Men's 1s Welcome Aussie Ryan Along With Storm Brian

On an blustery but dry Saturday afternoon the Men's 1s welcomed MK to the fortress expecting a tough 70 minutes following 2 tight affairs last season.

The good guys welcomed Lewis and Ryan Hammond into the fold, with Lewis making his league debut and Ryan making the short trip from Melbourne and makes his debut after an impressive week training.

Hawks started well, causing chaos and creating chances, albeit a number of times lacking that final bit of required execution to turn a chance into a goal. Half time came and we were 3 to the good with the 3rd being a well worked team goal with Gregory on his nose sticking the ball high into the net.

Half time and the message was loud and clear. It's not great but its not terrible. We just needed to play the first pass, to a friend, on his forehand. Apparently it is just that simple.

In the second half we found another 4 goals without reply and Watts, Bennett and Gregory all bagging braces. Biggs once again got told off for now only the second time in his whole hockey career and as expected numerous toys were thrown all around Oxford. Luckily he had Blackburn next to him to help keep a lid on things.

The final goal was one of pure beauty. With Heywood forcing a turnover high up the pitch he found himself 1 vs 1 entering the 25. By the time he got to the D he had support from Watts and Gregory. Most blokes would see this, draw the keeper and slip the pass allowing either of them to complete their respective hat tricks however not this guy. Using the runners as a distraction he proceeded to lob the onrushing 7'9 GK with the ball dropping delightfully under the cross bar. A sign of arrogance? Absolutely not. Brave? Very. This writer would have paid good money for a front row seat with both Coach Williams and Watts on standby ready to share their thoughts had that not crossed the white line.

Anyway, 7-0. Always pleasant. Special mention to Aussie Ryan who struggled in the change of climate and rumours of him demanding higher temperatures weekly otherwise he'll return down under and also Matt Wood who for the first time in his illustrious career had a perfect game. No turnovers, no missed chances, no wrong decisions. Really good to see him flourishing under the Williams regime.

Next week we welcome Indian Gym. Already looking forward to it.