LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 173, 24 July 1928, Page 14

LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

ECLIPSE OF CANTERBURY. DISAPPOINTING REP. GAME. NORTH V. SOUTH MATCH. Trumper and Duff in all their glory at the zenith of their powers could not have l scored more freely than the Auckland reps. at Carlaw Park on Saturday, when they literally annihilated Canterbury. The public appetite had been whetted by exciting club games, and as the weather was favourable an attendance of between 14,000 and 15,000 made its collective way to the League headquarters, unfortunately to be bitterly disappointed, as instead of a well-contested game, they witnessed what was little short of a rout. It was an orgy of scoring, and so one-sided was the play that a good many patrons started for home long before the end caine. If the game proved anything, it is that the League standard in Auckland is on a much higher plane than down below, although reports which came to hand indicated that the visitors would make a respectable showing. However, in possession of the ball and on the move there was only one team in the picture. Soundly beaten forward and utterly outclassed in the backs, the visitors were seldom in the hunt, and at times the home players scored with a freedom that gave the game quite a farcical touch.

One was hopeful that tlie match would have thrown much light on candidature for the Auckland team to play England, but the game left things just where they were, beyond indicating that a strong and well-balanced team can be fielded.

The outstanding player was Wetherill, who has never been seen in a more dazzling mood, much lor the reason that the opposition were hopelessly baffled by his wiles, trickery, and unorthodox way of doing tilings. As ho played in the centre, he made it a golden day for his wings, both List and Hardgrave having the time of their lives. Yet for the games ahead Wetherill would be better placcd at second five-eighths and List at centre-three-quarter, for good though the latter is on a flank he is greater inside. At hooking Somers beat his vis-A-vis consistently. AVith O'Brien arm Hutt in the front row he had a shade over 30 stone weight for support, and on the way they played the trinity can scarcely be passed over when the next rep. selection M made. The only man who could have strengthened the Auckland pack was A. Scott, of Devon port, who was nursing an injury and not available.

The best that can be said for Canterbury is that they never lost hope in the face of stark defeat, and played pluckilv right to the end. Their forwards battli'd with wonderful fineness, and their backs were all ready to chime in when theie was even a fleeting hope of doing anything. On a wet day and heavy ground it is possible that the southern vanguard would have given the northern forwards a lot to think about, but with a sure foothold and a chance of making the game open, the Aucklanders had a setting that suited to the utmost their loose forward style of play. The Canterbury forwards were of the heavy, stocky type, and tliey dribbled cleverly, but footwork, good as it undoubtedly was, availed nothing in the face of clean, swift handling, and the toss-the-ball-about style which was the great feature of the Auckland play.

In the backs Canterbury had one player who did stand out. That was Spillane, the second five-eighth, and in the opinion of a good many he was the best five-eighth on the ground. The chances he got were few and far between, but one try he recorded carried the hall-mark of real class. He made a clever change of direction en route, which completely fooled three Aucklanders hot on his track, and when he finished beneath the bar the crowd gave him an ovation. The play of Woods, Brittenden and Bond was quite sound in its way, and they did their best with very limited opportunities. O'Connell, the visiting full-back, fielded cleanly, but he was a long way beneath the Dufty standard when it, came to the finer points of positional play. Some of the statistics of the game are interesting. Auckland did not get a single penalty kick. There were 31 feet scrums, and .Auckland won the ball cleanly on 20 occasions. In all 22 tries were scored. Hardgrave. with 15 points (five tries), led the way for Auckland; /*i! n can i e Seagar with eleven points (three tries and a goal), Dufty eleven (three tries and a goal), Delgrosso eight (our goals), List six (two tries), Pren®lx (tw° tries). Wetherill scored tT J> Clark, Somers and Suit

each kicked a goal. On the full run of the play the scoring averaged more than a point a minute. Mid-Week Match. To-morrow Auckland will meet South Auckland for the second time this season. The home team has been chosen on the principle of giving several players a chance to make good, although it is a very strong combination. In the backs, Gregory, L. Scott, and Peckham take the places of Dufty, "VY etherill and Delgrosso, while in the forwards, St. George replaces Somers, and Payne has been replaced by Dixon, the Devonport player. If the weather is fine there will probably be a good attendance, as there was on the last occasion when the two teams met on a mid-week day, but if a wet day is experienced it is more likely that the spectators will be counted in hundreds. There are a large number of enthusiastic League supporters in Auckland, but the majority of them cannot get a half-day off on a mid-week day to look at a football match.

The reserves for the game included two Richmond players in Jenkinson and Hanlon. It is an open secret that the Richmond supporters feel that theii club has not been well treated by the rep. selectors this season, who apparently consider that Prentice alone is up to rep. standard. The Richmond supporters back their argument with the fact that their club is on a parity with Devonport in the lead for the club championship. There are many who would have liked to have seen Davis, the Richmond half-back, given a tryout, and against a team of the calibre of South Auckland it would have been a fitting opportunity. There is quite a feast of good things in store for League supporters. Next Saturday, the inter-island match will be played at Carlaw Park. On the following Wednesday the English team will open its tour at Taupiri. Coincidentlv a trial match will be played at Carlaw Park, and on the following Saturday the first Test match between England and New Zealand will be played in Auckland. On the following Wednesday Auckland will meet England, followed on the next Saturday with England v. Auckland Province. Between Auckland and Auckland Province there is more of a distinction than a difference, the provincial team probably being the city players with a rnild country leaven added.' From the viewpoint of combination—that factor which should be regarded as all-impor-tant—it is highly probable that a provincial team will not be as strong as a city thirteen • having the opportunity to practise together.

Australia won the third Tost match against England, but not the rubber, as the tourists won the first two games. The tour of Australia has revealed that the English team was a strong combination with very good forwards and a strong half-back line. Financially the tour has been a huse success.

"THE LAST SAY." According to reports received from Australia, it is apparent that the English Rughv League team demand the last say in reference to the appointment of referees to control their matches. On Die evening prior to the first Test match at Brisbane, the managers of the English team refused to play under the referee suggested bv the Queensland League, and it was not until the early hours of the morning that a settlement was arrived at, the choice falling to Mr. C. Broadfoot, the ex-Queensland player who toured New Zealand in 1925. Subsequently. the British team extended an invitation to Mr. Broadfoot to accompany the team on their visit to North Queensland. Mr. Broadfoot's interpretation of the play-the-ball rule pleased the men from the North of England. The ex-Queensland wing three-quarter seems to have invested this law with an elasticity closely allied to the English idea. The British forwards pay particular attention to the play-the-ball rule, and from previous experience they gain possession more often than from set scrums. Although it ia not yet known who refereed the second Test, it is known that the New South Wales League suggested Messrs. Neill, Kerr and Deane. The managers wired back saying that they had not seen two of these men in action, and requested that further names be submitted. Recently the New Zealand Rugby League discussed the appointment of referees, but it is not expected that any difficulty will be ex perienced in making a choice for the Test match at Auckland. However, in fairness to the visiting team, it might be mentioned that the tour of Australia and New Zealand was agreed to, subject to similar conditions which prevailed in England, when it is understood that three referees were submitted to the Australian and New Zealand teams for final consideration.