DEVONPORT SUPREME.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 119, 22 May 1928, Page 14

DEVONPORT SUPREME.

It is an open secret that Devonport were not altogether a happy family on the eve of the team stepping out to play Richmond. The seasiders are paying the price of greatness by having more good players than they know what to do with, and it means when a thirteen is finally chosen somebody has to be left out. The Shore team was selected at the last moment and they dropped Rule and Syinonds. Last year Shore induced Holmes, a Rugby Union rep. threequarter to sample the League game, but this season they have been unable to find a place for him. He has been on the bank, and on Saturday Symonds, another Rugby senior of last season who changed his status, shared the same fate. From the Shore viewpoint it is quite a domestic affair, but it would certainly be better for the game were it possible to give players in the uncertain category an opportunity of getting a regular game with some other talent.

If the end justifies the means,. Devonport's policy of swapping horses bore fruit. The fact remains that they fielded a wonderfully well-balanced team against Richmond, which gave a display that was wonderfully sound. Sheer dash put Richmond on top in the early stages, and, as the maroon forwards were able to command an even share of the ball from the scrums, the outlook for the suburban side was extremely bright. At that stage Devonport was holding on with difficulty. A hectic first half saw the teams level with seven points apiece. The second session was just as keenly fought, and Devonport, as the result of a converted try, won. Towards the end the heavier Shore forwards asserted themselves. They beat Richmond consistently in the scrums, and the Shore backs were given opportunities which their opponents' back division were denied. And it was only valiant defence by the Richmond players that prevented a bigger .score being run up against them. On the day the Shore team work was definitely superior, the backs combining much more effectively than their opponents' back division.

It was sheer experiment to play Wells at full-back for Devonport, but the junior gave a very good display and did not let his side down. All the others played up to form, albeit with a lustre dimmed by

the relentless de-1 fence that they encountered. On the wings L. Scott and, Saxon made the best of every chance that, came their way, and Beattie shone in the centre, his ono fault being that he showed a tendency to drop paaicwfL y'.Cfoser . to the scrum the work of : tlie players was beyond cavill. Seagar, as usual,

| made some nice openings on attack. The Shore pack was weighty, fast* and full of pep throughout. A. Scott impressed as a brainy player who habitually did the right thing; Ruby and Dixon were always prominent, while Hunt's display was outstandingly good. If physical fitness was the only necessary essential, thjn , Richmond would have won, but, faced with a very solid defence, the only way to victory was by superior tactics, and right to the end the suburban team found no way of circumventing the problem that they were faced with. On the day the maroons had two great forwards in Stewart and Colebrook splendidly assisted by Jenkinson, whose play as loose forward was of a very high quality. Behind the pack Davis played solidly and got the ball away cleanly. Prentice was decidedly the pick of the five-eighths, tackling in deadly fashion and showing great dash in.attack. Prentice's corkscrew run in the second half, which carried him nearly right through Devonport, was the outstanding individual effort in the game. Neither Wheaton nor Turton got much into the picture, but Taylor in the centre played at the top of his form, was in place-kicking mood, and landed one remarkable goal from just inside the half-way line, one of the greatest efforts seen on Carlaw Park. Swift, who is small and on the light side, played brilliantly on the wing showing pace and resource in attack with a praiseworthy inclination to work the in-pass when blocked. Right through he tackled splendidly. The man who carried most of the Richmond burden was Hanlon, who ha<f more work to do at full-back than the H V *n?iL e , fu J l back in a month. Hanlon had a very hectic time near the end of the game when Shore attacks were being launched incessantly from all sorts of angles but he was never at fault, his handling being faultless and his clearance kicks marked with iud«ment and good length. °