Huge thanks to Ravi and Emma for all their work last weekend. They cooked up a fantastic meal for 50 people in aid of the indoor trip to Budapest. This, along with the generously supported raffle ensured over €1000 was earned to send the lads away in Februaury. Many thanks to everyone who contributed and helped with the night!

Congrats to Freddie Morris and Daragh Walsh (u16) and to Harry Morris and Luke Madeley (u18) for their call ups to Irish trials following last weekends inter-pros. Well done to Harry and Stuart on winning the competition with the Leinster u18 side.

On the senior side of the club last weekend had mixed results for our teams.

The mens 1sts had a disappointing 3-0 loss to Monkstown away, widening Pembrokes gap at the top of the table to 5 points again. They will hope to turn this around on Saturday at 12pm away to Railway.

The mens 2s take a break from league action to take on Pembroke in the Irish Junior Cup at home at 12pm. They will be followed directly by the ladies 2s in their Junior Cup game as they welcome Ulster Elks at 2pm. The ladies did not have a league game last week but were due to play Swords on Monday night. This game was cancelled due to flooding in ALSAA and will now be rescheduled.

The ladies 1sts bowed out of the Irish Hockey Trophy, succumbing 3-1 to Bandon. They will not have a league game this Saturday but play North Kildare in a refix of the Leinster Senior Cup at 8pm on Wednesday night at home.

The mens 3rds won 4-2 against Corinthians in an exciting game and will play Rathgar at home this week at 4pm. The 4ths had a comprehensive 5-1 win against Fingal but face a trip away to Kilkenny this weekend. The mens 5ths are also on the road, but only to North Kildare. The report from their game against Trinity last weekend can be found in the team news and match reports section of this site.

The ladies 3rds will hope to bounce back from a 4-2 loss to Loreto when they play Pembroke at home at 11.30 on the back pitch. The ladies 4ths meanwhile were the victims of frost last Saturday and so had an unplanned weekend off! They take on Genesis away at 2pm this weekend.

For anyone wishing to know the league positions of any teams, check out the Leinster Hockey website at http://leinsterhockey.ie/

On the junior side of results, the u12 boys won all four of their matches in their tournament in Weston, beating YMCA, Railway, Corinthians and Wicklow. Well done boys!
The under 14s had a great tournament last Sunday beating Pembroke Railway and most importantly Monkstown
Sam Ryder , Ben and Dan Walker , Conor Empey and Nick Judge starred in the pouring rain
Meanwhile the girls u8 and u10s had their matches cancelled due to frost, with the same fate befalling to the u14bs. The u12s had wins and draws against Dalkey – well done! The u16bs lost to Glenanne.

Should any juniors wish to have more information uploaded please contact ladies.captain@threerockrovershc.com with news & results and we will get them up.

We are thrilled to announce that this year we are going to have JOINT Christmas fun and games for all our juniors! A fun filled few hours of getting to know each other and a bite to eat in our clubhouse. NO NEED FOR HOCKEY GEAR.

The cost per child is €5 and will be collected on the day by our band of willing volunteers….
Friday 14th Dec:
6.30-8pm Under 16’s

Saturday 15th Dec:
09.30 – 11.00 – Under 8 and 10. Santa will be here making a quick stop during this session!!

5.30-7pm – Under 14’s

Sunday 16th Dec:
Morning – hockey as normal for the girls
4-5.30pm – Under 12’s

A quiet weekend in HQ match wise this Saturday.

The mens 3rds/4ths and 5ths are the only teams at home, playing at 12.15, 2pm and 11am respectively.

The mens 1sts will take on Monkstown away at 1.30 in what is likely to be a crucial game in the race for the Division 1 title. The mens 2nds meanwhile have had their game postponed.

On the ladies side of the club, the 1sts travel down to Cork to take on Bandon in the Irish Hockey Trophy. As a result the 2nds game has been postponed to Monday night, away to Swords.

The 4ths will hope to bounce back from their cup defeat last week, as they play Guinness at 12pm.

The junior girls have a number of matches too this weekend. The u8 will play Sutton, the u10s and u12s have Dalkey at home, and the u14 and u16 girls both have league games also.

On the social side of things, 50 club members have signed up for Ravis curry night! Taking place in the clubhouse from 7.30pm on, Ravi and co have been hard at work all week preparing for his culinary feast. Proceeds from the night are going towards the mens indoor trip to Budapest in February. Training for this competition commenced this Wednesday, with some of the lads being very thankful to make the switch to slightly warmer training conditions!

Monica Dillon is collecting for the needy families again this year. Traditionally club members donate €5 each to this worthy cause. Money can be left for the attention of Ali Keogh behind the bar, or ladies captains have been asked to collect from each of their teams.

Finally, best of luck to all of our members taking part in the inter-pros this weekend in Cork. Freddie Morris, Daragh Walsh and James Walker (u16s), Harry Morris and Stu Ronan (u18s), along with Ben Epstein (coach u16s).

Some old and new pavilion members came together for the first of our pavilion lunches this Saturday. Over 30 members enjoyed a main course, dessert, wine and coffee from Rachel prior to sitting back and watching the mens 1sts 3-1 win over Fingal.

Pictures courtesy of Andrew Furlong can be found below
https://www.threerockrovershc.com/photos/pavilion-lunch-nov-2012-342967.html

It was great to see so many familiar faces up in the club. We hope to host another in the New Year.

On a mild Wednesday evening the ladies 3/4s and the mens vets team joined together to play some mixed hockey. The men usually play until 8.30 when the ladies 3/4s then take over to train. Fun and hockey took over instead of normality this evening.

Words from Craig Bishop;

Corinthian Lady’s cancelled the match yesterday – a bit late to be trying to arrange something else. Our vets side turned up to play in any event but then others wanted to join in. By the time we’d finished the number of players had increased significantly. It was such a fun evening’s hockey filled with its own fair share of drama – Robert Haughton playing to the gallery with diving attacks on the goal and Ellen stripping off her winter gear exactly at the wrong moment.

This weekend sees a busy mix of league and cup games for a number of teams.

The Ladies 1sts will play Newbridge Wednesday evening at 8pm, in a fixture brought forward from Saturday. The girls will be hoping to maintain their unbeaten run in the league. The bar will be open so please pop up to support.

Saturday sees the first matches in a double weekend for both the 1sts and 2nds. First up is Fingal at 1.30pm for the 1sts, followed by the 2nds at 3pm. The 1.30pm game will be preceded by our first pavilion lunch of the season. Rachel will be cooking up a storm for 24 of our pavilion members before they watch the men in action. The lads will be hoping to get back to winning form following Tuesdays 2-all draw with Monkstown.

Sunday brings Avoca to the club, with the 1sts tipping off at 3pm, and the 2nds playing Trinity at 4.30pm.

The mens 4ths return to action following a week off last week and are away to Bray at 4.15pm.

The ladies 2nds will be hoping to get some points on the board in their early game against Our Ladys at 11.30am.

The ladies 4ths give the league a break as they take on Genesis in the cup at home at 12pm, while the 3rds play away to Genesis at 4pm in the league.

After making a glut of phone calls to try and get players out for a refixed game against Portrane that clashed directly with the Irish rugby game, Rob eventually bit the bullet and lined out for the men’s 3s – his first game in eight years after numerous players could not make it due to injury, ticket reasons and so on.

Lo and behold, after a titanic tussle out at ALSAA, Rovers pushed on one last time with three minutes to go after the previous 67 minutes had proven goal-less and all but chanceless. But the ball weedled its way to the fearless leader who smacked home a winner with a deft turn on the penalty spot to give the side their first win of the season! Chuck and Stiff suggested it might have been Rob’s first goal in over 20 years; he couldn’t remember when he had last scored!

Elsewhere, the men’s first advanced to the semi-final of the Irish Senior Cup, making it a bit harder than it should have been with a 5-3 win over Kilkeel. Peter Blakeney’s hat-trick and one from Shane Madeley had us 4-1 before they got back into it, needing a late Alastair Haughton goal to seal the win.

The semi-finals of the Irish Senior will be played on March 23 with the final taking place the next day so mark your diaries for that one. The draw to see who our opponent will be made sometime in early 2013 but this is certainly a huge achievement for Joe Brennan and his emerging team. Well done lads.

The ladies first remain unbeaten with a 0-0 draw against Old Alex. The result leaves them in fourth place in division two and the best placed of the first teams in the division after five rounds of matches.

The ladies 4ths fell 3-1 to Avoca. The ladies seconds bowed out of the cup to UCD and the men’s 4ths lost 5-4 in Naas with Rob Haughton netting a couple of goals.

Finally, congrats to Mitch Darling and former club member Andy McConnell who have both been named in the Irish senior squad who travel to Argentina for the Champions Challenge I tournament

Ravi will be cooking up a storm on November 24th in the clubhouse.

Home-cooked Indian curry will be served from 8pm for €20 per person. Money raised will go towards the mens indoor trip to Budapest.

To book a place contact Ali at ladies.captain@threerockrovershc.com

LIKE TO PLAY FOR THE IRELAND VINTAGE MASTERS O55’S?
Ireland Masters Hockey is all about fun and enjoyment and getting a chance to represent your country at age 40 or over. Our players come from all over Ireland (Ulster, Munster, Leinster, and Connacht) and further afield as well!! We field ladies’ and men’s teams in the over 40s, over 45s, over 50s, and over 55s age groups.
What is the commitment?
• Monthly Sunday training sessions (Dec-Mar)
• Inter Pros (April)
• England Regional and International Invitational Tournament (May)
• Home Internationals – venue tbc (June)
• European Championships in Ireland (August)
Contact
Crawford McKee
Tel: 01245 231079 Mob: 07968 122425
Email: crawfordmckee@blueyonder.co.uk

The South East Committee are looking to appoint a Management Team for the Under 21 Interprovincial Squad. The team will consist of a Coach, Assistant Coach and Manager. Coaches are required to have a minimum Level One qualification. Please forward a brief resume to admin@leinsterhockey.ie stating your experience to date and giving two referees. Training will be located between Enniscorthy, Kilkenny and another venue tbc.

Closing date: 18th November

Great result for the men’s firsts last weekend as they won 6-5 against Instonians in the second round of the Irish Senior Cup with Peter Blakeney scoring five (yes, five!) and Mitch Darling getting the other.

Inst had built a 2-1 inside nine minutes as Paul Gleghorne’s drag was quickly cancelled out by Mitch Darling before Matt Martin’s crash ball found its way into the goal.
From there, though, Blakeney took hold with a four-minute hat-trick to see Rovers seemingly cruising at 4-2, applying two corner goals and a sharp finish from Shane Madeley’s assist.
But player-coach Marl Irwin – just moments after he made his entry to the game – got one back and William Robinson’s reverse tied matters at 4-4. No sooner had they done this than Blakeney slammed home on the spin with eight minutes to go and added another soon after before Alan Paterson got one back.

Video highlights of the game can be found here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYAc-CctAzA

While photos can be seen at this link
http://presseye.com/assignment/kbHHuBEVqtjnfRYwJDNoTg..a?ts=DMM5hYETt8qDpeLkyT1h3A..a

Joe and his men now face Kilkeel in the quarter-finals of the competition this Saturday at 2pm; all support welcome!

Elsewhere, the ladies firsts remain unbeaten as they drew with Genesis 0-0 to stay in fourth place in division two. They are on this Saturday at 12pm at home against Old Alex, making for a great double-header at the club.

The men’s 4ths picked up their third win of the season from four games with a 3-0 win over St Brendan’s while the 3rds and 5ths had games called off for frost. The mens 3rds and 4ths have brought forward their games for the 17th of November and will play Portrane and Naas away respectively this weekend.

The women’s 2nds narrowly missed out 3-2 against Loreto. They take on UCD in the cup this weekend away at 12pm.

The Ladies 3rds fell 2-0 to Rathgar and have no game this weekend, while the 4ths were beaten by an impressive YMCA side.

Fixtures for this week are as follows:

Men’s I vs Kilkeel, front pitch 2pm
Men’s III vs Portrane, ALSAA, 4pm
Men’s IV vs Naas, Caragh Road Naas, 12.45pm

Ladies I vs Old Alex, 12pm, front pitch
Ladies II vs UCD, 12pm, Belfield
Ladies IV vs Avoca, Newpark, 2pm