LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 120, 24 May 1927, Page 14

LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

THE DEFEAT OF CITY.

PONSONBY'S HARD GAME.

(VINS FOR RICHMOND AND SHORE.

Those who expected a brilliant exposition of the League code when Ponsonhv and City met on Saturday were doomed to disappointment. The game for three parts of its way was a gri ft dour struggle, with City fighting himl and hopelessly against a task that seemed too big for them. Yet, true to tradition, City rallied in the dying stages, and went down in a fighting finish after a desperate effort to bridge the gap and overhaul their opponents' lead. Keen, relentless, tackling was the hallmark of the game, spoiling tactics played havoc with team "work, and scores were generally the result of individual effort and not preconceived team work. Except near the end of the game the Ponsonby forwards held the ascendanev. The blot on the game was the scrum-, work. With six players trying to get possession simultaneously, things were often farcical, und the ball was rarely put in where it should go. The-fight for possession led to a depressing sequence of free kicks. When the rakes got a chance to show what they could do the honours generally went to the veteran, S. Lowry, although he had a redoubtable opponent in A. Townsend, Both sets of backs got quite a fair share of the ball, although it mostly came to them from breaking ruck-play. The team work of the inside men fell below anticipations, and the three-quarters had to fish for their own chances. Not once in the game did the ball travel cleanly from the. half to the wing three-quarter, which is proof positive on the particular point.

Peckham and Riley were the outstanding Ponsonby backs, the former's attacking work being brilliant. Riley infused a lot of dash into his play, and his corkscrew run through the City backs was one of the few gems in a drab game. In their own ways, Grey, Usher, and Gardiner played good games, the latter, as usual, proving a very hard man to stop when he got away. At full-back Langley, a junior of last season, gave a display full of promise, and is fully deserving of a chance in the senior ranks. Payne and Hutt etood out in the western side's forwards, and were well up in every raid that was launched on the City end. 1 The City backs fell a long way short of their best. Behind the scrum Ghent played solidly. Wetherill is in the unfortunate position that he has to be judged by the standard that he has set himself. On the day he was a patchy Wetherill, good and bad in turn, his very best of the heady brilliancy order, yet revealed on too few occasions to give the City backs the pivotal attack of the kind that the speedy players behind him need to show their paces. Perry disclosed nice incisive dash in attack, and is now beginning to fit better into the City picture. For the City three-quarter line it was rather a bleak afternoon. Brown now and again revealed his great pace, but he was very closely marked, and not a real scoring chance came his way. His deadly tackling was a fine feature, and here again his great speed in getting to an opponent was of inestimable value to his side. B. Davidson in the centre was also starved for chances, but pace blended with opportunism brought him into the right position on two occasions at the crucial moment to 6core. Wade played above his usual form, and was well in the spotlight all day. Paxton, who is new to the League game, was not too happy at times at full-back. He fielded with great accuracy, and got a good range with hit kicking. He made a few mistakes, but with more experience of the code he should do better. Bass (up to the time he was hurt), Mackie, Townsend, and Hadley showed up well in the City forwards, the latter shining in the work. As a final comSßnt upon the game, one might point value of a reliable goal-kicker to a *de. Delgrosso converted the three tries that Ponsonby got, and also kicked a penalty goal, his contribution being more than half of the points. RICHMOND'S WELL DESERVED WIN. At last Richmond have shaken off the spell of bad luck that has dogged them since the beginning of the season, al-! though in the preliminary stages of their encounter with Marists on Saturday they did not reap the just reward for their labours. Stung by an earlv reverse, they launched attack after attack, but over-eagerness and transgressions thwarted them until Prentice outstripped the opposition on the left flank to flash across in the corner. Instead of forcing, however, he made the fatal mistake of trying to get round behind the uprights. As a result he was pushed into the dead ball area, a*id thus his fine effort was nullified. An easy penalty goal from the reliable boot of Carroll, a few minutes later, brought a measure of compensation, but at the interval the maroons were still one point on the wrong side of the leger. In spite of the fact that tliev grievously missed the services of Campbell, a clever hooker, now on the injured list, Richmond forwards prevented the opposition's scoring machine from functioning properly by quick breaking-up and following-up. So tenacious were they that they were mainly responsible for their side running out winners by the clear-cut margin of 15 points to 3. Marists were unfortunate at times, but fairly beaten. On one occasion, offside play by Brisbane—who fell short of the form he displayed in his two previous games—prevented a clear . run ill, when Kirwan made another beautiful opening. Their forwards were a hard working lot that lacked necessary cohesion, and the front row men—Noble, Turner and Graham, won the majority of the scrums. Sweeney was alert at half, and got the ball away smartly enough, but passing manoeuvres rarely went beyond Crewther and Kirwan, the insides, who were effectively muzzled. Brisbane was decidedly off colour, and the flankmen, Hansen and King, were practically starved. Gregory was relmble as ever, but it could hardly ?P* Sf— "j 4 * he was superior to Hanlon 'defence for Richmond W ao almost faultless game.

Behind the maroon pack, Davis opened up the play at every possible opportunity, and was responsible for a deal of rush stopping, while Parkes and Prentice, in the live-eighths line, silenced

Kirwan and company and combined sweetly. Jenkinson was sound in all he did, but Swift on the left wing, was inclined to kick too much. Invariably a crisp pass would have served better than the tactics he employed. Donald, a forward, acquitted himself on the opposite wing with credit. It is difficult to discriminate between the forwards —there was not one of them that let up from the word go—but Bass, Stewart and Carroll were always in the thick of the fray. Of the Tykes six—a beaten pack in the main—Noble was the most prominent. He played the game of his life, and his diagonal-fending run that gained about thirty yards for his side about ten minutes from the belt, was a great effort. He was unfortunate to get injured when Hanlon grassed him with a solid tackle, when he was within a few yards of "the chalk line. He was well supported throughout by O'Brien, Turner, and Graham in particular. From many points of view, the game was an excellent one. It might have been of a more open character, but the jest and determination which each side displayed never created a dull moment. At times this zest was inclined to go tocj fir,, and some of the players indulged in.practices that were not fair and above board. For instance, there was a deal of barging into men well after they had got rid of the ball. Referee Emiralj eventually put a stop to this sort of thing when he caught Stewart and O'Brien exchanging compliments behind a scrum, and rightly and promptly ordered them off. The devasting nature of the work of the Richmond van, which ultimately wore down the greens' skill and overcame their tactics in very pronounced fashion, stamps them as a pack equal to any in the competition.

NOT SO BAD. Although the score in the DcvonportAthletic match—47 to 3—looks as if it was a run-away victory, it was not such a bad game as the figures indicate. There is no doubt that the men from the marine suburbs excelled themselves, but they did not have it all their own way all the time. It must be remembered that this year Athletics have quite a number of young players who have donned their senior jersey for the first time. On the other hand Devonport was playing on the home ground, and this in itself meant a lot. There were numerous occasions when Athletics made quite a good showing, and had they managed to muster a full team there is little doubt that the game would have been more even. As it was only twelve men turned out, and right up till the last minute it looked as if they would only field eleven. There is some exceptionally good material in the making, and if the team sticks together there should be a marked difference in their combination and play as the season advances. Op Satrtrday the Athletic lads gave some excellent displays of the code, but all of these just lacked the necessary finish. At this stage it might be as well to mention two things. One is that if a game is set down to start at a certain time then it should not be ten minutes or a quarter of an hour after that when the teams line out. Ths other is if a player knows he cannot turn up on a Saturday afternoon, then surely it is little or no trouble for him to purchase a penny, stfmp and drop a note to the selectors. On Saturday sotae sixteen Athletic players had been told to hold, themselves in readiness for a game, and some of them, it is understood, knew on Thursday night that they would oe unable to play on the Saturday, out did not mention the fact. Had they done so it would have given the selectors a chance to make sure of a full team being lined out. This kind of thing is becoming far too common, and it is about time some measures were taken to put a stop to it- If those same players turned up expecting a game and lid not get it they would be the first to complain: On Saturdays so; far as the Athletic-Devonport'game was concerned, the boot was on the other foot:

SENIOR B SECTION.

Throwing the ball around in the most attractive style Ellerslie inflicted a severe defeat on Mangere last Saturday. Beat the tune of 26 points to 7. It was a good game, interesting to watch and very vigorously contested right throughout. On the day's play there was no shadow of doubt which was the better team, and if Ellerslie can maintain their present form, they -should go close to winning the senior B championship. Mangere fought gamely, but they were no match for the clever Ellerslie backs and big, fast forwards. ' The Mangere team is composed mostly of Maoris and they threw themselves into the game with wild abandon. The backs were always dangerous, and it was only lack of cohesion that saved Ellerslie's line several times. J. Wilson, senr., gave a splendid display, at fullback and was a tower of stojngth to his side. Rosieur and J. Wilson were two other backs who showed' good form. FoiTest and Hama Hapi seemed .to be the mainstays of the Mangere pack. All of the Ellerslie backs played excellent football with R. Johnston, Littlewood and Shand most prominent. The last named accounted for Ellerslie's first ten: points. He scored two fine tries, both of which he converted himself.' Littlewood obtained his two tries in a way that greatly pleased the spectators Led by Capner and Cook the Ellerslie forwards kept Mangere bustled all the time. Without exception every man did his work well. Kingsland recorded another victory when they journeyed to Otahuhu and defeated the home team by 11 points to 3. The game was a little more ragged than would be expected under the fine conditions which existed, Otahuhu being the chief offenders. The full-back for Kingsland, McDonald, did not give such a- good exhibition as on the previous Saturday, his fielding of the ball being at fault on many occasions. Woolley, on the left-wing, was rather weak. List gave another splendid exhibition, and he .will give Davidson -a

good fight for the centre three-quarter position in the rep. team. Carter played a great game for the victors. Many of Kingsland's supporters expect him to turn out a better player than List. Carter is only 17 years of age., Among the forwards, E. Sims was an outstanding player on the field, and when it is considered that he is over 40 years of age, there was plenty of merit in his performance in scoring two tries. Baker was about the best of the Ofcihuhu backs, making many openings w}-ich were not taken advantage of on many occasions. Ho was formerly a member of the Army team in France. Eustace was again the mainstay of the backs in defence, while Kirkland, a brother of E. Kirkland, who played for Marist last season, made a couple of characteristic runs through the Kings-l-isd team, but did not receive tiie support he should have had. Pilcher was the best forward, his fine following up being one of the features of the game.