and got up 4-3. That result cruelled any hope last year's runner up Sydney Uni had of making it.

On Monday night Sutherland let go of the minor premiership in a surprise 2-1 loss to lowly Northern District. The lads from the Shire now face last year's premiers Glebe who finished the season strongly with six straight wins.

The battle for C Division semis was just as intense. UNSW led Ramblers 3-1 at Concord knowing a win would elevate them to 8th spot and above the semis. But Ramblers had to win, too, to qualify in 12th spot and fought back to triumph 4-3. They then needed Southern Highlands to down Briars at Moorebank to get in on goal difference. But Briars drew 3-3 to finish 11th, ahead of Ryde on goal difference. Briars and Manly, new to the comp in 2006, are in the C finals for the first time.

In A Division, UNSW finished first after its only loss came in the opening round to finals opponent and new club St George Randwick, who lost 3-2 to Ryde on Wednesday. Uni thrashed GNS 7-0 to consign Sydney Uni, who also beat Penrith 7-0, to second spot and the tougher semi against last year's champions Sutherland.

Sutho will have at least 7 Australian players on hand and have not lost to Sydney Uni in their last five contests.

So the semi-final lineup is:

C Divn at Concord on Mon Sep 10

7.30pm - UNSW v Ryde
9.00pm - Manly v Briars

B Divn at Pitch 2 on Wed Sep 12

7.00pm - UTS v Gordon North Sydney
8.30pm - Sutherland v Glebe

A Divn at Olympic on Wed Sep 12

7.00pm - UNSW v St George Randwick
8.30pm - Sydney Uni v Sutherland 

Playing conditions

2 x 35 minutes with a 5 minute halftime break.
If scores are equal at fulltime, a further 5 mins each way with no break. The team scoring the first goal wins (Golden Goal).
If neither team scores during extra time the team finishing higher on the ladder during the regular season will progress to the final.

Both Vets teams are unbeaten at the completion of the round games  and are looking forward to a strong finals series.After winning the pre season competition against UNSW the Firsts team has had three draws against their nemesis of last year.  These draws,  added to the three other draws during the regular season,  resulted in them being in 2nd position on the table.

The Seconds have also been performing strongly to this stage and are also unbeaten.  They are also in the top pairing on their table. With a strong squad of 19 players there will definitely be some selection dilemmas for Father Camel.

The finals series for the Vets will have major and minor semis for the first time, so both teams have two chances to make the grand final and avenge their grand final losses of recent years.

BF

Sydney Uni Veterans have won both their preliminary finals on 17th of September and now play in the Grand finals. The results this week were:

"A"  Sydney University beat Ryde   3-1
"B"  Sydney University beat Briars  5-1

Grand Finals will be played at Homebush on Wednesday 24th of September. Sydney Uni will play in the top two:

"A"  UNSW v Sydney University  Olympic Pitch at 8.30pm   
"B"  UTS     v Sydney University  Olympic Pitch at 7.00pm     

Good luck to both teams.  May the real university beat the pretenders!!

Our correspondant in Darwin reports that the number of former SU players in the NSW Veterans teams is even higher than first reported.  Andrew Terrey (Over 50's) and David Prior (Over 55s) are also former SU players from the 1970s who are still State level (at least) athletes. That brings us to having 15 players in the NSW State teams. We also have the unique distinction of having two former first grade coaches in the top Over 50s side.

Read more in the Veteran's section, or at the NSW Veterans website.

Great to see that so many of our Mens Veterans team have been chosen for the 2008 NSW Over 40 teams.

Two NSW over-40 teams will contest the Australian titles in Darwin in July, and there are as many as six SUHCV players in the lists.  Over the weekend Paul Barrett, Dale Aitken and Cameron Whittaker have been selected in the 1sts, and Damien Chown, Jamie Watson and Mark Matheson (reserve) in th 2nds. Congratulations to all the players.

Add this to the over 45 State reps we have and you have a seriously talented side playing for us each Wednesday.

Brian Fitzpatrick, Michael Irby and Phil Price have been selected in the HNSW Over 45 team, and  Peter ("Erroll") Pether in the Seconds. That's a great result for the Wednesday night crew. Congratulations to all players.

Fifteen - a whole teams worth plus a guy to get the beers! -  of our current and past players have been named in NSW teams to take part in the National titles to be held in Darwin in July. Selections were made after the recent NSW Veteran's State Championships.

Players selected include:

NSW 70's: Ken Mayman (Captain)

NSW 55's: David Prior

NSW 50's: David Clarke, Stu Kinsella, Andrew Terrey and Warren Gale. David also played in the victorious Sutherland team, which recently won the state 50's title.

NSW 45's: Mike Irby, (Vice Captain), Phil Price and Brian Fitzpatrick

NSW 40's: Paul Barrett, Dale Aitken, Cam Whittaker, Damian Chown, James Watson and Mark Matheson (reserve).

In addition, John Miedecke (SUHC in the '70s)  is playing with the ACT's over 60's .

Congratulations to all those selected, and we wish you the best for the tournament.

Brief flash from Darwin says the NSW veterans teams did extremely well, with the Over 40/2s, Over 45s, Over 50s and Over 55s all winning, and the Over 40/1s losing the final only on strokes.

Paul Barrett, Phil Price, Brian Fitzpatrick, Michael Irby and Stu Kinsella are among the current or former SU players named in the Australian Vets teams. There may be be more - we will add more info when we get it.

Its a decade since the death of Princess Diana, but the unthinkable can still happen. Twice. What is it with these guys from red brick institutions? Do they spend their lives psyching themselves up for a Wednesday night social game? We have families, full-time jobs, wonky knees, framed degrees and an excess of gravitas and/or avoir dupois. With these and many other highlights in our lives we do not need to be too concerned about another minor negative differential on the scoreboard at the end of another Grand Final in our favourite sport. But bloody hell... again!!!

On Monday 31 August the Vets 3 team lost a hard fought semi to Glebe 0-1.  This knocks them out of contention.  Glebe are red hot competition favourites having won 14 of 15 games now.  They will play Northern districts in the final who we defeated both times we played them.

The Vets 1s and 2s are in action on Wednesaday 2nd at Homebush:

On Pitch 2 at 7:00 pm our 2's play Macarthur. And our valiant 1s play Ryde. on Olympic at 8:30.

Both are sudden death semi finals.

Go Uni!

Each of the vets teams has one game to play before the semis. Check the tables here

In recent games 1's played UNSW twice in two weeks.  They came back last week for a solid 1-1 draw after a big defeat the previous week. 1 goal to Chowney in both games.  2's played a revamped Penrith in a high speed affair and had a 2-3 loss.  Penrith are finishing very strongly after defeating the highly fancied Northside 6-2 the previous week.  Our goals came from Matho and David Clarke.

3's played lowly ranked Easts last night for a 3-0 win. 2 goals to Camel and one to Craig Tomko.
 
1's will finish second,
2's will finish 3rd, 4th or 5th depending on final round results.  If they beat Northside running second this will secure either 3rd or 4th.
3's will finish 4th or 5th and are vying with Macarthur for 4th spot, both play Northern Districts who will run 3rd.  3's will get in with a draw or a win.

Latest Results.

Wed 29 Jul Sydney Uni 1 v UNSW A 1-3
Wed 5 Aug  Sydney Uni 1 v UNSW A 1-1
Wed 5 Aug  SYDNEY UNI 2 v PENRITH B 2-3
Mon 10 Aug SYDNEY UNI 3 v EASTS  3-0
 
Final Games:
Mon 17 Aug Concord   7.30 NORTHERN DISTRICT v SYDNEY UNI 3 C
Wed 19 Aug Homebush - Olympic  6.15 NORTHSIDE v SYDNEY UNI 2 B
Wed 19 Aug Homebush - Pitch 2  7.40 Sydney Uni 1 v SUTHERLAND A
 
Camel

The Men's Vets A team is taking on UNSW in the Grand Final on Wed 16th at Olympic at 8:30.

Its the third year in a  row where the two teams have made the Grand Final. After losses in 07 and 08 it is time for a SU win, we reckon.

Go Uni!

Syd Uni 1 def Macarthur 3-2

Chown reverse drags from an impossible angle with 5 minutes to go. Sydney wins 3-2. Scrappy game as always. Tootsie ( a brilliant game) and Ramon other scorers.

Syd Uni 2 lost to Macarthur 4-3

We went down 4-3 to Macarthur tonight (were 4-1 down).  Goals to Pete Pether, Andy Wright and Jussi Jumpanen.  Thought Millsy had a blinder.

 Syd Uni 3 lost to Macarthur 3-2

Two goals to Thwaity. After allowing Macarthur to dominate the first half they led 1-0 at halftime. We changed tactics and got back to 1-1 and were dominating the game and missed many opportunities.  We then had a little sleep and Macarthur potted two more.  We went back to domination but could only muster one more goal.

The draw for the pre-season comp for the Vets has been released. You can access it here. SUHC is fielding two teams in the pre-season comp and three in the main season this year.

Uniforms should be available at the game on 2 February 2009 through Camel and Anne.

Many thanks to the new players who have joined us in 2009 so we can expand our numbers. Hope you all have a great season.

Thanks also to Anne Simmons (from the Juniors) for getting uniforms out to us on game days and at other times so we can look like a half decent side before we run on to the field. After that it's uphill.

Sydney Vets are trying to finalise a Sydney team to participate in the NSW Over 35's Tournament to be held on Friday to Sunday 17-19 July 2009 at Bathurst. ( There is no club hockey being played in Sydney on that weekend - it is a NSW Hockey free weekend).

Currently they are a few players short of the required 15 and some Sydney Uni players might be interested.

The tournament may in fact only be held over the Saturday and Sunday (18-19 July) depending on the number of teams that nominate. Accommodation and playing uniforms, Physio etc will be arranged by Sydney Vets Hockey - a player fee of $100 approx will apply whilst players are to meet their own travelling and accommodation costs.  A NSW team will be selected from the tournament in Bathurst to play a 2 Test series against Queensland on the Qld Sunshine Coast in October and also in a 4-5 state team series (Qld, NSW, Vic and ACT - possibly WA) to be held in Melbourne in conjunction with the 2009 Men's Champions Trophy

Anyone interested and available to represent Sydney at this tournament should contact Greg Kay, Secretary of Sydney Veterans Hockey Association on 0412 751957 or by email on greg@imk.com.au before Friday 19th June.

1st grade vets beat Ryde 3-1 on 8 July

1st grade won last night 3-1 against 3rd placed Ryde in what was a great game. Goal scorers were Greg Reynolds, Rowan Macdonald, and Dale Aitken from a penalty flick. Uni never really looked threatened, but at 2-1 up with 15 minutes to go Ryde certainly put it to us. Solid Uni defence saw us home at the end. Currently this keeps Sydney Uni at the top of the table with 25 points - 8 wins and one draw, leading UNSW by 2 points on 23 points with 7 winds 2 draws.

CW

Lynn and Ken Mayman awarded AVHC's first Service Awards SUHC Blue, Ken Mayman, and his wife Lynn have been named as the inaugural recipients of the Australian Veterans' Hockey Committee (AVHC) Service Award at the recent National championships.  Both were original members of the AVCC when it formed in 1980 and have travelled with the Australian teams since 1982 during which time they have been wonderful ambassadors for Vets hockey and for Australia.

They announced their retirement from Vets hockey after Ken participated in ths year's Over 70s comp and Lynn continued her service as physiotherapist to NSW.

Lynn and Ken have been active in the AVHC player health programmes (as Physio and Doctor) and in recent proposals to rework the 65s and 70s competitions.

Sydney Uni Hockey Club congratulates Lynn and Ken on this well deserved award and salutes two great members of our community.

 

SUHC congratulates Andrew Terrey on his appointment as Chair of the NSW Vets for 2009. Andrew is one of the past greats of SUHC and is a member of the 2008 NSW Over 50s team. He has lived in Grafton for many years, but still drops by to watch his old club in action in Sydney whenever he has the opportunity.

The structure for veterans hockey in NSW is undergoing some major changes. The outlook is now brighter thanks to the work of HNSW and Andrew, although there is no doubt he will be a busy man this year. More info can be found on HNSW's website. Congratulations Andrew and all the best for a successful year.

The season is long enough past and everyone will have forgotten all that is bad and enhanced all that was good by now. So its time for the Vets to have some informal drinks to re- award some awards from the Club awards night and get some ideas about next year.

It will be on Wednesday 2^nd December from 6:15 pm at the South Balcony of the Cargo Bar. There will also be the usual some general discussions re vets hockey. 

Let Camel know if you can come along as he needs some idea of numbers. It is self funded.

In addition, please see if you can add any further details to the data our great archivist (Brett Radcliffe) has been collating.

Click here for draft copy of the men's SHA premiership winning teams list. Brett is still short a couple of team photos and was hoping that someone in the club past or present can help fill in the blanks. The big gaps are the 1930 1^st grade team (may be in the SUSF archive), photos of the 1979 (4^th division) & the 1994 (7^th grade team, commonly referred to as the "vets") teams.

Some of the photos (appendixes 6,7,8,9 & 10) are team photos taken sometime during the season and were not taken on grand final day. If anyone has any grand final or better quality team photos of the teams listed Brett would really appreciate a copy. He can be contatcted at brett.radcliffe@boc.com.

Four SU players - Paul Barrett, Mick Irby, Phil Price and Brian Fitzpatrick - are in the Australian Veterans teams playing in the Over 40s and Over 45s team in Hong Kong. Fitzy has sent the following reports, and you can access his blog here:

Results:

Over 40s - Gold medal:  New Zealand; Silver medal: Australia
Over 45s - Gold medal: England; Silver medal:  Australia
Over 50s - Gold medal: England; Silver medal: Australia
Over 55s - Gold medal: England: Silver medal:  Australia

Next championships are in November 2011 in Singapore.

Match summary

Over 40s

Saturday  Australia v Scotland 4 - 0
Saturday  New Zealand v England 4 -1
Friday  Australia v England 4 - 1
Thursday  Australia v New Zealand 2 - 2
Monday  v Singapore 5 - 2
Sunday v Hong Kong 4 - 0
Saturday  v Ireland 3 - 0.

 Over 45s

Saturday Final Australia v England 1 - 3
Friday  Australia v Austria  7 - 1
Wednesday Australia  v Austria 2 - 1
Sunday  v England 0 - 2
Saturday  v Hong Kong 7 - 0

Australia Over 45s Tournament Best Player Pete Cumming,  Runner up Mick Irby

Saturday Over 40s Australia v Scotland 4 - 0

Australia approached the game of sticking to their game plan and hoping that the goals would flow.  But Scotland are a good side led ably at the back by piano accordian playing James Crabb at who has given strong indications that he will be wearing the blue and gold next year. It took Australia 20 minutes to score which was soon followed by another attack which led to a stroke. This was missed and a short corner goal just before half time saw the score 2 - 0.  Another two goals in the second half saw the final score 4 nil and the trophy heading across the Tasman.

Saturday Over 40s New Zealand v England 4 -1

This was an important game for the Aussies as the result would determine what they needed to do to win the Masters Trophy.  England started well and were one up and playing well but the Kiwis slowly got on top and ended running out 4 -1 winners.  This left the Aussies needing an unlikely winning margin of 10 against a competitive Scotland and with the game being played in the cooler late afternoon

Saturday Final Over 45's Australia v England 1 - 3

Australia came into the match needing a much improved performance on their round match.  It showed.  The game was high quality and end to end with numerous chances being created at both ends.

20 minutes end the ball fell to Ric Ambrose whose tomahawk hit the cross bar. Australia continued to press and a one two between Jim O'Shea and Brian Fitzpatrick saw Jim find Ric free in the circle and this time his tomahawk did not miss. The left side defence was holding with Fitz inside left. Phil Price at left half and Mike Irby at full back.  However England hit back just before half time to make the score 1 all.

England were revitalised in the second half and started to run over the top of the Aussies.  Australia were having to look longer than the wanted to as they were being well marked and this led to a lot of turnovers as they tired.  2 second half goals saw England run out worthy 3 - 1 winners.

Friday 30th: Over 40s Australia v England  and Over 45s Australia v Austria 

Over 40s Australia v England 4 - 1

Australia needed a win to keep them in the hunt for the championship.  It was a high quality game with end to end hockey.  A break to England saw an attacker with a one on one with the keeper.  PB managed to get back and put pressure on the attacker forcing a weak shot.  However the umpire deemed he had stick checked the attacker and a stroke was awarded and converted. 

Australia were moving the England team around and players were getting tired coming into half time.  A bad tackle by an Aussie saw the first yellow card with 2 and ½ minutes to half time.  Perversely this helped the Ausies as they controlled the possession for the rest of the half.

This continued into the second and the Aussies exerted their dominance.  A couple of short corner goals saw them 3 - 1 up and in control with 20 minutes to go.  England could not come back and another short corner with a couple of minutes to go say the Aussies run out a comfortable 4 - 1 winner.

This leaves Australia equal on points with New Zealand with one game to go.  The Kiwis play England and the Aussies need England to take a point presuming they beat Scotland.  A win to both means goal difference will decide the outcome.  The Kiwis currently have a 4 or 5 goal advantage but it is quite possible Australia could win by 8 setting up a interesting final day.

Over 45s Australia v Austria  7 - 1

Well Hong Kong has turned on its hottest day of the week.  Perfect for our 12.30 start and for running around in 30+ degree heat - NOT.

After an early morning training session the Aussies were keen to improve on their hard fought round match against Austria.  It showed.

Australia had good control and structure early, which meant pressure was being applied to the Austrian defence.  A short corner was earned which was sweetly struck with only the full-back's legs to stop the ball going in.  Greg Johnson coolly slotted the resulting stroke.  Another attack from the Aussies and they were 2 up and looking in control.  However a counterattack earned a short corner for the Austrians which was promptly flicked into the net.  The Australians continued to press but could not convert until shortly before half-time when the ball fell to Rick Ambrose 20 yards out with only the goalie to beat.  3 - 1. This was the half time score.

The half time talk was all about keeping the pressure up and not letting the Austrians into the game.  A 4th goal was duly scored and the game was all but over.  Another 3 to the Aussies saw a  final score-line of 7 - 1 and goals to Greg Johnson (2), Pete Cummings (2), Rick Ambrose (2) and Geoff Horsley. Man of the match was Phil Frost.

Bring on England in the final tomorrow.

Thursday 29th: Over 40s Australia v New Zealand

A battle between 2 of 3 teams who have not dropped a point to date (the other being England) promised to give us some indication of who would become favourites to take the title.

A tough end to end contest saw both teams striving for supremacy but giving little away.  A NZ penetration looked like it was going to earn a short corner but the game was allowed to continue and the ball rolled free scrappily to an unmarked attacker whose shot was good enough to beat the keeper.  1 nil at half time to the Kiwis.

The second half saw the Aussies come back and some good attacking work saw a short corner awarded which was then converted.  This led to the Aussies best period of the game where they strove for the second goal.  It was tough uncompromising hockey with the umpires on the verge of losing control as players grew tired in the heat.  The injury toll was mounting and it led to the first yellow card of the match to an Aussie.  This changed the balance of the game as the Kiwis sensed their opportunity.  Australia managed to keep them out through the period where they had the extra player. But, after sustained pressure the Kiwis again scored when Australia were unable to clear another NZ attack.

There was still time and Australia were able to force a couple of corners.  One of which saw the runners committed and a slip left gave Louis Matthews the time and space required to flick confidently into the left of the net.  There was still time left but neither team was able put enough pressure on the opposite defence to force a mistake.  Two all the final score-line.

This leaves the competition still very much in the balance.  Australia are to play England, Friday which will go a long way to eliminating one of those teams, with the Kiwis to play the Poms Saturday.  At this stage the Kiwis are probably favoured as they have the superior goal difference.

Wednesday 28th: Australia Over 45s v Austria: Over 40s rest day.

After having watched Austria put England under lots of pressure and looking like pulling off an unlikely win the Aussie boys were under no illusions that they would be in for a tough match.

European hockey is a very different style to Oz hockey.  They like to get as many players behind the ball as possible and play very much a one on one style trying to create overlaps.  The Austrian's (in the older buggers at least) play one very high forward marking the back full back and looking to isolate him as much as possible. The team will look for him hoping for a one on one or a miss-trap, which will see him in the circle playing for a short corner. Then scoring from that short corner.  This strategy worked well against the English before the English were able to over run the Austrians in the last few minutes of their match.

The Australian strategy was to have Mick Irby marking the high man with the higher players cutting off the direct line to the high forward.  The strategy worked well with Bott having a man of the match performance. However the Austrian defence was proving as tough to penetrate. 

Half time score Nil - Nil.

The pace was quite slow but very structured and the second half saw the Aussies putting more pressure on the black and whites.  A move down the left starting with Phil Price saw Fitzpatrick with the ball on the baseline. A pass back to Greg Johnson on the top of the circle drew a couple of defenders which left Pete Cummings in 5 yards of space on the left.  His shot from 12 metres left the goal keeper with no chance.

The Aussies continued to press but were unable to put the Austrians away.  A conceded a short corner with 3 minutes left gave a few heart palpitations but we were able to keep them out and come away with a deserved 1 nil win.

We will play the Austrians in one semi on Friday while England will play Hong Kong in the other.

First match v Hong Kong Over 45s Saturday

After being presented with our shirts the 3 Sydney Uni boys Mick Irby, Phil Price and Brian Fitzpatrick started against the local team. When I say local there were at least 6 different nationalities in the team.  Pakistani, Indian, Dutch, South African, Chinese and Hong Kong. (yes, they still call Hong Kong a country - well the expats do if they have their nationality card) all coached by a Kiwi.

Hong Kong set up very deep in defence with most if not all players behind the ball.  A Mick Irby short corner conversion settled nerves. However despite having the better of the play Australia were unable to score any more and went into the half up the solitary goal.

The second half proved to be different story.  The half time team talk focussed on pushing everybody up higher and making sure you were committing your opposite man and creating the one-twos to eliminate the opposition player.  This brought the halves and especially Phil Price more in the game. With a lot of penetrating runs from the halves freeing up the forwards the goals started to flow. 2 to Fitz and others to the forwards saw a final score of 7 nil and a great start to the campaign.

Bring on England.

Over 40s v Ireland.

The youngsters also came up against a disciplined defensive team in Ireland.  A similar 11 man defensive wall saw the Aussies struggling to break down the Irish. Even an innocuous tackle by the Irish goalkeeper 18 minutes in which resulted in a dislocated shoulder did not make things any easier as one of their full backs donned the pads. A nil all scoreline was the half time score.  The second half followed the same script as the first but a short corner conversion was quickly followed by another which saw the boys up 2 nil and safe.  The Irish were unable to penetrate the full back line with Paul Barrett starring with the result the Aussie keepers did not get a touch for the whole game.  Another short corner conversion after the final whistle saw a 3 - 0 score to the Aussies. But it was the Irish eyes who seemed to be smiling the most after the game.

Over 40s v Hong Kong 4 - 0

The Over 40s continued their impressive form with a workmanlike 4 nil win over the hosts.  Again the defence was never really threatened and the forwards did enough to ensure another comfortable win. 

It is looking like the main opposition will come from the Kiwis who bring a lot of the physical nature of the All Blacks rugby to their hockey and England who are both undefeated to this stage.  As this competition is a first past the post system the key games will be played on Thursday and Friday.

Over 40's v Singapore 5 - 2

The 40's again jumped their opposition who seem to be a bit overawed when playing the green and gold. 2 soft goals allowed the Singhas to keep a respectable score and a first "yellow" for local boy Paul Barrett despite his protestations "it was a clean tackle sir" marred another convincing win.

There was much to smile about for Sydney Uni men's vets players at the NSW over-40s titles in Newcastle at the weekend.

Australian over-45s player Mike Irby, on his 48th birthday, led the Sydney No.2 team to the B Division title, downing Newcastle No.2 on strokes in Sunday's final after scores were locked at 1-1 following extra time. Mike also scored the winner in the last pool game against Penrith.
Ian Jessup led the Sydney goalscorers with 4, while new boy Trevor Lee also netted one and put away the winning stroke to cap a great debut in veterans rep hockey.

(The Sydney No.1 team lost their semi-final to eventual A Division champions Newcastle in sudden death penalty strokes.)

Looking ahead to the Australian championships in Melbourne later this year, Ramon Rodriguez made the NSW No.1 team while Cameron Whittaker and Dale Aitken (vice-captain) made the 2s and Mark Matheson was named in the 3s to add to his medal earlier on Sunday.

IJ

PJ was the last SUHC vet left standing when it got to the finals of the Over 45s State Championships. His Illawarra team won 2-0. The bulk of our players (no pun intended) dipped out when Sydney lost to Sutho early on.

Even better news was in the State team selections. Mick Irby, Paul John and Phil Price were selected in the NSW Over 45/1 side, and Ian ("Tootsie") Jessup in the 45/2s. Congratulations to all four. We hope to find even more ex SUHC players sprinkled through the full team lists when we see them.

And finally, congratulations to Peter Pether, who was vice-captain of the Sydney over 45Bs. Form is transient, but quality is forever.

SUHC is entering three teams (grades 1, 2 and 3) in the Sydney Veterans competition in 2009.

We need approximately 18 players to support a team. This is becasue the rules do not allow us to move players between teams easily. We also need to allow for the niggling injuries and work commitments that come with being 40+.

If you have not played with us before but would like to play with us next year, or if you know someone who would be interested in playing with us next year, please email veterans@suhc.asn.au or Malcolm.Newman@au.unisys.com as soon as you can.

We have a range of playing skills from State level down, so there is a place for everyone who is interested. In 2008 we made the Grand Finals  in 1st and 2nd grade but lost each by just 1 goal.  We were already running at close to 2.5 teams: six of our players played with Easts 3rd grade this year, but that team that will probably drop out next year. With just a few more players we will be able to accommodate everyone in our own Club this year.

The Vets comp usually runs from March to September with the rounds finishing in August. We play 4 weeks straight through March and then have another 10 games spread over 4.5 months (total 14 round games + 3-4 pre-season). It means games are scheduled about every second week, although there is no real pattern. 

Most games are played at Homebush with occasional games at Cintra Park and Moorebank (nothing before 7.30 at Moorebank). Games are played 80% on Wednesday nights and 20% Monday nights, with the earliest start being 6.15 pm and the latest, 9.05 pm.

To qualify for Vets for next year you must turn 40 by the end of 2009.  There is also a provision for up to 3 first grade players who can turn  37-39 next year. This does not apply to grades 2-3.  As a guide, if you are playing 5th grade or higher on Saturdays you could be considered for first grade.  The cut-off is usually somewhere in 5th grade. Prior to his magical weight loss Tugga would have been good for Vets in a few years time, but now he is probably too lean and mean. Shakti Rathore, Cam Rowland and Al Johnston might make Vets in 2033.

Congratulations to Andrew Terrey, Dave Prior, Stuart Kinsela and Ken Mayman, former SUHC players who have just been selected in the 2009 NSW Veterans teams. Andrew and Dave are in the Over 55s, Stuart in the Over 60s  and Ken is Captain of the Over 70s. Well done, guys.

In 2009 Sydney University Hockey Club has three men's veterans teams entered in the Sydney Veterans' Hockey Association competition played at Homebush on Wednedsay nights.  For more information, please contact Malcolm Newman (Camel) at Malcolm.Newman@au.unisys.com.

An SUHC women's veterans' team, the Rollers, compete in the Sydney North Women's Hockey Association comp each year and play at Ryde on Sundays.  For more information, please contact Kate Price on family.price@bigpond.com.