This season started out full of promise and excitement, the squad was largely the same as 2022 where we narrowly missed a chance to play on finals day. We had a young squad of players that had played together for a couple of years as well as some new faces. The average age was just over 26 for the first game, in fact there were times when there was only one player over the age of 30, this led to a high energy style of play.

This year, unlike 2022, we had a much more settled squad and only needed to call up players from D2 on the odd occasion. When we did, we went for more youth and their speed and enthusiasm fitted in well with our team. This year we had excellent attendance at training, and this may have been due to the two coaches, Brad and Riki, who always had structured training mixed with a lot of fun.

The season …

Summary:

Regular Season: Played 18, Won 4, Draw 5, Loss 9

 

 5th – 7th Play-Off Semi-final: Lost 2-4 to ABC Yellow

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The season started with a bye for our non-comp game, this was unfortunate as it meant we did not have a chance to put together a slightly different structure and had to rely on the first competition game to see how the structure worked out.  With pace in every position, we hoped to utilise this to our advantage.

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With the regular season under way, in every game we were competitive. There were only a couple of games that we were outplayed, and we gave every team a run for the money. Most games were won or lost by one or two goals and at times, had we made the most of our opportunities we would have had a much different placing in the grade.  When we did take our chances we won comfortably, this did not happen regularly enough and only scored four goals on a couple of occasions.  As always, we looked forward to the ABC battles against Yellow and these games did not disappoint with lots of aggression, quality play, full of excitement and were competitive throughout.  Our defense has been outstanding all year and, when we played our game, the hockey has been fantastic.

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As already mentioned, we had a very settled team this year and only had a few occasions to get players from D2. This allowed for us to play in an attacking style that everyone understood.  There was an air of anticipation each week and a sense of excitement at each potential match up.  Hopefully most of the team will be around for the next season to continue this exciting style.

 

Squad - Appearances (Goals)

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Jack Bonneywell 17 (0), John Bonneywell 19 (10), Campbell Brown 13 (0), Riki Burgess 12 (0), Lewis Hawes 14 (0), Ronell Hensman 17 (1), Dominic Holt 17 (0), Tristan Huthcinson 13 (0), Matthew Lewis 17 (0), Ethan Lewis 13 (7), Brad O'Callaghan 17 (3), Tayler Read (17 (1), Alex Rendle 12 (1), Nathan Sinclair 16 (0), Luke Swanson 16 (0), Vincent Van Der Vegte 18 (2), Jack Woods 16 (6).

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 Henry Croft 7 (0), Finbar Hoyte 1 (0), Oscar Lewis 1 (0), Josh Shiu 2 (0), Evan Teao 3 (0), James West 1 (0), Tony Wrigley 1 (0)

  

 

A really enjoyable season, we had great support throughout the year, well done to all that have played and supported us this year.

‘Paul ’ (aka John B)

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2022 Season Round Up

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This season started like every other, full of excitement, expectation, and enthusiasm. We had a young squad of players that had played together for a couple of years as well as some new faces, in fact there were times when there was only one player over the age of 30, this led to a high energy style of play.

 

As many team managers found out, getting a team out was tough due to illness/Covid, but we managed it with lots of help form all the D2 teams - thanks to all the extras that played this year.

 

Season Summary: Played 17 Win 7, Drew 8, Lost 2

 

The season started with a non-comp game against the other ABC team in the grade. This was a keenly fought game as neither team wanted to lose to clubmates. We were successful by one goal and that seemed to set the scene for the rest of the season.

 

As the competition started, we completed the first 5 games unbeaten, we also started the first 5 games without a win which was a little frustrating as we just couldn’t get the run of the green to turn some great hockey into wins and just lacked the finishing touches. Our sixth game, the final one against all teams in the grade, saw the flood gates open and we finally scored four goals for a bonus point win. This, we thought would be the catalyst to an improving season, however our next game saw us come right back to earth with our first loss. The team bounced back and at this stage in the season we changed our structure which allowed for a more expansive style of hockey.

 

The second half of the season saw us continue to dominate most games and start to get a run of victories despite the variety of players that we were forced to pick at short notice. After the second round robin phase of the grade, we went into the top four split in third place behind ABC Yellow, knowing that we could beat any team in the grade. In the top four we had three wins in three games that elevated us to second overall. A very successful season which could have been so much better if we had managed to turn a couple of the early season draws into wins or even converted a couple more chances to get four goals in a game, we scored three goals on five occasions and an extra goal could have given us a few extra bonus points.

 

The knockout competition at the end of the season saw us have another couple of draws, it seems that this was going to be the theme of the year for this team.

 

A special mention to Dominic for his performance in the shootout against ECB White, things could have been so much different in the next game if Dominic had not been a candidate for the injury of the season when he broke his hand playing in the field for D2 less than 24 hours from our semifinal against ABC Yellow.

 

Throughout the season we had great success against Yellow (3 wins and a draw) and the semifinal was the test for club bragging rights! The tightly fought game ended in a Draw (no surprises there) and the inevitable shoot out ensued. Someone had to lose in this cruel way and a score of 5-4 in the shootout showed that just one mistake made the difference. There was much debate in the clubroom afterwards especially as the game was recorded! Overall, ABC was the winner.

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Marc Abbott (14 Appearances, 1 Goal), Evan Teao (5,0) Jack Bonneywell (13,0), Dale Trott 8,1), John Bonneywell (14,6), Vincent Van Der Vegte (11,0), Campbell Brown (14,3), Ben Huntington (1,0),  Riki Burgess (8,0), Mathew Lewis (3,0), Ronell

Hensman (14,2), Danny MacDonald (1,0),Dominic Holt (12,0), Graeme Moscrip (1.0), Tristan Hutchinson (13,4), Neesan

Naidoo (1,0), Brad O'Callaghan (9.4), Clint Meuman (2,0), Anuj Patel (15,3), Alex Sim (1,0), Luke Patterson (11,0), Neo

Tunnicliffe (4,1),Tayler Read (16,3), James West (1,0), Alex Rendle (5,1), Tony Wrigley (3), Nathan Sinclair (15,4), Luke

Swanson (14,0), Mark Taylor (14,2) 

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A really enjoyable season, well done to all that have played and supported us this year.

‘Paul ’ (aka John B)

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2021 Season Round Up

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Now the 2021 season for ABC Black is over and it is time to look back at the highlights and achievements of the team.

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 From 2020: Tristan Hutchinson, Campbell Brown, Luke Swanson, Graeme Moscrip, Mark Taylor, James Ferris,  Matt Lewis, Tayler Read, Vincent Van Der Vegte, and Peter Leeves.

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New members in 2021: Dale Trott, Anuj Patel, Evan Teao, Felix Blanchard, Henry Blanchard, John Bonnywell, Jack Bonnywell and Dominic Holt in goal. Great to see that almost all of these players were in division two in 2020 and were advancing their hockey skills.

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2021 was a great development year with plenty of new players settling into their stride against a good range of opposition.

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The team looked great – especially since we were sporting the new uniforms. They look great and feel amazing – well done to the committee.

 

Overall, we ended mid table before COVID scuppered everything. ​Great to see we saw out most of the season.

 

Key statistics of the season

 

Most goals: Anuj Patel = 4. 

Most games played: Campbell Brown = 14 – Great effort – a real team player.

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A special thanks to the senior players who contributed to the functioning of the team, in particular to Grip, Mark, Dale and John. Thanks to Tristan for captaining the team. Also to the youngsters who bought such energy – Luke S, Matt L (The clean up king), Matt, Tayler (For avoiding the cards), Campbell Brown (One of the most versatile players), Henry (quietly dominating in the inners), Vincent (Part of the wall of defence), Anuj (With punching runs) Evan (For his constant cheer) and finally Dominic for making such stunning saves consistently.

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Finally thanks for the parents and friends who supported the team. Inparticular to Robyn Holt who provided such amazing photos.

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2020 Season Round Up

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Now the 2020 season for ABC TigerTurf is over and it is time to look back at the highlights and achievements of the team. With substantial interest in new players wanting to join the ABC fold it was tough trying to find slots for all that talent. Trials were amazing – some awesome plays and a really great vibe. The season started with change in the ABC TigerTurf team line up. 

 

 From 2019: Tristan Hutchinson, Campbell Brown, Luke Swanson, Ethan Lewis, Graeme Moscrip, Riki Burgess, Mark Taylor, James Ferris, Jeremy Joseph, Daryl Roycroft, Tayler Read, Peter Leeves

 

 New members in 2020: Hayde Foy, Thomas Wallace, Josh Porter-Day, Vincent Van Der Vegte, Jamie Spencer, Luke Patterson, Matt Lewis, Matt Williams, Nick Sparg 

 

 The average age of the team was substantially lower than 2019 and bought with it a change in style of play. These guys had HUGE fitness and a counter attack unmatched in the grade. 

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Manager: Peter Leeves

 

Raniera Harris continued work with the squad as Head Coach, Chief strategist, Director of cunning moves and overall good guy. Fantastic contribution

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Season opening day

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Great fun was had at the opening festival. It was a star studded line up for the team. Ethan Lewis, Vincent Van Der Vegte, Matt Lewis, Hayden Foy, Campbell Brown, and Luke Swanson powered through the pool round winning all games. In the final we came up against a motivated Warkworth and were pipped at the post for the grand prize. Thanks to Ben Holt who helped out in goal. 

 

Eeeeekkkk – COVID

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 Then the bloody virus struck and the season went to the pack. Thanks Grip for keeping us entertained.   Thanks also to Ethan for avoiding that close shave. 

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The games between lock downs 

 

We started with a friendly match against the ABC P3 side. The team played awesome with some really great connections. We played with a lot of patience and retained a lot of the possession. A 2 all draw against a P3 side was a good sign. Thanks DJ. 

The first game was against our foes Takapuna – A strong side. We went down 3 goals in the first quarter which ultimately cost us the match 2-5. Our second game was against ECB on Harbour one which resulted in our first win and also one of the best goals of the season by Hayden Foy.

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The results for the games as follows

 

 

 NSU 3-1; ABC Yellow 3-5; HDF 4-1; Warkworth 5-4; ECB 0-2; Takapuna 3-2

  

We beat each team in our grade except ABC Yellow at least once which was pretty cool. The top four teams were all competitive on their day. 

 

 As a result of the shortened season and the way the games went, we ended up fifth on the table. The team had a point to prove when it came to the finals.

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 The finals

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Our first match was against was against NSU which we won comfortable 3-0. That was followed by a rematch against ECB with whom we lost in the round 0-2 despite having 17,235 shots at goal. This time the team was on song and we came away with a nice 5-2 win. Picture below is the Rikster going on to the pitch – In this game he made a 75m run down the side line, eliminating player after player before smashing a cross field pass across the goal for Hayden to pop in. 

 

Semi-final

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This was a cracker of a match against Warkworth. Warkworth scored first but we came back to be 21 ahead with 4 minutes on the clock. They scored to equalise in that final stage of the match and eventually won the semi in shoot outs. Heart breaking way to finish the season.

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Key statistics of the season

 

Most goals: Hayden = 10. 

Best goal: Nick Sparg – Overhead into the D and Nick smash it like Brendon McCullam into the back of the net.

Most games played: Vincent = 11 – This guy came to every game and most of the practises – a real team player.

 

A special thanks to the senior players who contributed to the functioning of the team, in particular to Grip, Mark, Rikster and Daryl. Thanks to Tristan for captaining the team. Also to the youngsters who bought such energy – Luke P, Matt L (The clean up king), Matt Williams (This guy has a huge engine), Tayler (For avoiding the cards), Luke Swanson (Speedster), Campbell Brown (One of the most versatile players), Nick (Such skills) and Jamie Spencer who just ran and ran. 

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Finally thanks for the parents and friends who supported the team – We can’t do it without you – thanks.

 

 

Peter Leeves – Manager/Sponsor

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2019 Season

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Now the 2019 season for ABC TigerTurf is over and it is time to look back at the highlights and achievements of the team. The season started with a significant change in the ABC TigerTurf team line up. Only Darryl Roycroft, Rikki Burgess, Mark Taylor, Brodie Harrison, Jonathan O’Rouke and Peter Leeves returned to the side – many of the older players opting for Saturday hockey and the younger players moving up a grade. This gave an opportunity to bring in some new talent. What was great was the number of players at University age group who joined the team. – Namely – Luke Swanson, Campbell Brown, Tristan Hutchinson, Tyler Read, Thomas Mexted-Bragg and Ethan Lewis. These guys were supplemented by some new players to the side – James Ferris (Ex Christchurch), Matt Parlene, Graeme Moscrip, Jason Capper, Chris Hawkins and the grand el Presidente – Jeremy Joseph. So, an interesting mix of experienced players and young fit runners. 

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With Neil leaving the team we were without a coach. Lucky for us Raniera Harris joined the squad as Head Coach, Chief strategist, Director of cunning moves and overall good guy. Fantastic contribution from one of ABC Prems iconic players (and TigerTurf staff member).

 

Season opening day

 

The season started with the annual harbour opening weekend. We decided a plague theme as Auckland was currently suffering from an outbreak of chickenpox. Some good running hockey and some good laughs. A great opportunity to get the new team gelling. 

 

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Round One

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The first round started in an interesting fashion with our first match against arch rivals – Takapuna Green. Unbeknown to us, and also to Taka Green, we were unleashing James Ferris and his killer reverse on their defensive backline and goalie. What started as a tight match ended up being a fairly convincing 6-3 win. 

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 The results for the round as follows;

 

24 March Takapuna Green 6-3; 31 March ECB 5-1; 7 April Takapuna Black 1-3;14 April ABC Yellow 3-1; 28 April NSU 3-1; 5 May Warkworth 0-4; 12 May HDF 1-2

 

The loss to HDF marked the low moment in the season for the team. We had a zillion shots at goal that were either saved or just went wide.  After the end of the round, we were sitting in third place.  The team was motivated to improve on this in the second round. 

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Part two of the season.

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The second round we really gelled well as a team. Rani’s practise sessions seemed to really bear fruit. 

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19 May Takapuna Green 6-3; 26 May ECB 3-2; 9 June Takapuna Black 3-2; 16 June ABC Yellow 8-3; 23 June NSU 9-1; 30 June Warkworth 4-1; 7 July HDF 4-0

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A huge result from the team. The manager was away for the crunch match against Warkworth – so the team was impressively let by the grand el Presidente himself with his trusty sidekick Grip. What a result!. 

 

The final round of top 4. The results were as follows:

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21 July Takapuna Green 3-0; 28 July Takapuna Black 2-4; 4 August Warkworth 5-10

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Bit of a bad round this one. We seemed to play good hockey, but we struggled to have enough subs available.

 

Part four of the season: The finals

 

The tournament recombined the teams of the grade with 1st playing 8th etc. As we were sitting in 3rd we come up against HDF. It was one of those matches where the luck was not with us. We ended up being convincingly beaten by a very motivated HDF side and therefore were in the plate finals. 

 

Our semi-final was against ECB. Sudden death. It was a great match and played in the best possible spirit. We played well as a team and piled on the goals coming away with a 6-3 win.

Our last match was the plate final against NSU – We came out firing and finished on a real high with a 8-2 win.

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Key statistics of the season.

 

Most goals: James Ferris = 48. Stunning achievement – James averaged 2.8 goals per match. Most of these would have been wicked field goals that travelled like tracer bullets. Fantastic.

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Most games played: Campbell Brown = 20 – This guy came to every game and most of the practises – a real team player.

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A special thanks to the senior players who contributed to the functioning of the team, in particular to El Presidente, Grip, Mark, Rikster and Daryl.  It was a stunning year to see the younger players grow in maturity and skill. Well done Matt, Jamie, Brodie (What a great overhead this guy has got and Jonathan – great to have you part of the team.  Finally, thanks for the parents and friends who supported the team – We can’t do it without you – thanks.

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Peter Leeves – Manager/Sponsor