'Willy has become a myth' - Bob Hinckles
Showing posts with label Robin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robin. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
Twin wins for cricketing Stallion winners
Due to the deluge of interest in the cricketing Stallion's progress, a double report follows, reporting on our twin victories. Modest types, us cricketing winners, but if you insist on hearing all the news...
Boycott biffs, Vampire slays, Stallions trot past Norths at Kura Park
A second consecutive win for the Stallions against North City at Kura Park. After skillfully having ourselves inserted on a track sporting a fair amount of crack we struggled a little against their tidy openers, being 3 down for circa 20 (the scorebook is a little hazy here) when Rob came in to join Butch. Thankfully these two old campaigners managed to put together another one of our familiar middle-order recovery missions. Butch was rolling the right dice and played some fine shots off both back and front foot in between the numerous chances, finishing up with a useful 48. Rob's innings was as usual chanceless-ish, and with some good running and effective risk-taking we were back on a fairly even keel before Tony came in after the fall of two (extremely unlucky) wickets. After being talked up as some kind of Boycott-esque throwback, Mr Liefting duly turned in a Jekyll of a performance, thrashing away in the hopes of avoiding having to do anything as strenuous as jogging a single. Rob was inspired and tried to clear the ropes, perishing for 28. T made 47 invaluable runs before gratefully staggering off for a lie down. Their openers returned to keep the last five overs tidy despite Keast's surgical incisions, meaning that we finished on a respectable 181-9.
Our efforts in the field didn't get off to the best of starts as we started the first over with 9 players due to Cantabrian subterfuge/ineptitude. The first three overs went for a few, with the bat thrown at anything near off stump and the hungover, angry 'all-rounder' not quite justifying his hogging of the new ball. Rich bowled extremely well, applying pressure at one end and starting the rot by bowling the 'danger man' around his legs. From there we began to pick them off, giving away very few runs and leaving them at 5-40 off 13. Rich ended up with four maidens in a row (he says) and figures of 7-4-12-2. A chance went down soon after, and from shaky ground they built up a steady partnership as the drizzle started to threaten our chances. Glen and Graham both started well, and the required run rate was still slowly building. Mike "Vampire" Sleyer found his rhythm after five overs, and the partnership was broken when a second lofted chance at long-off was spectacularly intercepted by that fleet fox Liefting. Mike ran through the rest of their batsmen with a mixture of line, length and accurate use of cracks, ending with 4-27. Ever the gentleman, on picking up consecutive wickets Mike decided that he'd pass up the opportunity for a hattrick and instead aim a beamer at the new batsman in order to give him a sighter. Jase toiled away with impressive control over the drizzly ball and absolutely no luck, finally being rewarded with the last wicket when the ball hit the bat followed by the pad, then being caught by the wicket keeper- confusion reigned, even after the batsman was given out. It's a perplexing game at times. Norths all out for 140, a 41 run victory for the Stallions.
Great effort in the field to keep plugging away in the damp conditions when things weren't going our way. We're still not putting the runs on the board in a consistent manner, though it is good to see different batsmen putting their hand up each week to save our arses. With a few tweaks we should be good to continue our rise up the table- we're now comfortably fifth, and those early losses are a distant memory.
Good attendance at the Four Kings for a thorough fine session well 'lubed' with cheap Speights. Luckily, Ravishing Ricky Tay only made us wait half an hour for his fragrant body. The Chch boys BC and Jake the Muss kept us entertained with stories from the deep, dark, depraved end of the world, and Iain's stalker seemed happy just to be a part of proceedings, a mere table-length away from the handsome devil himself. Once again we didn't manage to come up with a candidate for Pony on the night... somehow I think that forgetting the scorebook might swing things my way. Sorry fullas. I'll stay off the margaritas until at least April, I reckon.
05/12/09
A solid first win for the Stallions on Saturday in the unseasonal sunshine at Kelburn Park. Onslow put us in on a hard bouncy track and we suffered another unsteady start, with two wickets down before we'd broken our collective duck. Jase hung around for a while and toyed with us all by smashing one straight onto the croquet green before departing for 19. Rob and Hamish came together with the score at 43-4 and put together an excellent partnership to drag us out of trouble. Both batsmen regained the fluency of old and it was classy stuff, only tempered by the overgrown outfield which probably took about 20-30% off their totals. Which is a shame for Rob, since he fell 1 short of a well-deserved fifty (having believed that our astounded applause following his pulled six was intended to mark this milestone...). Hamish fell shortly after for a very well compiled and timely 73. Glen and Mike Sleyer managed to put together a handy partnership in the last few overs, each clearing the longish boundaries with actual cricket shots. Our final total of 189-9 was tidy given the outfield, and impressive given our unfortunate start. We are starting to regularly build big partnerships in the middle order, but obviously these will ideally follow solid starts as well.
The hard bouncy track was enough to lure me and my ego out of bowling retirement (that, and my pathetic dismissal earlier in the day), and with Rich bowling well into a very light breeze we had a tidy start, picking up their openers and conceding very few runs in the first 12 overs. Glen bowled another excellent spell and was supported by Henry at the other end, who has the knack of putting the ball in the 'right areas' consistently. These bowling partnerships are also vital as we all know and this continued throughout Onslow's innings so that there was never any let up in pressure. Onslow were 58-4 at drinks and needed nearly six an over already. Jase bowled a good spell from the croquet club end and Sleyer went from strength to strength, bowling 8 overs on the trot and picking up two vital wickets, including the partnership breaker. It was great to see the control from the bowlers, with very few four balls handed out and some enthusiastic and even at times athletic fielding to back it up. Hamish swapped the gloves with Rob and as usual beguiled his way through an unlucky spell, as Onslow withered and faded without much fight. Glen and Rich came back to finish things off, with Rich deservedly picking up some tail end wickets to finish with 3-23. Onslow finished all out for 149, 40 runs short of victory with only an over in hand. Butch and I reckon we can't remember a more consistent team bowling effort in ten years playing for this team.
Boycott biffs, Vampire slays, Stallions trot past Norths at Kura Park
A second consecutive win for the Stallions against North City at Kura Park. After skillfully having ourselves inserted on a track sporting a fair amount of crack we struggled a little against their tidy openers, being 3 down for circa 20 (the scorebook is a little hazy here) when Rob came in to join Butch. Thankfully these two old campaigners managed to put together another one of our familiar middle-order recovery missions. Butch was rolling the right dice and played some fine shots off both back and front foot in between the numerous chances, finishing up with a useful 48. Rob's innings was as usual chanceless-ish, and with some good running and effective risk-taking we were back on a fairly even keel before Tony came in after the fall of two (extremely unlucky) wickets. After being talked up as some kind of Boycott-esque throwback, Mr Liefting duly turned in a Jekyll of a performance, thrashing away in the hopes of avoiding having to do anything as strenuous as jogging a single. Rob was inspired and tried to clear the ropes, perishing for 28. T made 47 invaluable runs before gratefully staggering off for a lie down. Their openers returned to keep the last five overs tidy despite Keast's surgical incisions, meaning that we finished on a respectable 181-9.
Our efforts in the field didn't get off to the best of starts as we started the first over with 9 players due to Cantabrian subterfuge/ineptitude. The first three overs went for a few, with the bat thrown at anything near off stump and the hungover, angry 'all-rounder' not quite justifying his hogging of the new ball. Rich bowled extremely well, applying pressure at one end and starting the rot by bowling the 'danger man' around his legs. From there we began to pick them off, giving away very few runs and leaving them at 5-40 off 13. Rich ended up with four maidens in a row (he says) and figures of 7-4-12-2. A chance went down soon after, and from shaky ground they built up a steady partnership as the drizzle started to threaten our chances. Glen and Graham both started well, and the required run rate was still slowly building. Mike "Vampire" Sleyer found his rhythm after five overs, and the partnership was broken when a second lofted chance at long-off was spectacularly intercepted by that fleet fox Liefting. Mike ran through the rest of their batsmen with a mixture of line, length and accurate use of cracks, ending with 4-27. Ever the gentleman, on picking up consecutive wickets Mike decided that he'd pass up the opportunity for a hattrick and instead aim a beamer at the new batsman in order to give him a sighter. Jase toiled away with impressive control over the drizzly ball and absolutely no luck, finally being rewarded with the last wicket when the ball hit the bat followed by the pad, then being caught by the wicket keeper- confusion reigned, even after the batsman was given out. It's a perplexing game at times. Norths all out for 140, a 41 run victory for the Stallions.
Great effort in the field to keep plugging away in the damp conditions when things weren't going our way. We're still not putting the runs on the board in a consistent manner, though it is good to see different batsmen putting their hand up each week to save our arses. With a few tweaks we should be good to continue our rise up the table- we're now comfortably fifth, and those early losses are a distant memory.
Good attendance at the Four Kings for a thorough fine session well 'lubed' with cheap Speights. Luckily, Ravishing Ricky Tay only made us wait half an hour for his fragrant body. The Chch boys BC and Jake the Muss kept us entertained with stories from the deep, dark, depraved end of the world, and Iain's stalker seemed happy just to be a part of proceedings, a mere table-length away from the handsome devil himself. Once again we didn't manage to come up with a candidate for Pony on the night... somehow I think that forgetting the scorebook might swing things my way. Sorry fullas. I'll stay off the margaritas until at least April, I reckon.
05/12/09
A solid first win for the Stallions on Saturday in the unseasonal sunshine at Kelburn Park. Onslow put us in on a hard bouncy track and we suffered another unsteady start, with two wickets down before we'd broken our collective duck. Jase hung around for a while and toyed with us all by smashing one straight onto the croquet green before departing for 19. Rob and Hamish came together with the score at 43-4 and put together an excellent partnership to drag us out of trouble. Both batsmen regained the fluency of old and it was classy stuff, only tempered by the overgrown outfield which probably took about 20-30% off their totals. Which is a shame for Rob, since he fell 1 short of a well-deserved fifty (having believed that our astounded applause following his pulled six was intended to mark this milestone...). Hamish fell shortly after for a very well compiled and timely 73. Glen and Mike Sleyer managed to put together a handy partnership in the last few overs, each clearing the longish boundaries with actual cricket shots. Our final total of 189-9 was tidy given the outfield, and impressive given our unfortunate start. We are starting to regularly build big partnerships in the middle order, but obviously these will ideally follow solid starts as well.
The hard bouncy track was enough to lure me and my ego out of bowling retirement (that, and my pathetic dismissal earlier in the day), and with Rich bowling well into a very light breeze we had a tidy start, picking up their openers and conceding very few runs in the first 12 overs. Glen bowled another excellent spell and was supported by Henry at the other end, who has the knack of putting the ball in the 'right areas' consistently. These bowling partnerships are also vital as we all know and this continued throughout Onslow's innings so that there was never any let up in pressure. Onslow were 58-4 at drinks and needed nearly six an over already. Jase bowled a good spell from the croquet club end and Sleyer went from strength to strength, bowling 8 overs on the trot and picking up two vital wickets, including the partnership breaker. It was great to see the control from the bowlers, with very few four balls handed out and some enthusiastic and even at times athletic fielding to back it up. Hamish swapped the gloves with Rob and as usual beguiled his way through an unlucky spell, as Onslow withered and faded without much fight. Glen and Rich came back to finish things off, with Rich deservedly picking up some tail end wickets to finish with 3-23. Onslow finished all out for 149, 40 runs short of victory with only an over in hand. Butch and I reckon we can't remember a more consistent team bowling effort in ten years playing for this team.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Heart stopping cricket match ends in draw.
A draw for the cricketing Stallions on Saturday after some salvage work with the bat including an outstanding innings of 119 from Jase. Turning up to a soaked and drizzly Macalister, it didn't look likely that we would get through a full day's play. Colls decided to bat on, and continued in the same vein from the week before plundering 115 runs in 11 overs to build up an imposing lead. Their number 10 ended up with 110*, which helped to take them from 148-8 through to 334-9.
Faced with a lot of hard work we didn't get off to the best of starts, but Geoff and Jase put together a tidy partnership before things slipped again and we were 57-3, still more than a hundred behind. Jase and I managed to stick it out for a while and work away on a pitch that was generally not too terrifying to bat on. Rob chipped in with handy runs, and Jase continued to do his thing without looking in the slightest bit troubled. We pushed our lead out past 50 and the clock was ticking as we lost reasonably regular wickets again. Jase picked up his century and carried on through to 119 before their fielders managed to do what their bowlers never looked like doing. When JP was once again robbed of the batting spotlight we had made it close to safety with a second innings score of 241. This left them 76 to win with 5 overs remaining in the day. Their captain asked about fielding regulations- there aren't any... We held them to 39-4 and picked up some handy wickets thanks to Glen and Graham- useful for the points table.
Faced with a lot of hard work we didn't get off to the best of starts, but Geoff and Jase put together a tidy partnership before things slipped again and we were 57-3, still more than a hundred behind. Jase and I managed to stick it out for a while and work away on a pitch that was generally not too terrifying to bat on. Rob chipped in with handy runs, and Jase continued to do his thing without looking in the slightest bit troubled. We pushed our lead out past 50 and the clock was ticking as we lost reasonably regular wickets again. Jase picked up his century and carried on through to 119 before their fielders managed to do what their bowlers never looked like doing. When JP was once again robbed of the batting spotlight we had made it close to safety with a second innings score of 241. This left them 76 to win with 5 overs remaining in the day. Their captain asked about fielding regulations- there aren't any... We held them to 39-4 and picked up some handy wickets thanks to Glen and Graham- useful for the points table.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Well Rauru's email spoiled my countdown - i promised to talk up the wandering Stallion Robins return. Kinda glad - it was all getting a little much.
In reality I was less counting down the days to Robins return than to the incessant and totally undeserved fining of Graham which will inevitably follow. Must be all those years of suffering Graham as captain of the cricket team.
Anyhow welcome back Robin.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Crikey
Not so much this photograph of the barely missed Robin, but this blog from some of our VUWAFC brothers in arms fighting the good fight in Capital Football. And we think some of our blogposts are a little risque ...
BTW, it sounds as though the team in this match report - The Karori Aces - might be the other Waterside team in Div 7, with the Sealords presumably ascending the ranks.
Looking forward to playing 'the sad little emo'.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Lock up your daughters ... its Robin
Position
Right or left mid. Let’s face it - I’m only really good at running.
Stallion Hall of Fame
Most handsome Stallion 2004 (as voted by the team’s most regular supporter, Jen). Hang on, what about the other seasons?
How many seasons as a Stallion?
One less than self-proclaimed original Grand High Stallion Mr Rauru Walker.
Are you a dual Stallion? If so what game are you best at?
Yes. At this stage I’m the only “surviving” dual stallion. My definition of surviving excludes people who play one game of football every season just to earn the dual stallion stripes (Graham), people who play one game of cricket every season on a whim because it’s a lovely sunny day, we’re playing at Kelburn park and there might be a barbecue (Aaron) and people who have to invent new teams and call them “The Line-dancing Stallions” or “The Stamp-collecting Stallions” just so that they still feel like they’re still in the loop but really they’re quite homesick and just need a little cry (Rauru).
What game am I best at? Telling it like it is.
*Cricketing Stallion Greg says: Robin 'Rob' Hinkley- the man most likely to score an exquisite 49 and then get bowled leaving a straight one....Rob should be good for a stunning bicycle kick into the corner of the post, as well as for maintaining a veneer of faultless fair play and reasonableness while actually being a ruthless, cold-blooded psycho who writes catchy pop songs about vengeance and armed robbery...
Greatest Stallion Moment?
The goal I curled in from a corner kick at Newtown Park against our foes Wellington United. Someone (perhaps Ben H) blocked the keeper, and no one laid a hand on the ball until it was in the net. Aaron didn’t even get a shoelace to it. That’s a tinny goal, I know, but the best bit was my uncharacteristic celebration that few have been able to replicate – it was kind of a double middle-fingers-up albatross mixed in with the ferocious roar of a lion. Quite Ancient Greek in its blending of creatures actually.
Worst Stallion Moment?
Realising later that the celebration discussed above was OTT and made me look like a complete dick.
A close second: Losing against runaway easy-beats Stokes Valley in a mud-bath at Delaney Park (though “Park” is being quite generous here). I vowed never to wash my boots until we had avenged them. Avenging them was subsequently made more difficult by the fact that they were relegated. Now you know why my boots are always so grubby.
Describe your last goal for the Stallions.
Two Saturdays ago. Made a run on the left wing, and was fed a beauty by either Paddy or Tristan. The little legs of the Olympic Nursery team couldn’t catch me and I popped it across the goalie into the right side of the goal. Managed to keep my celebration in check this time.
Complete the sentence - As a player I am susceptible to...
Kicking the ball away too early. I’m always looking for the through ball, and often mess it up when I could just pass it back, run with it or hold it up.
Most under-rated Stallion?
Nick Goodall. Come on guys, he’s not that bad!
Finish this sentence. The Stallions need more…
…net pegs, and perhaps a couple more rolls of insulation tape. Could someone perhaps pick those up on the way to the next game? Is this part of the blog a kind of shopping list?
Which international player are you most like?
Susan Devoy, for obvious reasons.
Where will the Stallions finish in 2008?
I’m feeling pretty optimistic about the season, but it’s hard not to after a 11-2 win. We won’t have any other games as easy as that, and there are a couple of teams in the grade that look formidable, but I reckon we can finish in the top three if we can field a consistent team and aren’t plagued by injury or fatherhood. Structurally, we seem to be working well as a team – the defence is well organised, our strikers and attacking midfielders are showing a bit of spark, and we’ve bagged some handy new recruits.
Right or left mid. Let’s face it - I’m only really good at running.
Stallion Hall of Fame
Most handsome Stallion 2004 (as voted by the team’s most regular supporter, Jen). Hang on, what about the other seasons?
How many seasons as a Stallion?
One less than self-proclaimed original Grand High Stallion Mr Rauru Walker.
Are you a dual Stallion? If so what game are you best at?
Yes. At this stage I’m the only “surviving” dual stallion. My definition of surviving excludes people who play one game of football every season just to earn the dual stallion stripes (Graham), people who play one game of cricket every season on a whim because it’s a lovely sunny day, we’re playing at Kelburn park and there might be a barbecue (Aaron) and people who have to invent new teams and call them “The Line-dancing Stallions” or “The Stamp-collecting Stallions” just so that they still feel like they’re still in the loop but really they’re quite homesick and just need a little cry (Rauru).
What game am I best at? Telling it like it is.
*Cricketing Stallion Greg says: Robin 'Rob' Hinkley- the man most likely to score an exquisite 49 and then get bowled leaving a straight one....Rob should be good for a stunning bicycle kick into the corner of the post, as well as for maintaining a veneer of faultless fair play and reasonableness while actually being a ruthless, cold-blooded psycho who writes catchy pop songs about vengeance and armed robbery...
Greatest Stallion Moment?
The goal I curled in from a corner kick at Newtown Park against our foes Wellington United. Someone (perhaps Ben H) blocked the keeper, and no one laid a hand on the ball until it was in the net. Aaron didn’t even get a shoelace to it. That’s a tinny goal, I know, but the best bit was my uncharacteristic celebration that few have been able to replicate – it was kind of a double middle-fingers-up albatross mixed in with the ferocious roar of a lion. Quite Ancient Greek in its blending of creatures actually.
Worst Stallion Moment?
Realising later that the celebration discussed above was OTT and made me look like a complete dick.
A close second: Losing against runaway easy-beats Stokes Valley in a mud-bath at Delaney Park (though “Park” is being quite generous here). I vowed never to wash my boots until we had avenged them. Avenging them was subsequently made more difficult by the fact that they were relegated. Now you know why my boots are always so grubby.
Describe your last goal for the Stallions.
Two Saturdays ago. Made a run on the left wing, and was fed a beauty by either Paddy or Tristan. The little legs of the Olympic Nursery team couldn’t catch me and I popped it across the goalie into the right side of the goal. Managed to keep my celebration in check this time.
Complete the sentence - As a player I am susceptible to...
Kicking the ball away too early. I’m always looking for the through ball, and often mess it up when I could just pass it back, run with it or hold it up.
Most under-rated Stallion?
Nick Goodall. Come on guys, he’s not that bad!
Finish this sentence. The Stallions need more…
…net pegs, and perhaps a couple more rolls of insulation tape. Could someone perhaps pick those up on the way to the next game? Is this part of the blog a kind of shopping list?
Which international player are you most like?
Susan Devoy, for obvious reasons.
Where will the Stallions finish in 2008?
I’m feeling pretty optimistic about the season, but it’s hard not to after a 11-2 win. We won’t have any other games as easy as that, and there are a couple of teams in the grade that look formidable, but I reckon we can finish in the top three if we can field a consistent team and aren’t plagued by injury or fatherhood. Structurally, we seem to be working well as a team – the defence is well organised, our strikers and attacking midfielders are showing a bit of spark, and we’ve bagged some handy new recruits.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The Sounds of Stallions ...
There can't be too many Capital 7 football teams that boast members from major Wellington bands (yet another reason why the Stallions are so 'special'). On the top is Jason and the bad asses of Malegra, who apparently 'sound like sex'. Influences include: Muse, QOTSA, NIN, Smashing Pumpkins etc).
Below is Robin's warm and cuddly Good Laika, influences Midlake, Grizzly bear, Beck, Bright eyes, Trinity Roots, The Beach boys, The Beatles, Air. (I'm sure last time I looked it said Paul Simon!).
Which band best conveys the Stallions in music? Which would sound better accompanying Jamie's video footage of our next game? Would our musicians prefer these worlds of football and guitars to be kept separate?
What I like is the way these bands' descriptions seem to capture the way their stallions play football. Jason's sturdy defence is nothing if not 'progressive/rock/metal', while Robin plays football and guitar with a lot of 'Soul/Funk Rock/Experimental'. Ha ha - at times a little too much 'experimental' with the ball at his feet.
One things for sure - Malegra do much better photo shoots - here's another:
These images suggest that with Rauru, Tangi, Jules etc gone for now, the Stallions are more guitar music than hip hop. I think that might only leave Nick G - who (correct me if I'm wrong please) describes himself as having a bit of Justin Timberlake on the dance floor.
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