LEAGUE FOOTBALL

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 149, 26 June 1928, Page 12

LEAGUE FOOTBALL

PROSPECTIVE PREMIERS.

DEVONPORT'S BIG LEAD,

SECOND ROUND STARTS

Communications are now passing with the object of founding the League game at Hikurangi, in North Auckland. Thirty-six senior Rugby players have announced' their intention of joining the League Code, and it is stated that immediately two senior teams will be formed. On several occasions in past years there has been talk of League football in North Auckland districts, and on one occasion two League junior teams were sent to YVhangarei to stage an exhibition game. The latest announcement is interesting, but there are difficulties ahead, one being that there could not be much hope of success unless other teams outside of Hikurangi were induced to join up, as at least four senior teams would be necessary to have a competition.' At the moment the Hikurangi move. is receiving the kindly attention of "the League people in Auckland. Probably little can be done this season towards the organisation that will be necessary to get the code going on a proper ijtasis, but the outlook for next season certainly is promising. Although the cable people on the did not send it across it is now known that the first game that the Englishmen played at Sydney drew an attendance of 53,000, and as the two following matches had attendances of 40,000 and 38,000 the tour has been put on an assured financial basis. This season increased prices have been charged for admission, and perhaps for that reason the record attendance of 00,000 was not approached. The Englishmen lost two of the three matches played against New South Wales; also their first match against Queensland. They have, however, won the first Test match, which was played at Brisbane last Saturday. Australian critics considered that the tourists are a good team, one which will be really formidable when they work up combination and get used to both colonial conditions and interpretations of football laws. The second round of the Auckland club competitions was played on Satur day, and the results of the games leave Devonport with a commanding lead. City made a great fight against the leaders, *ghore finishing with but two points to spare. Richmond are still in second place, although they were defeated by Newton, the latter showing some of the fbrm which made them the champions last year.

The following table shows the present positions of the teams in the senior championship

GOOD FORM BY NEWTON,

»«ue was in doubt in the NewtonRichmond game right to the end. The teams were well matched, played brightly, and a very good exposition of the code was given. One feature of the gapne was a big improvement in the Richmond backs, due largely to the fact that T. Hanlon was brought up from full-back to play in the five-eighths line. For once the inside play of the maroon backs had a delightfully keen thrust, and by the same token the Richmond wings saw more of the ball in an afternoon than they generally get in a month. Hanlon played an outstanding game, defending

soundly and showing fine anticipation and superlative dash in attack. It was quite the best

display of fiveeighth play given in Auckland, this season, an exhibition which must make the rep. selectors think hard when they get together to choose the Auckland team to meet England. Hanlon, by the way, is not a new discovery at five-eighth. He played in the intermediate line for Richmond on at least one occasion last season, and made a big impression. This year the Richmond selector considered bringing Hanlon closer up to the scrum, but delayed the action owing to the difficulty of getting a suitable substitute. Leng was the deputy on Saturday, and witii greatness thrust upon him creditably sustained the role.

Prentice's appearance —he came on near half-time to replace Wheaton, when the latter was hurt—caused a big demonstration from the spectators, as the Richmond five-eighth is vo. popular with the crowd, and they feel that his abilities have not been fully recognised by rep. selectors, particularly the triumvirate which made the choice for the last English tour. One was left to speculate what the standard of the Richmond back play might have been 'had Prentice and Hanlon been associated in the five-eighths line throughout the season. The one thing certain is that the men outside of them would have seen much more of the ball, and have been given a much better chance of showing what they could do in the scoring line. Shifted from his usual place at centre to wing-three-quarter, Taylor seemed rather out of it in the general work, but he had a field day with place-kick - ing, which even Penalligan or the original Dufty could not have improved on. He kicked four penalty goals and improved the sole try that Hanlon recorded for Richmond.

Mention of these two rep. candidates; recalls that Davis, the half-back, has been overlooked. He has played particularly well • this season, and is thoroughly deserving of a try-out in rep. company. The selectors missed a good chance of trying Davis in the match against South Auckland, and they did not even pay him tl\e compliment of making him the reserve choice.

Threfe forwards stood out in the game with Newton. They were G. Stewart, Colebrook and Dixon.

: Had Murray at second five-eighths proved a sounder link in the chain the NewtOtt T taCk play in attack would have been more convincing. As it was it was jolted badly, and before the end came the players had to be redistributed in an endeavour to get better results. Behind the Newton scram Cammick got the

the ball away cleanly, while Wilson did everything that a good five-eighth should do. He had a big hand in two of the tries when the red and whites secured, whipping the ball along to his centre, from where it was sent to the wings. Dut'tv was again the great :: Irounder of the side, and when it came to goal-kicking was at his very best. Here win i gave a flawless and sparkling display at full-back, fielding in the un canny way that he has, and disclosing a rare burst of pace when he was hard pressed. With Hardgrave and Little, Newton has a great pair of wing threequarters of the scoring type. Playhig brilliantly Hardgrave got a very spectacular try. and on his form looks like being a certainty for future rep. teams. On two occasions when the New ton defence was broken only Hardgrave's great pace saved his side. Clarke was Newton's outstanding forward. He gave a great display and was the best forward on the ground.

CLOSE CALL FOR DEVONPORT.

It was only when the final whistle went that the Shore supporters breathed freely, as City made a wonderful run against Devonport and pushed the leaders to a two-points margin. City are [gradually moulding a fine back team from amongst many aspirants for a place in the team. Barchard has made his position at full-back secure by real talent and consistency, his game on Saturday being of a very high order. Amos, a Christchurch player, was mated with the brilliant Jverson in the fiveeighth line, and the pair dovetailed perfectly and gave a very bright display. J. Hadley. Mc- ' Donald and Hamilton shone in the City forwards. For once the Devonport re arguard was under a cloud. and often things went wrong, and even the irreIproachable Seagar was occasionally at fault. Ruby shone in the — Shore vanguard. A. Scott played his usual brainy game, while O'Brien, making his first appearance, played an excellent game. PONIES TRUE TO FORM. Those who have studied form were not surprised when Ponsonby turned the tables on Ellerslie by a substantial margin, for the western suburb's*complement have improved greatly since their initial defeat. With the return to the fold of Delgrosso and the infusion of new blood into their ranks, Ponies are now a team capable of anything. Their chances of carrying off championship honours look remote at the moment, but they may be regarded as one of the few teams that are liable to break Devonport's winning sequence. In a game that was remarkably free from unpleasant happenings of any description, Ellerslie held their own in the general run of forward play, but could not prevent Ponies from getting possession from the scrums. When the ball did come their way lack of cohesion and understanding upset their chances of scoring. Their only try, scored early in the first spell, was the result of opportunism rather than concerted effort.

The racecourse suburb men's principal attribute was their defensive play, which has improved greatly. Davis at centre shone in this department, and as vis-a-vis to Hntt had a great deal of rush-stopping to do. He was also a great battler when the ball came his way, and combined well with Speight, a five-eighths of promise. On attack S. Crewther was probably the most dangerous, when he moved up from full-back to an inside position, but his penchant for hanging on a trifle too long did not add lustre to h i s exhibition. Shand was reliable on the wing, while Roxburgh, as relief emerged from a heap of trouble with honours. Johnson, Allen, Littlewood and Page were the most conspicuous of the van. Erratic passing was a factor that prevented Ponies from scoring more points than they did. In the first fifteen minutes in particular was this noticeable. The principal offender was Usher, who, playing at second fiveeighths, tossed some atrocious passes to Hutt. The burly representative forward played a wonderfully sound game, straight strong running, that drew the defence away from his three-quarters, and reverse passing at the right moment b«h)g features of his play. He combined particularly well with Letton, the ex-Rugby player, who scored two beautiful tries on the wing that >pelt of determination and straight running. His de- ■ ightfully clean lielding of the ball was in striking contrast with the fumbling of some of his colleagues. Schofield, on the

opposite wing, (lid not get the same opportunities as Letton, but he gave a solid exhibition both on defence and attack. Delgrosso was the pivot on which the attack swung;, always on hand when required, and letting the ball go when the occasion demanded it. Tim Peckham showed that his enforced term on the bank has not affected the quality of his play, and was his usual jack-in-tlie-box self. He fed his scoring machine to good purpose. Thompson, at full-back, fielded excellently, but at times his positional play and placement were at fault. Gardiner was the best connecting link beween the forwards and backs, and several tries were the direct result of manoeuvres commenced by him. His best supports were Payne and Ford, the Newcastle player, who is a tiger for work.

Points. Ch. r. P - W. L. D. For. Agst. Pts. Devonport ..7 7 •- 124 74 l-l Richmond ... 7 4 3 — 92 71 8 fiewton 7 4 3 — 97 70 8 Wrist 6 3 3 — 108 101 <•, ... 7 3 i — 105 it:; <; '£&&«• 7 2 6 — 80 123 4 pfaftMb .... 7 1 6 — 43 117 "