LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 114, 17 May 1927, Page 12

LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

MARIST IN THE LEAD.

TWO DRAWN GAMES

With two wins in succession, Marist are now loading in the senior A grade. Drawn games on Saturday between City and Richmond, and Xewton and Ponsonby, indicate a more even standard of play, and in the case of Xewton, proof that the team has been greatly strengthened compared with last season.

Marist in Winning Vein. The continuation of the League games was just a possibility, although at one stage, when a deluge set in, it seemed an improbability. The most surprising feature was the attendance at Carlaw Park, which numbered a couple of thousands, hardy souls who were prepared to brave the rain in the prospect of seeing a game played. Yet the Park was in very good order, despite a superabundance of moisture, occasional pools and puddles, and the ball a slithery thing that slipped, here, there and everywhere. Played in two abbreviated spells, the Marist-Devonport game resulted in a really good exhibition of wet weather football, and as the outcome of better constructive play Marist have still an unbeaten record. Both teams adapted themselves to the special circumstances, and "up and under," which is not usually regarded as League in excelsis was, on the day, quite a suitable means of progression, as there was always the offchance of a defending player being unable to snare and hold a singularly elusive ball. .

There was once a day In New Zealand when wet weather football was regarded as quite a usual experience, and players became adepts, at handling a greasy ball. From that exalted plane of the past there had been mild deterioration,

and as a wet ball is now often synonymous with scramble, it was refreshing to see players, in spite of manifold disadvantages, "give it a go" in the colloquial sense and endeavour, after the forwards liad" done their part, to finalise a movement with pissing tactics. Without rising to superlative heights the team-play of both sides was, at times, excellent; the game was, in tho main, a tense, gripping struggle, and the margin was at all times sufficiently close to keep the spectators buoyed up to a high pitch of excitement. Marist put a strengthened team in t».e field that included - King, Jate of Manukau, reconverted after a romp in the Rugby fold, and J. O'Brien, a wiimer of Dominion honours when in the Union game half-a-dozen years ago. Like Madame Melba, hia pending retirement from the limelight appears to have been prematurely announced.'

Shore hatl their rearguard intact compared with the previous Saturday, and two changes in the forwards. As the forwards were well matched on the full run of the play it was left to the backs to seek the winning maTgin. Here Marist held a distinct advantage by reason of a ready adaptability to the difficult conditions that ruled. Gregory" gave a splendid exposition of full back play that was marked by faultless handling and clever "disposal of the ball. Brisbane was the outstanding back of the side with brilliant opportunism. King disclosed just enqugh to show that he was a determined hard-running wing, and may prove the class scoring three-quarter which the greens have been seeking for some time. In the intermediate line Crewther was clever and nippy, while Kirwin showed clever anticipation and a nice appreciation of positional prav. The Marist forwards were very even. O'Brien showed up well at times, but at the moment appears "to be carrying a surplus of weight. Fore and aft the greens tackled with great resolution, and their defence was very hard to penetrate. A weakness on the part of the Shore backs'was again revealed, and just as all things are relative they did not compare favourably with Cleaver behind the pack, or Scott and Beattie on the flanks. That trio played well all through the game, although the wings got practically nothing in the way of chances. Webb's injury and retirement early in the game was a tragedy from the Devonport viewpoint. He was playing soundly, and putting up an unblemished defence, and Perry, who deputised could not reach the same plane. Ruby, Dixon, St. George, Rule and O'Brien were always prominent in the forwards. The latter again played an outstanding game, and has struck the peak of form ahead of some of his colleagues.

City and Richmond Draw. The saying that a game is never lost till it is won was strikingly illustrated on Saturday by City in their encounter with Richmond. Their tenacity in face of adversity, and when they appeared to be hopelessly beaten, allowed them to come away at the death and make a draw of it, 15 all. Lacking the services of A. Townsend, a usful hooker, and their fleet scoring winger. L. Brown, they were slow at working up a semblance of combination. Brilliant on a hard turf, they were out of their element in the mud and rain. In the first spell they were overwhelmed by the opposition, who were quick to realise the advantage of kick-ing-hard-and-following-up tactics, and at the interval faced the gloomy prospect of reducing the deficit between fifteen points and two. In view of the unpropitious conditions, it is difficult to define the actual merits of the individual play-, ers, but on the day Richmond, collectively, were superior. They were decidedly unlucky to lose, and one try at least went begging—when Jenkinson swept across the line only to lose possession of the more than usually elusive ball. At no stage was the play sparkling, although it was solid, and rarely were the teams able to develop those glorious passing movements that make the League game so popular.

It . is truly stated that Wetherill is the .brains of the City team. He is more than that. On Saturday he was here, there and everywhere, sure on defence after a late start, and dangerous on attack. Hia faculty for anticipating the trend of the play was remarkable to a degree. Hiß try that put the teams on fequal . terms, seVen minutes before the end, was reflective of his genius. Instead of scooping up the slippery ball, he kicked through, followed up fast, and dribbled across the unwary defenders' line to score. City made the fatal mistake in the first spell of shifting Paxton, a newcomer to their ranks, from the fullback position! and sending Miller, a junior forward, out to "scout." The latter, as wm only to be expected,

caused more trouble _ enough, although lie proved himself a toiler'in the forwards at a later stage in the proceedings. Paxton, as the last line of defence, was impressive, and more should be heard of him as the season advances. Outside of WetheriU, the remainder of the backs were not impressive until towards the end, perhaps for the reason that the bulk of the scrums went against them. Lemon and Wade," on the wings, received few chances to display their ability, but the latter finalised the only passing movement in which he was fortunate enough to participate, with a try. Ghent, behind the .pack, was a toiler all the way, and had a lot of rush stopping to do. Of the forwards, Bass, Hadley, Mackie and Hamilton were probably the most outstanding.

A chapter of accidents proved disconcerting to Richmond, and in addition to the Hyland brothers coming into collision with disastrous results, Campbell, who had played a great game in the pack, had to be carried off shortly after the change over. Parkes, fresh from his tour of England, was the inspiration that spurred the maroon forwards on to effort, and was unquestionably the best forward on the ground. He was ably supported by Stewart, Campbell, Telford and Carroll. Hanlon, in the full-back position, demonstrated his handling and great defending capabilities repeatedly, especially when his side was hard put to it in the last ten minutes. Davis, the Hyland brothers, and Jenkinson combined well, and on the day overshadowed the opposition.

THE B SECTION SENIORS.

The Mangere-Point Chevalier game was a very fast -one, though the wet .cpnditions militated .against Combined back play. Larly in the match L. Wilson scored for Mangere from a scramble near the posts, and Wilson junior kicked a goal. Point Chevalier consistently attacked, and though Monoghan kicked two goals, . Mangere still had a lead at half-time. A goal by Pitman put the Point a point in front early in" the second spell. Play was highly exciting from then on till near,the end when Daniels scored a try for Point Chevalier after a fine run, and decided the issue in favour of the home team by 9 to 5. Owing to the adverse conditions which existed, the match between Kingsland and Parnell was for 'most part played by both teams of forwards. On the general run of play Parnell were a little unlucky to be beaten by a margin of 3 points, as, on many occasions they were within an ace of scoring. McDonald, the full-back for Kingsland, played a great game, many times saving his side from a certain score. Carter played a fair .game on the left wing but Sims was very disappointing on the other flank, missing opportunities to open up the play. List did not receive much of the ball, and another thing was well marked by the Parnell backs. Campbell was about the best of a good set of forwards. For the Parnell front line Brockliss was conspicuous by his fine following up. The others were about on par. It would be hard to single out any back for mention as they did not receive many opportunities owing to the forwards not getting the ball in the scrums. With only a few minutes to go and five points behind no one expected Otahuhu to beat Ellerslie on Staurday. A timely score right beneath the posts, however, gave them a splendid opportunity of making it a drawn game—an opportunity that was lost, through Phillips missing the easiest of kicks. It cannot be said that Otahuhu were unlucky to. lose. Had the day been finer the chances were that Ellerslie would have beaten them by a bigger margin. Otahuhu fought bard and held the lead until after half time, but theh their powers of resistance crumpled up' under the severe pounding of the heavy Ellerslie forwards. Both teams took a long time adapting themselves to the unfavourable ground conditions. It was not until effort after effort to open up play had failed that the players realised that the best chances of success lay in keeping the ball at the toe. When they did adopt these tactics (and Ellerslie did not adopt them until well after the interval) it was quite evident that both teams needed a lot of practice in dribbling and other phases of forward play. Pilcher was the be*t of the Otahuhu forwards. He played an outstanding game and is the makings of a fine player. Faulkner, Otahuhu's wing, and Baker, five-eighths, also played well. All of the Ellerslie forwards worked hard, with Slater, Cabner and f'ook H almost everything. Raxborough performed creditably at full-back, while Littlewood and the two Johnsons showed occasional flashes of good play.