FOOTBALL

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 156, 1 July 1908, Page 7

FOOTBALL

I ■'-•' Considerable .dissatikfaetion was 'ex^ • pressed in Auckland over the exclusion of -Hsywaru from the New Zestlafld. team. • Beyward is unquestionably oSe of the iJfrt forwards in the Dominion, ana it ■γ-ifte confidently expected in the North t&tt he would have been one of the first - However, opinions differV aid . ■ ; fiile we Aucklanders naturally' Ifeel- a fßrt sore on the question the , 'selector* did not make a very - serioue JDUstake, as Patterson, the-man to whose exception was taken, i s reported J& have played a sterling game -,«; The result of the second test match a bit of a surprise, hut neverthel J^ f OiC t r°I Mp hht feel pleased at tbe ''***«»» -«** to have :■& last struck their true form. It mv le remembered that numbers of good judges, after seeing them play bicked of |reat possibilities, aud predated that when they were thoroughly well they would set the best of our teams a task to defeat them. The weather_ conditions wotdd-probably suit the visitors better .than-the All Hacks, but still they have to be give* credit ft* a great display;- aiid,-acbording to all accounts they, .were .decidedly unlucky not to wiri outright. The absence of IGlUett and Roberts was -severely felt by SS?Sr Zeala . nders . :«™a it is to be hoped - tfiose'great playS available for the next test m/tch •C.Seelmg, Auckland's crack:'forward' was-seriously indisposed during Ms visit •to Wellington, and should! not have splayed m the North v. South Island Match Notwithstanding his- iridisposiplayed a great game- di the 'Saturday against Britain, and fully maingmed his right to be classed as-one ol' i .ffie greatest forwards ever geeti out in . i.New Zealand. ;■ '-.. ■ :■- -■ ■■■>■ -•. ■ ■ W. WaDacei the well-kUown Welliiife- < has now established a record a4a : Aew Zealand International. ■ Wallace has represented New ZeaMnd iH fiv* disI ; «net years; counting-the tour of - GreUl; I Britain, as one season. T&e next O "fi the , list are the two Aueklan<iers,-W. ; Cunnings J 'lam and C. Seeling, and the" Wellingtbn- | 4jjan, W. McKenzie .(off-side "3&<&y wKo j .;pan« each lepreeuiied the: Dominion'for n jttour years. ... ' . -; :■',; .■ -..;: ■I "4 The..gross leceipts for the "Britain t. Boutb. Canterbury match amounted ttf I :j£336, and the expenses totalled •£ 12S; 1 The New South,: Wales'Kngiiy Union' ■fSi. pay all-the expenses of the British! j fe m fr° m New Zealand, including enterexpenses. lie. New Zealand Inion will receive halTthe net profits. 4 A Wellington writer" says" that Colemaa ; - most deadly tackling wing-forwari \ a the Dominion. '.'.■- s - ; I la commenting. on the North v. South Sand match, a Wellington writer says :• 'jThe easy fl'PP ßlll *.sort of styie with- . ; «Hch some of the- North islanders, not-' aaidßoberts threw the - ball l *9fc: times was the' champagne o£ the game,: 'fed decidedly .fascinating. Itis only the; "■Jop-no4chersy however, who can go- in for .-i-sysijem of -football jugglery.,,- --.; , : telegraphed-list ofthe-teani-chc* io represent New Zealadd?univerßities ; ; J:;their aeries '. pjf matches In: Sydtaey, the r , n of Auiiklani, - : -WaiP '~ nitted. % iHe and-Gffay.are ihe Auckland . , . Some surprise -was- ex-* - at-ihe-ttbn-ttclteaomof -Bamfbril,: the Anobiand University iohf&tA, x 6& if - ii 3 -omissioii can be taken as a criterion,; . ... he team, should be exceptional]y strong ,k>rward. i - " l- ■ J The fiist'inter-Union , match seaton was played on Saturday last between j|f6Hfields and Auckland, W,resulted ma Twit for:*he former by. 9 points to' ' .f.; The game was fairly even throughout,, ; ! ;iob the country players wete much more life home, on the- wet-ground jthan the local -" ;team,- -who never seemed at their ease.I ■ :|]tße forwards were wefi the , :insitorS'if anything having a trifle tne' i£esfc" ji£ it in t£e loose, but tiiey were - g.aHowed" a lotof latitude ",'by. Mr. STcGre- ■ and. there waa any niuount of 'waiting: ■ 'itsff-side" for chances,- the wingers _'('Silcoek! ! jmd Vincent) being grieat offenders inGds respect In the back division the ; men. frdm the Thames were a long way safer tSian the home cVatiagent, and they handled, the ball", -with a confidence ■ TWMclt'-wats 5t marked: contrast to their *55>oiii«aitB. Auckland's weafaiesa was - Bnastttofceily: 6r liijey end' on n» bccasion 'dttring. the game didof the trio shdw "th(3rr true form, itoiiaofl in partietflir -wag very much off,. and on two or three occasions "he threw' away, good chances by faifiag t& take the' v bail. '■ Carlaw and Hogan were also -very iweak in their SEurray wa» out *£'hie place ait-'fiVe-eigitns, and", '&!-■ , tfhough he did a fair amount of stoppmg.J :nob-be*'called' a ; success-in the .; ; .■ j»ei£H)n.--.-Bater^was'-and6nbtedly : tßig'star ■ performer on the day, and put in a lot of useful work, making several fine openings: "while hik'try -tfas' a 5 masterpiece. Miller:! ;Bid a -lot of stopping, and got through .without serious mistake. Kiernan at half idid not get many chances. -Auckland for- ■ wards were a very even. ibtj'Walsfe and; ißferring, if anything,- being-the most pro- j '£ninent,> -while McDonald .was,-.useful^. on | iieTnng. * ; - : :' .; >*-j ■'"- 0m : the"visitors'" side, Skillen was" prob-i Bhly the pick of the backs, but no fault! 'TBonlci-be AJund with •■ any of them, and ; Shey handled . the greasy ball in-good : '"style. In the forward-; division Sras about the. pick.•.-■ ; : r '.■-.■-. " the Gdldfields. three-quarter, i pjayed a ■ fine game for his side on Satur- \ 'flay, and" looks like developing into- a ■useful man.. In the second spell Skillen ■ ' Uwent full back and.filled .the position i jwell. Skillen. will • probably bevgiven a i Mr. Gallaher of earning reprehonours. Young is considered liie, best forward I v ttf the Goldfields , team, but on Saturday hardly played -up to his' reputation,, and : on-his showing was not «jnal- i» Grace I f,«r COTbett, both of whom gave'gpdd: exI hibitions. . . . ■ I ■.- Bater, the Ponsonby five-eighths, .who I Was "easily the best of the Auckland I backs on Saturday, has only to keep his .jfonnL.to secure hia cap. JJater is a very ietraight runner, and makes some splendid openings, but there is a tendency to hang isirtop long wiicL he'shoiild endearour to ; curb. , . .-.. . ; 'I&'.' '.Gallaier'si team for- Saturday i gainst the Hiames is very little different to-that which-played the Goldfields,. the only alterations.Being the replacing; of Hogan and Wilson by Carlaw and i iStuckey. None of our crack forwards j have been included, so evidently the selec- " tor intends giving, plenty of chances to fespirants for- representative honoure. ■ - The FarneH school team have., now, deifeated'all the other teams competing In ■: ihe3. Grade, having wo&ox niatchee out *f : 'gii Tteyr-r'teve *a»ed- lQ*j goca±6, Jt*pi* ooly Ux pointe Jure been ■ " ■'..■•--; ■■-;.'.■'■

Tie following pW era_ done particularly well throughout the season: Westbuiy, Haidtock A Fraser and J. We g tbury SS: C^sideriW y m <* e than.'half 'tM schools' game between School »nd St; John's College, fields raiser to tbs gj* i,l^^ tokldst -S»tnM*y, was not as mtereetipg usual, and, the boys dently d.^hkedtho : heavy ground Grammar School, which had an advantage m and- finished up wiiners fey seven pointsto ml. The principal; feature*.'of • the secondary schools , competition is the cleanness of the play, and the hoys show a.fine Sampleto the senior players-in this respect. ~. . Footballers generally will regret 6> learn that advices from -Wellington state that H. TX Thomson received such injuries in the. Melrose-Oriental match that he. has decided to abandon the game for good, the form shown by Thomson £M 3 season stamps him as- probably the best three-quarter in the Dominioir, and nis retirement at the present time "is a severe loss to New Zealand! During. Hie career Thomson- has represented' New Zealand,; South' Island, North Island; Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury; Wen-" ganui, 'and- Taranaki, and was a member of. the famous All Blacks. . Thomeori has- the. distinction of having played against-, every province in New Zealand. The". Welsh" Rugby Union; recently w celved a letter from the English Uiiion endorsing- a profdsed alteration in the rules, as follows: "Referees shall neve power under Law 3 to treat the touch judges- if- they were" players in-case of aay fornt of misconduct, such to include persistent -or frequent unfair decisione." The pFoposal will be considered ' *t the Welsh • "Union's annual . meeting next month as &recommendation of the committee. -•••..■■ Besides 1 Auckland, considerable surprise was; expressed in; the South .at the noninclusion of Hayward in the N.Z. teaml During the progress of the North and South- Island game, Hunter, the captain of the former team, congratulated Seeling on fiayward's play, and stated- that Auckland- were \ lucky in having, such a player' in their - ranks. . Wellington", football circles are a nmch disturbed at present, owing to tlie announcemeht that Thomson and BSberte; thejiwo- well-known" representatives, had decided tor retire, and that such retire:mente. were likely be" permanent. A further bomb Was been exploded during .the week by Wallace announcing that he ha* played his last game. Wallace been compelled to take this step owing to the fact that his damaged leg -(nbw affected by rheumatism) will not etatfd any more. , BiUy Wallace, as he is familiarly called; has been playing football for 16 years, and has fully earned the right to be claseed with: the greatest stare that have appeared in the footbaffi firmament. Wallace's first appearance; as a representative wsfe in 1897, and since then he has figured continuously, except when prevented by accident, iit, representative matches. .During his career he has had-a ; broken leg, a sprained ankle, abroken collarbone, a broken nose,, and! .a broken jaw> and not miny playenr take such a gruelling stnd-still con.' tmue. . The retirement of such a prominent player-is a severe less to New Zealand football, and in Wellington they are talking of getting up a benefit, which is a step in the right direction, and I am confident would get the support of footballers and others throughout the : Dominion. -: JtmiOK NOTES. The first round of the third junior competitions: finished on Saturday The £rst- juniors conclude their first round on Saturday next. n The second juniors entered on, the second round a few- weeks back. • . City and Newton tie for first place at the close of the first round in the third juniors. When these two teams met a pointless draw resulted, and each have •won- all their- other engagements. went through- the first, round without havingr a> point scored against them,, while Newton have- conceded only- six points to opponents. ' Galligan, lock, stood out of the Newton team ott Saturday last on account of a.sprained ankle. Mincham also stood otrfcvof the City team because of an injured-, knee. Nearly all. the junior teams played short spells on Saturday last, contrary to rules, but in view of the boisteroiis weather which prevailed it is hardly to be wondered, that they objected to go', to'the , limit/, ' ■'■•-■ City first juniors played only thirteen men in the field- against Newton on Saturday last) and fell "an easy prey to the red and whites, who could have ran. up a. much larger score had they chosen. The teams ■ played only one spell, and Newton 15 points to nil; City decided that they had had enough.' Reid, Newton's five-eighths, haa.Tjeen playing consistently since- the j opening' of the season, but had a day off on Saturday last. He apparently doesr not relish the mud. . • . - . Hooper and Hayward were about the beat".of Newton's forwards,.,and.,Healy was isafe at full-back... . ~;.■ •■■< ,_ -.*■,-. ■'■_. Miles, 'three-quarter, and Cross, fiveeighths, - were the .only piayera on.the City side to. show any form. ~:TheVforwarda were overrun, but, of, course, allowance must be. made for the fact that City -were playing two men short. . Stanaway was. the most conspicuous of : the forwards. . : ; , ,_•;./ Stewart" ; is-now playing in boots. All footballers, as.a: rule do, but Stewart is an oddity. : Some time ago he, or, rather his bare ifeet,,-were the- subject of a paragraph; in these columns, and the next Saturday Stewart surprised his colleagues by 1 coming on to,: the field wearing a pair of boots. Of course; he was asked: the reason- why, anid in. an injured tone explained that—"Those newspaper fellows have-gone cold; on mc." • ■.: -He was more or;less ,o£> &,;cariosity, and some merriment .was .caused when he discarded the boots, stating that he could : not play in them. Stewart has now, overcome <the inconvenience- he at firet feft inrplayinr in footwear; and last Saturday he managed to get through the match without casting'them aside, and he played* good game, being about theUest. of. Newton's backs. ; :; Ponsonbyalsp had matters ndicnlously their ownwwa y witb King's College, who played only ;iS men; winning by 21 points to' nil, after a short 3 ~ MbKinnwi end Gnmdy A*ped well, and were, ea«fly the h«t £ tte F*£ sonby forwards. Fmg»n r wee the edy Colleee iorward to show np prominently. Cross and;C«rl»w stood out «wwg the Ponsoniy backs, (

ffiorfegt 6f iHfe tßaftfc ParaeTl won By' vpemlSto' nSL" '?-r- ■ . .; ; lie Ponsohfcy arid Parnell second jtitt-. lot match claimed a fair amount'Of attention, bit Who are leading .for tfig championsMp, Had. rather an easy ■Win..: Parnell "is .the' strongest team to meet in the second round, hiving" played SKorS B '. twice -in -tKe" first , round, and tneif prospects for tfie : pre'mieninip are .bright indeed." it*'has been suggested that a- notification from the Auckland Union, that a visit;, from the ' Taranaki junior' reps, would be aueceptabte Would result in the Taranaki Union giving effect to an implied' promise made by. the chairman (Sir Humphries) on the occasion' o£ the visit of the Auckland junior -reps, to •New Plymouth last year. . \ o Tliat:NOrta Shore first juniors, -the 'leading team in the competition, should beat Marist Bros., wbb. have not won a match except by default, by only three points, and that a goal from a mark, would appear to the average reader as oner of the uncertainties of fobtbaU. But to those' who have fallowed junior football .the result is not' c ■ matter of'- euirpnee,; but one ofadmiration for the capital stand made by the /Tykes."•/ Shore, it ie generally; conceded, are. not the team their position in the competition would suggest,:but for all that, they are a strong combination, and might nave been expected to make a better- showing. The matdi was a treat to witness; despite the inclement weather.' The game wae essentially a forward one, but for all that fast and open, and the jeeae w*e in doubt to' the call of time. By some "it is considered that" Shore were lucky in winning, .but that is an open question'; at' all events, there was little between the' teams, and it must he rem*nv bered that Shore are- not ft- scoring- team, all ■ their matches so far this seaeott hii.ying .been" Won by comparatively email margins... ;.. '.. . . '..■_. . '~ On the other hand, Newton have eeen putting up some creditable scoring, and despite their; defeat by Shore in the first round are warm favourites for the second meeting. Personally, I am inclined to the opinion that' Newton are a better tean£ certainly in the forwards; yet tkere is something: about the Shore team we might call it luck;: failing a better word i —which cause* one to pause, and admit to himself that perhaps, after all, they might come out of the tussle triumphant; But whatever the issue, a. do* game may be expected; and! in view of tlie importance of the match it would be well for the committee to consider'-the advisableness' of. having: it played at Alexandra Park, Should Newton win the play off fo>''the championship might be' played. ■B" a"; curtain-raiser to one of. the repmatches. ■.-:•' ; Reverting to last Saturday's game, both teams played grandly; and every man did his full' share of the work: Perhaps Marat Bros, played a game out of the "foag," and it is not to "their discredit to state that Shore seem to have gone back a little. Both forward divisions Worked like Trojans, and where all did remarkably well, it would be unfair to' single one out above his fellows. TheMarist Bros, owe a great deal to the brothers O'Brien, full-back and n>eiaghths respectively, narticularly the latter, Who played a remarkably good) game. If all junior teams displayed the tame enthusiasm as the V two Marist Bros. , teams there would be no need for apprehension withi regard-to'the allegiance of the rising generation to the good old, Rugby game. The firet juniors have; not won a match on. .the field, although ne team, has succsededf in beatinjr them by more than a. few points, while ,the second .juniors attend, assiduously and cheerfully to training in the fai» cf overwhelming, defeats; : Such doggedness must ultimately have its own reward. It is worthy of note that!in all but one match the first juniors have been oefeated>y a matter of three points,'the exception being their second match, when Ponsonby won by 12 points to. 3 after a fost and open game. Their nearest approach to a win was a drawn game with City. .■■■.-■■-■ . PUBLIC SCHOOIS. The fbllbwing table show s the position of the public schools competition, which will probably be concluded shortly:—A Grade: Devonport, played 5,' won , 5, lost 0, point's for 109, against 0. championship points 10; bnehunga, 5, 4;' l, 118, 15, 8t Mount-Eden, 5,' 2, 3, 19, 33, 4; Ponsonby, 5, 2, 3, 11, 93, 4; Newton Eaet, 5, 2, 3; 8, 49, 4; Richmond) Road, 5, 0, 5, 0, 83-0. ■' -:-- ■■-:'. : _" ; ': ■ '■-- B Grade: Parnell, Played 6, won 6, lost 0, drawn 0, points "for 104, against 6, championship points 12; Normal, 6, 5. 1, 6, 105, 20, 10; Beresford-street, 6, 2,3,1, 14, 41, 5; Remuera, 6, 2, 3, 1, 20, 59, 5; Pitt-street, 8, 2, 4, 0, 39, 30, 4; Newton West, 6, I, 4,1; 9, 73, 3,- Grafton, 6, 0,3, 3, 14, 76, 3. C Grade: Epsom; 7. 7.0J 0, 81, 0, 14; NaEier-streef; 7, '5, I, I, 99, 5, II; Newmarket, 7, 4, 1, 2, 57," 21; 10; Ellersße, 7, 3, 2, 2, 25, 15, 8; Nelson-street; 7, 2, 4, 1, 11, 95, 5; Bayfield, 7, 2, 5, 0, 9, 77, 4; Mount Albert, 7, 0, 5, 2, 4, 47, 2'; Avondale, 7, 1, 6, (T, 8- 36, 2. WAIDKU FOOTBALL. Aβ was anticipated, the Eugby match between the Waipipi and Central team's was a keen one, and the play throughout was of a high grade. For Central, J. Bennet scored a try, after a splendid run by Vie. Barriball, Which he also converted with a:grand kick from the touch line, while Scott Wilson kicked . two penalty goals' for Waipipi.' Central were thus beaten; for the first time this season by one point without haying their line crossed. C. Bro6kliss r was easily the best forward on the ground, and played a great game -for Central; Craig, on the opposing side, also did good work; j. Bright (Central) and Short (Waipipi) played good football, while the backs on both sides were in great form. Mr. J. Makgiil was referee. In junior play Waipipi also scored.:a- meritorious win of 14 points to nil. Central had only thirteen men, but were otherwise no match for their, opponents. " Waiuku reps, play, North Shore next ad have every hope of a win. —Waiuku Correspondent > • ■'- '■ r ■ . ■