HOCKEY
DARRYN Marjoram probably hasn’t been compared to a Chateau Margaux 1787 before, but just like the fine red wine the 47-year-old Orange hockey gun keeps getting better with age.
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Marjoram was this week selected in his seventh consecutive Australian Masters side, earning a spot in the national over-45 team.
Marjoram starred with NSW at the men’s Masters Australian Championship in Cairns, helping the Blues to second place on the ladder before suffering a semi-final defeat against hosts Queensland, the maroons reversing the two-goal loss against NSW during the pool stages with a 4-2 semi-final victory.
Still, Marjoram, who played in six games and scored a goal in his side’s 3-nil win over Western Australia, did enough to continue his golden run of national call-ups.
“It’s something that’s in the back of your mind at the start of the year,” Marjoram said of his selection.
“I like to try and continue to improve. A lot of people think it’s just the young guns who can get better, but there’s a few of us older players still learning some new tricks.”
Marjoram will take his place alongside a stack of former international and past Australian Hockey League talent in the over-45 outfit, one that’ll contest the Masters World Cup in Canberra early next year.
Captain Steve Carter has played internationally, and he’s not the only one.
It’s that kind of calibre that made Marjoram second guess whether or not he’d be good enough to again earn an Australian call-up.
“There’s a lot of good 45-year-olds who still play in the over-40 championship, guys like Gav Smith have played for Australia and Paul Armitage have played AHL hockey,” Marjoram added.
“It’s really competitive so you’re never really sure if you’ve done enough to get picked.”
Marjoram admitted his NSW over-45 team did well just to make the semi-finals, with hosting rights generally ensuring a home side wins the championship.
“I thought we went well. I thought it’d be tough and it was, but we finished second and then ended up losing the semi-final to Queensland, who went on to win it,” he said, Queensland accounting for Victoria 2-nil in the final.
And that’s after the Vics produced a stunning 6-1 semi-final win over Western Australia.
“It usually goes that way, the home state is always very strong,” Marjoram said.
AUSTRALIAN OVER-45 TEAM: Steve Carter (captain, MacGregor, SA), Paul Armitage (vice-captain, Hilton, WA), David Brown (Lismore, NSW), Alan Colthard (Carlisle, WA), Wayne Grimes (Burns Beach, WA), Nicholas Hill (MacLeod, VIC), David Hurst (Ashby, WA), Peter Keeble (Runaway Bay, QLD), Dean Lomax (Bunbury, WA), Darryn Marjoram (Orange, NSW), Stewart McDonald (West Leederville, WA), Andrew Newton (Blakehurst, NSW), Leon Phillips (Merewether, NSW), Andrew Sanders (Sorrento, WA), Damian Smith (New Town, TAS), Grant Smith (Ballina, NSW), David Tilker (Croydon, VIC), Dean Wightman (Bundaberg, QLD), Alan Sheehy (coach, Mingarra, QLD), Robert Thompson (manager, Artarmon, NSW)
