LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 78, 3 April 1926, Page 13

LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

THE PAST SEASON. i CHAIRJIA-TS REVIEW. i A SUCCESSFUL YEAS. '; in the words of the chairman (Mr. \C. J. Hanii-ia) of the Auckland Rugby 5 League, in his annual report, to be pre- 1 sented to members a: the meeting to be 1 held next wee'-. :"s season of 192-5 has < been "marked with gre_t _ progress." i The ne: ?ro_t on the season's wording • is shown* a: £957 5 5. w_;eh must be 1 considered highly satisfactory when it 5 is remembered that the team sent on i tour sontb carried a loss 01 something : in the vicinity of £400. In the i°_4 sea- 1 son the A.P-L. showed a proht of just < over £130". so "hat in two seasons' ; vorkin. the amount "cleared" over the - sta_ing of the code is well over £2000. : I_e report goes on: "The League now : decend= on Carlaw Park for its revenue, : and on behalf of the executive we take 1 fn ; - opportunity of extending to patrons : : the thanks of the League for their sup- ' port, and to assure them that in the i future, as well as in the past, the ; League will provide good, clean sport 1 for its patrons, and the claims of charity I will not be lost sight of. Ue the audited j balance-sheet you will see the progress made by the Auckland Rugby League. while in rive years that Carlaw Park has been established you will see that the sum of £9358 15/7 has been spent on the improvements. During the past season your League have made "rants to the assistance of clubs repre- • santing the amount of £519 7/10, and donations to charity £111 13/, trophies to the value of £51 16/, grants to re- ] ferees £50 0/3. representative teams on tour £400 15/ S, and are still able to I show a net profit, which is transferred j to the consolidated funds, of £957 5/5. 1 insurance. "The Auckland Rugby League take '• pride in being the originators of a free insurance scheme for all senior players. The benefits derived from the scheme are as follows:— In the case of disablement, each player is paid the sum of £3 per week for a period of 13 weeks. This has been highly appreciated by those who had the misfortune to be injured, and relied on the scheme. Proposed Improvements. "Since January, 1921, the day on. i which the Auckland Kugoy League took j possession of Carlaw Park as their j home for League football, vast improve- ■ ments have been made: it was on June 25 of the same year that your president, Sir Arthur Myers, performed the opening ceremony. The wonderful change from a Chinese vegetable garden to such a magnificent park of to-day can hardly be realised. It is the intention of the League at an early date to improve the dre=sin_ accommodation for players, and 1 as soon as funds will permit a larger grandstand will be provided. The ground during the summer months had a lot of attention paid to it, and we now have a , very fine sole of grass all over the play- | ins area. I Stormont Shield. "A handsome shield has been pre- j sented by the Stormont family in memory of the late William Stormont, a : member of the Aiarist Old Boys' Club and an Auckland representative. The , handsome shield was first held by the Alarist Old Boys' Club, and was com- 1 peted tor at the end of the season as a champion of champions match. City, i Ponsonby and ilarist Old Boys' Clubs competing, the trophy being finally won j by Ponsonby. j Auckland Teams' Successes. "The Auckland representative team was successful in capturing the North- ] crn Union Cup from South Auckland. The trophy is now in the hands of the Auckland Rugby League awaiting for the Southern Leagues to journey North : in quest of this valuable trophy. A j special match for trophies donated by the Labour Da}- Committee was played at the latter end of the year between Marist Old Boys and Ponsonby, and, j after a good game, the honours went ! to the Ponsonby Club. "The Marist Old Boys of Auckland, j under the managership of the chairman, ! Mr. HammLl. returned the visit of the : ilarist Old Boys of Christchurch, and I incidentally played the opening match at Monica Park. Christchurch. The i Auckland representative team, under , the managership of Mr. R. Doble, visited I Wellington. Christchurch and Grey- j mouth. The tour as far as playing was ; concerned was highly successful, and we feel that the Southern centres have been benefited by same. "The League members are commended for the line sportsmanlike spirit prevailing among the clubs on and on the field, and a continuation of this spirit I must tend to benefit the game and irn- j prove the standard of the play. Your executive a_ain appreciate the clubs' ] efforts to place In the field the teams I properly uniformed, and we trust in the j future strictness to uniform and punc- ; tuality to time will mark a feature of the game. In conclusion, the committee | note with pleasure the good feeling that I has characterised the working of the League during the past season, and are sincere in taeir desires that the same good fellowship will always be associated with the management and con- j trol of the Auckland League." j