A major shuffling of players between teams, plus a group of new players from the coaching cradle of Mr Bonneywell (AKA Glenfield College) saw 6 of last year's Yellow team returning alongside 12 new players. A game plan based around trapping, passing, and having lots of fun (by competing and preferably winning) was formulated, and schemes were hatched...

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Close matches against all of the top teams in the grade ensued, highlighted by a 1-1 draw with ECB White, the eventual grade champions. Banana peels certainly existed, with the surrendering of a 2-0 lead at 3/4 time against Lads & Dads to a 3-2 loss. That was followed by an identical score line against a very fired up ABC Maroon in the subsequent game, and saw the mid-season wobble, before correcting and a final championship placing of 6th.

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Top 8 pool matches resulted in a 1-1 draw with both Lads and Dads, and ECB Dog Den, alongside a 3-2 win over Glenfield Old Boys, and a place confirmed in the semi-finals against the Poppadoms. Losing 1-0 in that game closed out a very enjoyable season, with the grade being the most competitive that it has ever been.

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Our record - 9 wins, 4 draws, 6 losses

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Goal of the season had to be Tristan's overhead "smash" in our first match against the Doggies, and supporters of the season would be a close fight between the extended Atkinson clan, the Dellabarca Paparazzi, the Croft management and umpiring unit, the Westie Goalie Gear transporters, and the watchful eyes of Evan, Tristan & Rob's better halves! The additional support from many other club members, both on the sideline cheering us on, and on the field with sticks and whistles where needed, was really appreciated!

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Special thanks to John Sellars and Chris Badenhorst for helping to run the team through the season, and try and manage me.... A pleasure to have played with everyone, and I would happily line up with each and every one of our team again next season!

 

Danny Wrigley

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2022 Season Round Up

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Squad (Goals): Tony Wrigley (G), John Sellar, Matt Thomson (12), Ryan Diedericks, Danny Wrigley (8), Andrew Thomson, Neeson Naidoo (1), Jonathan Barnes, Finbar Hoyte (6), Graeme Moscrip (1), Rob Kennedy (3), Dan Johnson (1), Dwayne Carroll (4), Bradley Bycroft (7). Casuals: Ollie Peterson (9), Mathew Lewis, Will Harman. Derrec Grant (Briefly)

Coach Danny Manager: Graeme

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After Round Robin result = Second, 47 points (to eventual cup winners, Warkworth, 57 points)

Finals Series Result: Lost in Plate Semi Final (to eventual plate winners, NH Indians Poppadoms)

Won 9, Drawn 5, Loss 6   Goals for 54 Goals against 28

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The team assembled from five different sources in 2021 and was supposedly the top ABC team for the D2 competition. The pressure was on, spirits and expectations were high. We can win this! During practices, there seemed to be no weaknesses amongst us, the team looked good. As the season unfolded, it panned out, we lost or drew some games that we thought we should win, and others we played to our potential and played great hockey,but lost. However, we ended up second after the round robin, playing all other teams, so a great season, bring on the finals. The Division Two grade 2022 proved how even it was, with three of the top four teams not making the finals, which unfortunately included us. What a great spirit the team had, and a real team view and effort to never give up, no matter the score, and always try and improve. Many players commented at the end of the season that this was one of the most enjoyable seasons they had had in years. It also seems unanimous that all players want to play in the same team next year. Good vibes all round.

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Player of the day, was often verbally acknowledged, but no real pattern emerged, with praise being spread amongst the team across the season. The Knob of the day award was only occasionally awarded, in good spirit of course. Often, we had all played well as individuals and a team, so the trophy was simply not awarded.

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A huge thanks to player/coach, Danny. A great passionate style, targeted training for weaknesses in our game, a big focus on structure, and great use of shuffling players positions to get the best out of the team on game day. A huge effort put in, consistently right to the end Danny, which no doubt made us a better team.

 

The awards this year (MVP, MIP, Best Team Mate) were voted for by the players having equal votes, and 73.3% of the players got at least one vote. Again proving, how even we felt the team was.

 

Covid. Good old covid was hanging around in 2022. Very grateful to get a full season of hockey in, and no serious doses to team members. Unfortunately, the team had players away throughout the season, either with Covid, Man Flu, or being a household contact, which disrupted the team at times. A big thanks to players from the other ABC Div 2 teams that filled in. 16 players in total were borrowed, with many doubling up games on the same day.                 

 

From me, a really enjoyable season, with a great bunch of lads. I enjoyed the only time I touched the ball in the circle, and got a goal. 100% strike rate, come on forwards, I mean, come on.... 

 

Remember: A man on top of a mountain, did not fall there.

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2021 Season Round Up

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Another year where ABC aimed to put out three competitive teams in Division 2.  The focus of the Yellow team being a core of experienced players helping the development of younger players and this was reflected in the demographic of the team described below.

 

We often had six or seven players of year 11 or younger which contrasted with most teams in our grade who would have had one or two school age and typically they would be older.  We also had players at the other end of the age spectrum.  This presented different challenges in how to balance the physical strength of our youth and the relative lack of physical speed of our older players (which was more than made up by mental speed).  Fortunately, we had Josh, Luke and Liam C who were able to combine strength and fitness (when Josh wasn’t broken) to provide some balance.  Callum would have provided some additional physicality but regrettably broke his hand.  We were unlucky with injury: three bone breaks and a concussion robbed us of players over an extended period.

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Notwithstanding this, overall the team enjoyed some success this year moving from ninth last year to third this year after the Championship round: this is the biggest increase in places of any Men’s team across all grades in North Harbour which is something to be proud of, but we aspired for more.   In the first round we lost only one game and that was early in the season to one of the weaker teams in the grade.  The wheels went off a little in the second round (top 4 play off) when we ended up playing catch up hockey, losing the first two games by a goal, the second one probably a coaching error taking off the goalie going for a win knowing that only a win would keep us in the hunt for the championship.

The foundations of our success were a strong defence and we were perhaps the most boring (in terms of goals for and against) and probably the most exciting (in terms of how close each game was) Men’s team in North Harbour.  It was testament to the team that we almost always came out on the positive side of the ledger in those key games. The reality of it was we consistently punched above our weight.

 

Success can also be measured by commitment, and we had a very committed group at training with the younger players attending regularly and I would like to say a special thank you to John Bonneywell, Danny Wrigley and Dwayne Carroll for their commitment to training and working to develop the players.

 

James West had his first season of club hockey and proved a very capable goalkeeper with strong communication skills to sit alongside good levels of co-ordination.

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Our defence was outstanding.  Luke Patterson and Callum Easterbrook when available both played very capably at deep full back.  Both are very unselfish players who mop up the pieces and very rarely make mistakes.  John Sellar and Dwayne Carroll moved between high full back and centre midfield.  John had a superb season particularly in the deeper role, his vision is outstanding and his skills have not diminished with time and for someone whose hockey background has been playing further forward he plays very effectively there.  Dwayne was rock solid and showed strong on- and off-field leadership and rarely lost a one-on-one.

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Jack Bonneywell floated between full back and outside half.  Jack’s vision and decision-making has greatly improved but more importantly he has developed in confidence which has allowed to become far more effective.

Danny Wrigley operates extremely well in open spaces at outside half where his strengths of weight of pass, vision and positional sense come into play.  Occasionally we let him into a higher role (with oxygen needed at that higher altitude) and he repaid this in spades by scoring a clutch goal against NSU Blue which was testament to sheer determination.

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Jon and Alex Sim occupied the other outside half slots.  Both are great team men and were frequently in the clubhouse after the game.  It was great to see Jon join having seen Alex enjoy his hockey as a year 10 last year.  His hockey developed well during the season and he is a brave and tenacious defender. Alex’s hockey experience before coming to ABC has been limited.  He has worked very hard on his game and by the end of the season had forced his way into the starting XI.  Again increased confidence has been key to his development.

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We played two centre halves for most of the season.  Jonathan Barnes spent most of his time as centre half.  Jonathan is a very capable player particularly good at bringing others into the game. His vision is very good and he worked very hard on his fitness and by the end of the season his effectiveness was outstanding.

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Liam Corrigan-McKay and Brook Thomas are both young players with strong skill sets honed by Netesh at school and GB in youth hockey.  Sadly, both suffered season ending injuries with a broken ankle and hand respectively.  But both contributed very well to the team particularly once they understood their roles in an unfamiliar structure.

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Josh Duley operated with two speeds: full speed or broken.  Regrettably he suffered a number of injuries during the season which limited his game time, but his passion, drive and determination was integral to driving the team forward.

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Ollie Dellabarca was possibly the smallest player in the grade.  He is an unfussy midfielder who gives 100%.   He was effective in disrupting opposition attacks and feeding the other midfielders and strikers. 

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John Bonneywell led the line up front.  His captaincy was outstanding reflecting very strong personal values.  Originally a footballer, he has transitioned those skills into hockey with very effective positional play and an eye for a goal.  A lot of his play was football like, moving off the shoulder of a player, giving and going; plus some natter at the ref!

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Liam Currie was the top scorer in our team with a particular highlight being a hattrick against Poppadoms who won the grade.  Another one who suffered with injury: in his case a concussion.  It is a rare gift to be in the right place at the right time in the box.  Rhys Johns came into the team at the end of the year to replace Liam.  Rhys brought some real pace to the team and was effective in creating space and goals for others.

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Dan McDonald (Danny Mac) is a year 9 in his venture into adult hockey.  He fit into the team really well and worked hard on his game.  I expect great things from him next year as he develops.

 

Jacob Birks is a year 10 in his second year of club hockey.  He brings vision, speed of thought and speed on the turf and a lot of maturity for someone so young.  He had a strong season and I look forward to seeing his progress next year.

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As you can see we were quite disrupted with injuries and I would like to thank the casuals who helped us throughout the season.  Their contribution was very valuable.

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Games / Goals / * played ABC Youth 

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John Sellar 16/0; Jonathan Barnes 14/2; John Bonneywell 16/4; Daany Wrigley 17/1; Jon SIm 16/-; Dwayne Carroll 14/3; Josh Duley 9/1; Rhys Johns 6/-*; Callum Easterbrook 5/1*; Luke Patterson 16/-*; James West 15/-; Liam Currie 14/5; Jack Bonneywell 15/-*; Alex Sim 14/-*; Brook Thomas 6/-*; Jacob Birks 13/1*; Liam Corrigan Mc-Kay 5/-*; Ollie Dellabarca 15/-*; Dan McDonald 15/-.

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Casuals: Terry Surgue 1/-; Tony Wrigley 1/-; Ethan Lewis 4/4; Tristan Rudden 3/1; Nathan Sinclair 2/-; Alex Blair 3/-*; Ethan Munro-Scown 1/-; Moss Malloch 1/-*

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2020 Season Round Up

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This season ABC ran three Division 2 teams and set these up so that each would be competitive.  The Yellow team was focused on developing our strongest younger players to play in an environment with some experienced players to accelerate their development.   The team was rounded out with several young men. Although ABC Yellow has been around for a while there were only a few players that had played together before. This lack of familiarity didn't stop the team from playing good hockey and putting pressure on other teams. 

 

Due to injuries and availability ABC Yellow had its strongest line up available only a few times in the season. The shortened season and the draw meant that the team played the top seeded teams first, although they were competitive in patches against these teams, with some games only 1-2 goals away from a positive result, the overall results meant that we were in the bottom half of the draw for finals. There were some memorable results with a 9-1 win against ABC Maroon, a 3-1 win against Taka Green with 2 goals scored in the last quarter, and an 8-1 semi-final win against the Taka Titans.  Throughout, the team maintained strong morale and were dedicated trainers, and managed to string together some outstanding moves.  There was a family element too with two fathers and sons playing together and other players with family members playing elsewhere in the club.

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The youngest players Dirco Spies and Reuben D'Souza both had very strong seasons and developed a great deal.   It is a big step up physically and mentally for boys who one year earlier were playing Intermediate School hockey to end up playing against men (in some cases four times their age, twice their weight, but half their speed).  Both stood up bravely and showed tremendous skills and old heads on young shoulders.  Between them they scored just over half of the goals scored by the team.Jack Bonneywell (year 11) was a stalwart in defense, brave in the tackle and with a powerful hit.   His pace was valuable and he covered a lot of ground supporting the older players.

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New joiners, Evan Teao and Josh Duley provided energy and physicality as well as being good hockey players.  Ben Holt was brave in goal - his reach and physical presence really improved as the season went on, he is a real asset to the team. Neeson Naidoo rounded out the younger element of the team and continues to progress well in his third season at ABC.   

John Sellar and Dilip Sukha were real team stalwarts.  John and Dilip know each other well, with their sons forming the backbone of the ABC Premier Men's Team having grown up together.  It is rare that either player loses the ball and they were often the glue that held the team together.  Peter Leeves put in strong performances at outside half. Further forward Dwayne Carroll and Danny Wrigley led the midfield, linking defense and attack and cleverly switching the point of attack. Up front, William D'Souza was skilful and combined well with Dirco, Reuben and Neeson.  John Bonneywell missed large parts of the season and the team missed John's strong communication and organisational skills.  

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Thanks to John Bonneywell who coached the team: John's bag of coaching drills is second to none and he was particularly helpful coaching the D2 goalies (a field that John specialises in).  John was supported by Danny and Dwayne who took on and off field leadership roles and their contribution should also be acknowledged.

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Looking ahead to 2021 this team has the potential to do very well.  Like many teams who haven't played together before, it took some time for the team to really fire and in the run up to the lock down the team was doing very well.  Injuries and absenteeism played a part, but this team can look forward to 2021 with confidence.

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2019 Round Up

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Our team this year featured an almost 50/50 split of experienced Masters players, and talented young players new to club hockey. There were 4 (actually 5 with Richard VdV) father-and-son combinations and 2 sets of brothers in our team this year. Having the masters-youth combination playing together, and most importantly training together in great numbers every week, again proved highly successful.

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​​​​​​​Training sessions were very well attended, and we had the benefit of 3 or 4 experienced coaches at most of our training sessions. The impact that had on our younger players’ development as the season progressed was clear to see, with a good few younger players being selected for Harbour age group rep teams.

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After a strong first half of the season, which saw end third in the division, a series of bad injuries to more than a handful of our key players in the knockout phase of the competition caused some momentum loss. However, the team (and some very special players from Div 2 Black who helped us out) finished strong to reach and win the Div 2 Plate on finals day.

A huge thank you to all players from Yellow and Black who attended practices in large numbers, pushing each other along to learn new skills, play better hockey, and have lots of fun.

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2019 Div 2 Men Yellow team was:

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Benjamin Holt, Dominic Holt, Peter Fitzsimons, Tobin Blathwayt, Tom Blathwayt, Neil Ulrich, Kian Ulrich, Chris Badenhorst, Victor Strang, John Sellar, Leo van der Vegte, Nathan Burr, Felix Blanchard, Henry Blanchard, John Bonneywell, Jack Bonneywell, Aaron Gillespie, Colin Thomas, Clint Meumann, Tristan Rudden and Matthew Sutherland

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Kindly helped out by the following players from Div 2 Black:

Richard van der Vegte, Dan Johnson, Rob Kennedy, Neeson Naidoo, Graham Wessels, Joshua Horan and Terry Sugrue.