Isaac Farmilo, Antony Doolan and Josh Worpel all played in the competition’s first round, and said although at times they struggled with the new format, they enjoyed it immensely.

Farmilo, 14, and Doolan, also 14, played for the ABLAC side - and came away with a 2-2 draw with a WHK side featuring both their fathers, Andrew Farmilo and Greg Doolan.

Fifteen-year-old Worpel’s Maccas franchise had a 3-2 win over Sportspower.

The sides play each other twice during the rounds before the finals.

Midfielder Doolan scored a goal in his match, and said that some sides struggled early on, with two less players on each team making for heaps of space on the pitch.

“Not many teams adapted to the space. They just played up the middle,” Doolan said.

It was the first hitout of the season for the players, and Worpel said he felt it after the game.

“It was pretty tiring, but it was played in quarters ,” he said.

“We just ran as hard as we could all game,” Doolan said.

Among the rule changes for the new version of hockey is a different version of the short corner.

When a short is taken, the attacking side is given an extra player, with four attackers taking on two defenders and a goalkeeper. The rest of the players stand on half way.

“But they’re allowed to sprint back and defend when it’s taken,” Farmilo, a striker, said.

“One or two of them were scored,” Doolan said.

All three players said they enjoyed the faster version of the game, but prefer the traditional 11-a-side game.

“I think the umpires struggled a little bit too,” Doolan said.

Sportspower plays WHK in the second round tonight at 7 o’clock, while Maccas plays ABLAC in the second match.

Chris Ninness also plays for ABLAC, while Tim Hardy is part of Maccas, and Alex McKenzie and Jared Mackay line up for WHK.