AUSTRALIAN GAME.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 114, 13 May 1908, Page 9

AUSTRALIAN GAME.

The premiership competition was advanced another stage on Saturday. At Victoria Park, Eden won a very closely contested game from Newton. At one stage of the match it looked fairly certain that the new club would add another victory to their record, but themaroons lasted better, and the win was due to their play in the last quarter. The new club played with good combination, especially in the first two quarters, j and if they attend to this branch of the grame success will assuredly be theirs. Some of the Eden players shone out at ] times in individual effort, notably Fletchet in the first half, George in the seeontl half and Clayton and Welch right through. Undoubtedly, the best man on the ground was Elvidge, who hails from ; Broken Hill. He finds the soft turf a : little strange after the hard ground of the Barrier city, but when he becomes "acclimatised" and in his best form I expect very good things from this pbiyer. Wilson (vice-captain) played a sterling game throughout, and he appeared to be in his element battling in the ruck all day. Wilson is a very fair footballer always. Marshall, the Newton captain, handled his men in an able manner on Saturday. The same can be said of Clayton, skipper of the maroons, and I was pleased to see how promptly the instructions of both captains were carried out by the men. In Frith, the maroons have secured a very fair forward, some of his long kicks this season being quite out of the common. O'Connor scored three goals on Saturday for Eden, and this player I am glad to see is on the improve. At the Domain, Austral secured a fairly easy win from ImperiaL Kelly, of the black and whites, was the star performer of the match, and his exhibition was one of the best individual efforts seen in Auckland for some time. Kelly, I regret very much, left for Australia on Monday, and the league has sustained a severe Io3S in his departure. My readers generally will be sorry to learn that Geo. Stewart, erstwhile Austral crack player, was amongst the seriously injured in the great railway smash at Braybrook Junction, Victoria. Advices to hand by last mail are, I am pleased to say, very reassuring, and it is hoped that Stewart will make a speedy recovery. On Saturday next Austral and Newton meet on the Domain, and Mr. Lang has been appointed umpire for the match. A good game is anticipated. The Imperial and Eden clubs will be pitted against one another at Victoria Park, and Mr. Koliden has charge of the game. The reds will have to show considerable improvement on their efforts so far this season to have any chance of beating the redoubtable Eden team. Arrangements are being made for a representative Auckland eighteen to meet a combined Goldfields team at Thames on May 25th or June 3rd next. The match against the Waihi team is always looked forward to with pleasure, and this year a very close contest is anticipated. The season opened in a highly successful manner on Saturday, 2nd inst, at Melbourne, and the exceptionally large crowds present for so early in the competition is a satisfactory sign of the times. Football is going to boom in the Victorian capital this year, and the PanAustralasian carnival to be held in August is expected to be a huge success. South Melbourne, i n the presence of 20,000 spectators, won a stubbornly contested game from Fitzrov by 9 points jGeelong surprised everybody "by kicking 12 goals 13 behinds to Collingwood 6 (goals 8 behinds. Carlton beat St. Kilda 16 goals 12 behinds to 3 goals 4 behinds.

Geo. Gillett and W. jtfonteith will both strip for Australa. ATN UXPLEASTN INCIDENT. (To the Athletic Editor.) Sir,—l -wish to make a remark about an incident that occurred during last Saturday's football match, Ponsonby v. j City. A Ponsonby forward followed up smartly and tackled a City back, who was just about to kick- There appeared nothing unfair and nothing rough about the tackle, but the City man, as soon as he recovered his balance, seemed to hit out I at the Ponsonby man with his clenched fiijt. It was close to the front of the stand, and the incident happened on that side of the ground only a few yards away, and that this was the interpretation placed on the incident by* those dose to mc was shown by many freely hooting the offender. One of my chief reasons for writing this note is to call attention to the faerc that as the referee did not see what happened, though hundreds of spectators did, there was no one to call the offender to account. 'Now, is there no , way out of this difficulty? It is physically impossible for the best referee in the world to see everything that takes place, especially on the blind side of a serum. And, of course, the men who go in for foul and brutal play naturally choose the moment when the referee's attention is otherwise engaged. Cannot the Rugby .Union be induced to allow the appointment of officials to assist the referee by watching for instances of deliberate brutality and reporting them to him or to the managemenW)f the local Union? The suggestion has been made often enough before 3 and it seems to mc

that tall it is acted there will be no security against the recurrence of such disgraceful incidents as I have described.—l am, etc., LOOKER-ON.

PREMIERSHIP MATCHES. POSITION OF CLUBS. Pld. Won. Lost. Drn. Pts. *= den • 2 1 - l 6 Austral 2 1 i q Newton . 2 1 l Imperial ... 2 2