ASSOCIATION GAME

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 179, 29 July 1913, Page 8

ASSOCIATION GAME

Pleasant news of a compliment to the Auvkhmri Referees' Association may be announced in connection with the Wellington-Canterbury Brown Shield ma.tch. to be played a 1/Wellington next ■Saturday. Yesterday. Mr. C. O. Duns- , ford. Hon. secretary of the Referees' Association, received a wire from headquarters notifying that Mr. L. C. H. Dawson had been appointed to referee in the match referred to. 'Needless to say, no one in Auckland doubts that Mr. Dawson will give a good account of himsolf, and his appointment is regarded with satisfaction ;by all players and by his feilow-reierees. The present is a suitable opportunity to turn down, a page or two of Mr. Dawson's private history. He played in suburban League matches at Home for several years, and in 1908 played in the London" Junior Cup finals. H« arrived in New Zealand in January, 1909. and that year saw him tnrn out for the old Tabernacle team. In 1910, he joined the Referees' Association, to which he has belonged ever since, and, with the exception of the 1911 season, when he was laid aside with a broken ankle, he has been an active referee.

The fourth-grade maieh between Y-iLCA. and North Shore teams, played at Devonport. was very fast and interesting from start to finish. Shore kicked off with the wind against them, and immediately attacked, but were soon stopped by Sharp, who sent the ball well up the, field. Fast play by the YM.C.A. forwards then followed, and Kennedy put in a shot which the Shore goalie just managed to save. Both sides tried hard to score, but the solid defence on ea<A side was unbroken, and no score was registered in the first spelL The second spell opened full of interest. \'3J.CA. carried the ball right down into the Shore goal, and Woolley gained pessession, sending in a beautiful centre, which Kennedy put just over the crossbar. Shore forwards livened up, and, as the result of a good piece of work, sect in a hard shot, which Merritt saved splendidly. Following this, Kent gained possession, and took the ball right down the left wing. For a. while Shore's goal looked dangerous, but Coleman cleared, and V.M.C.A. forwards tried hard to score. Fast play followed, and ■Mason sent in a beautiful cen.tre, from which Woolley had no difficulty in notching the only goal of the match, for YM.C.A. All the forwards played well, while (Sharp, Greer, and Mason were the best of the backs. Of the Shore team. Spinier. Coleman, and Craig l were the 'best.

The state of the Bayswater No. 1 ground, where the Corinthians-Brother-hood match was played oil Saturday, provided a very hea.vy trial for the. players and for the* referee. Mr. Dunsford, the faithful official referred to, ploughed around in the mud with apparent enjoyment, however, and kept up with a fast, keen pame in a manner which won the confidence and the appreciation of the players. The playing pitch, with a>ll its occasional glue-pots to cling to the feet of the otherwise speedy, yet showed the benefit of the recent drainage, the field pipes that have been laid down fulfilling their purpose satisfactorily. ■At this stage of time, and regarding the result of the match as one of the things thai goes down to history, it servos a more useful purpose to review the srame in a general way than to deal again with incidents of play which were interesting at the time. And, when one looks back at it in this innod. a feature that stands out prominently is the excellent backpl.iv that was shown on both sides. Corrin. Brotherhood's curlyheaded left back, did not slack up foi one minute from start to fiiiifih. He was as surefooted on the slippery ground as a goat on a stony hillside, and he doubled and turned with the agility of a ]>010 pony.

On the other side, in the same position oa the field, there were Roberts and Sale, probably the best pair (considered as a working*combination) that we have amonj the Auckland full-backs playing at tbe present time. Taking the jrame all through. Roberts wa-« perhaps the more conspicuous in the tirst part, and Sale in the latter stages, Robert? is a lovely kick, a model for anybody to copy* with advantage. He uses his foot like an expert tennis- player uses a racquet for a forehand drive, and he places the ball with thp same degTee of accuracy. He does not favour the promiscuous - punting which some of our players affect, and which is of about as much real value as flying kites.

Sale warmed up to the requirements of a strenuous game within a quarter of an hour of starting, and thereafter he was one of the shining stars in a sparkling constellation. Sale is never absent when things have to be done. He is a wonderfnl exponent of the welltimed half-volley kick, and as a tackier he lias the insinuating ways of the old man of the sea, who. you may remember. >rjve Sin'bad the Sailor something to tliink about. Sale does not charge hit; man in the good old blundering fashion, and it is just that little way of his which so completely misleads his opponents. When the tricky forward does not get the hustling he expected, he heaves a sigh oi relief and prepares to shout. It is then that he linds the wily one has .slipped mysteriously into position, and gets the 'ball away from the very toe thjt was about to boost it. If you "want to learn anything you had be,tter start out by remembering that Ned Sale has a genius for football, and has a counter for every feint that was ever put ibp against him. There was once a brilliant forward who could hav-e beaten Sale the full-b&ek. His name was Sale. too. When my young friend Clarence, who sometimes drops in to relieve his feelings by talking football to mc. heard the above remark, he said: ""Aw. cheese it! They are both the S3me bloke!'' Clarence is a bright I boy, though his language is a trifle weird at times-