LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 223, 21 September 1927, Page 16

LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

NORTH V. SOUTH. INTER-ISLAND MATCH. COMMENT ON PLAYERS. In view of the North v. South Island match next Saturday it is interesting to compare the inter-Island teams of last season, when the North Island reps, won by 31 points to 22—a match that was played shortly before the ill-fated New Zealand team set out to tour Britain. The teams last year were:— North Island. — Dufty, Littlewood, Desmond, Davidson, H. Kirwan, Cole, Peckham, Avery, Hutt, Singe, Clarke, Townsend, Herring. South Island.—Eckhoff, Hickey, Brittenden, O'Connor, Vorrath, Sanders, Wilson-Hall, Mouatt, Peterson. Henry. Wright, Tallentire, Mason. The only players of last year who have been chosen for the approaching fixture are Dufty, Peckham, Clarke (North Island) and Townsend, Eckhoff, and Sanders (South Island).

Townsend and Eckhoff are not available, so that it looks as if Sanders will be the sole South Island rep. of last season in the team.

In the selection of the North Island team for next Saturday it is interesting to note that the selectors have different opinions to the Auckland rep. selectors in regard to the Auckland players. The selection of Peckham at half-back will give general satisfaction, as the little Ponsonby player has been playing at the top of his form this season. The choice of the Auckland rep. selectors for two half-backs was Webb and Mclntyre. In actual skill there is little between the trio, but they differ widely in style of play. Peckham is the mercurial, running half type, with penetrative skill that appeals to the spectators. Mclntyre plays the Australian game on the orthodox lines laid down by champions like McKivatt and Thompson — sharpness from the base of the scrum Ana the swift, well-directed pass to set the inside backs in motion. Webb plays the best strategic game, both on attack and defence—the kind of player who continually plots moves to outmanoeuvre his opponents. In Gregory and Wetherill the selectors have combined the two most talented five-eighths in Auckland, and with favourable playing circumstances the attack should savour of brilliance. The unknown quantity is their combination, and, further, the possibility of the centre being able to follow Wetherill. He is a notoriously difficult player to be allied with, as he attacks on the line of least resistance instead of trying to force a passage, and his devious ways at times are likely to nonplus his supports just as much as his opponents. The North Island three-quarter line is a strong one, yet there are some excellent players passed oyer —this a certainty at any stage, in view of the array of talent offering. Brisbane has shown great form this season, and is one of the players whom the English tour improved. List has proved his claim for a place in big football, and if a New Zealand side were picked this season would probably be sure of a place. Raynor is, perhaps lucky in receiving preference over some of the other players in sight, but, on the principle of giving a country player a chance, the, action of the selectors is to be commended. The selection finds Dufty back in his original and proper place at fullback, where he is the best choice, in view of the fact that Gregory is being played in the intermediate line.

The North forward line is made up of three Aucklanders, a Waikato representative and two Wellington players—a selection that at least will give the line an insular flavour. The Auckland trio are three' of the best in the local code, but were it necessary another trio of equal class could .just as easily have been chosen to support them. In Auckland not a great deal is known of the qualifications of the South Island players. The fullback is O'Sullivan, of Otago, who is claimed in his native city as fit for any New Zealand team. Blackaby and Robins are two of the best Canterbury three-quarters, while Sanders is known locally, and played here in the trial last year. The fire-eighths. Dodds (West Coast) and McKewan (Otago) are described as a versatile pair, while the half-back will be Woods, the find of the present Canterbury season, who 'has bridged the big gap between fourth-grade and inter-Island honours in record time.

On paper the South Island has a good pack, although not of the calibre of the South Island pack of last year, which included Mouatt, Peterson, Henry, Mason and Wright. Two of that five are now in England, and the other three have definitely retired as far as the League pode is concerned.