LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 106, 7 May 1929, Page 13

LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

SATURDAY'S GAMES REVIEWED.

HIGH STANDARD OT PLAT.

COLTS' PROMISING FOEM.

League patrons were again -well catered for on Saturday. At Carlaw Park three senior games were decided and the stanHard of play was well maintained. The principal game, between Marists and Richmond, provided football of the bright' open kind, but was marred by an occa-; sional ugly incident, which met with the disapproval of the crowd. The trouble was probably excusable in the circumstances, as the players were ieyed up to concert pitch, owing to the continually changing fortunes, but referees should keep a close eye on the game and prevent it from getting out of control. Be it said that Marists were the offenders on Saturday, and some of their forwards appeared to relish playing the man. There is only one way to effectively deal with men who cannot control their tempers —caution them, and if there Js a repetition of the offence send them off immediately. The Ponsonby and Newton and Ellerslie and City matches were fought in excellent spirit, and the teams showed a laudable resolve to throw the Ball about in the style that has made the League code so popular. Ponies well lleaerved their mild surprise victory over the improved Newton side, while City yere fully extended to win from the jacecourse suburb's thirteen. On their native heath Devonport continued in winding vein, and had no difficulty in accounting for Kingaland Athletics by a substantial margin. The championship table is beginning to assume an interesting complexion. Devonport, Eichmond and. City are on equal terms with four points each, while Newton and Ponsonby each nave two Sβ to their credit. Marists; EUerslie and Kingsland Athletic have not yet £ad * win. The positions of the teams gje as follow: — - . . Pte. Pte..Ch. p. W. L. D« F. A. Pte. Ifcvonport «— I I IZS'S '4 SSchmond •**•• *<> o 32 14 4 ffewton «—.. - * I_l6 23 2 ponsonby ►*»♦»• - 5 *>g 30 0 Jlarist •»•**• — 16 33 0 Joigsland ~*~ 2 — 2 — 3* 00. 0

RICHMOND'S WIW.

■Richmond would have been very ftnlucky not to have won their game with Variets. Except for a brief period after the interval, when the greens piled on all their points, they dominated the play, fast lacking that penetration necessary to crown their efforts; Their triumph was due to the -wonderful displays of JKncham, the find-.of the season. A promoted fourth grade player, he has made M. meteoric rise-as a winger-or exceptional promise. He is a .straight and determined runner, and goal kick ;wiio threatens to outrival Taylor, BachSmond's kicker last season, as a match winner. He was cheered to the echo when he put hie side in front .ai«L gave them the match in Ithe. last few minutes of the game with a magnificent penalty shot from out near touch, and he fully'* deserved the tribute. More should be heard of this player as the season progresses. Richmond have . a

Mincham.

set of backs that ehonld develop into a. formidable combination with a few more games. At preient they have a tendency to crowd their Tdngera instead of running straight, drawing the defence, and then handing the ball on. Their forwards, too, are a eolid lot, who combine speed with resource and know how to use their ■weight. They got their share of the ball and fed Agnew, the scrum half, liberally. The little half performed his part well, as also did Prentice and Davis, the five-eighths. Prentice made the world of difference both to the defence and attack, and Richmond would probably jiot have done so well as they did had. it »ot been.'for the fact that the New Zealand rep. came on to replace McDonald when he went off injured and .held the icfcain together. Time and again he crippled Tykes' passing rashes promisingly engineered and gave his vis-a-vis (Brady) jio peace. Hanlon had a difficult man to mark in Brisbane, but he" got through a wealth of work with honours. He was conspicuous for- his defensive work and individual side-stepping flashes that perplexed the opposition. . He has not yet mastered the temptation to go too far-on Ids own and should remember that all required of him is to beat his man. Coote ieinonstrated that he is a winger of dash and was unfortunate nofc to score early in the first spell. Leng, the custodian, is a much improved, player. His fielding on Saturday was clean, and he repeatedly found the'line. In this. department he overshadowed Gregory, who again did service at full-back for-Tykes. "Pope played an excellent game and made amends for missinganeasy penalty shot with a wonderful solo effort that fooled both the Bichmond players and the public alike. When everyone expected him to take a shot at goal he short punted over Lennie's'head, regained possession pf the ball and defenders who converged upon him. "in .a great race for the corner. Hassan, behind the greens scrum, had a lot to.* contend with.in the fast breaking up Bichmond forwards, but he never-let up in his attempts to work his scoring machine. McDonald and Brady were solid five-eighths, though not given much chance to feed the brilliant Brisbane, whojwas most marked man on the ground. Duane, the ex-Sydney player, was taken.out of the pack to play on the wing, but- was not impressive. Batchelor played his usual reliable game, but did cot see a great deal of the balL . , ~-i The forwards were evenly matched, Clarke, transferred from Newton, being a valuable -addition: to * the Manst pack. Johnson played a great game,; while Moisley was always in the green van. Colebrook, Lennie,- McKinnon- and 1 elford were always where-the thickest and were the best for Bicnfacrnd.

ELLERSLIE SHADED

-That the English missioners of last season imparted useful lessons is seen in opening fixtures now, and the CityEllerslie contest on Saturday, resulting in a 11—8 tally, threw this fact into pleasing Telief. Play -was open, bright and clean, with a number of sparkling movements, which revealed promise for the season's reps., especially in the forwards. ■ City's set, and' particularly Pascoe, Webberley and Hamilton, worked well, with a penchant for occasional fast interchanges of passing. The rear division, however, 'did not display the dash previously shown, though ~—' G? Perry was incii Sji v ;e throughout, well supported on attack by Hall and Lawrence. Reynolds, Iverson and W. Perry were a, little uncertain on defence, chiefly caused by a d ; s;-r>-gaxd of positional importance. This imposed an uncon- r— i seionable burden on Barchard, who, nevertheless,, comported himself with credit. At times his tenacity carried him too far, though one instance directly contributed to the first try, which he also converted.; Following through is desirable, but on' general principle it is unwise, .especially for a, full-back, to take-too much' risk, because, it either entails temporary dislocation of the backs to protect the last line of-defence, or the danger that a wily opposite may- enfilade in "that direction,

thus confusing one or-other of the •wingers. Cocks, the ex-South. Auckland junior rep., who impressed the previous week, -was stripped as emergency, in order to give a try-out to' Hall, brother of Wilson Hall, of* All Black fame. The newcomer did commendably in strange company. He is -weighty, cool and calculating, but inclined to •weakness for kicking. However, he made some amends -with a brilliant interceptiioon.. which precipitated a hectic rout of the opposition, topped off by Perry's try. Features of Ellerslie's improved performance were splendid forward rucking, exhilarating half-back tactics by Olliff,. who has football brains, sturdy physique, alacrity and a safe pair of hands, a classic'try by the' übiquitous E. Crewther and the. individualism of Littlewood. The last-mentioned loses the benefit of his efforts by failure to run his supports into actioon, an art that develops team cohesion. Hemingway pleased in patches, and Te Puni is a likely colt. Hobbs, last man'down in. the scrum, ably led an even pack which had its share in the hooking. Just that extra bit of penetrative snap; among the backs, gained the day-.for- City. The side that again beats, the tri-colours will have to play every inch of the. way. . ■ '. :'■'■ .

DEVONPORT'S SUPERIOR BACKS.

In defeating Kingsland-Athletic by 29 to 7, Devonport gave a .very convincing display, ajid they look likely to bear out -the confidence of their- supporters that they will gain.championship honours this season. Although superior in the backs, .they did not have matters all their own way in the first.spell, and it was only in the. last, twenty minutes that the backs began to throw, the ball about with any combination. - . Kingsland-Athletic surprised, by' the great defnce they kept up right • from the start of the game, and- although their backs did not swing into" motion/

on many occasions, it was only through lack of getting the ball from the scrums. The amalgamated team, with a little more combination, would give any team in the section a great tussle for victory. Simons, full-back for the Shore team, gave a very safe display, and pulled his side out of many dangeroue situations. L. Scott did not get many opportunities to show hie pace- to advantage. Beat-tie was a trier all the way, and many nated from him. Segar and Rhodes combined well, as the two.inside men; in fact, it was wonderful the number of times the former got away with the dummy. He is the brains of; the Shore backs. Coughlan was not. impressive at half-"back, being frequently penalised for not putting the ball into the scrum correctly. McCarthney, Ruby and '. Scott worked hard all the afternoon, being particularly noticeable in. the loose play. Masefield hooked the,ball in practically all the scrums. The losers played a great losing game and it was to their eredit that at halftime the score was only B—2. Longville was kept busy all the afternoon, but came through with honours. The two wings, Carter and Sims, did not shine, but they did not see much of the hall: List received th'e ball only on a few occasions, but gave a great defensive display. Angelo was the pick of the town team's backs, both he and Seagar being. the best on the ground. Lucas did not handle with certainty, and frequently dropped the ball. The $orward« f'l +oiled hard, those most noticeable being Reilly, Wilcos (a promoted junior), and York.

NEWTON OUT-GENERALLED.

Largely due to the leadership of veteran Delgrosso, who knows the;psychological moment and effect of opportune team change in-the course of; keen strategic piay, Ponsonby drew ahead of Newton when these old rivals measured swords, as it were, for the first" .time this year. Paradoxically, both _thirteens are shadows of their teams of yore, and yet, without . hesitation, it may be said that they are strong sides, ■ capable. of c&pturing championship honours, with , the help of a number of exponents destined to rise in the", code. Apart from "Hall, Rhodes and Hammond, the eye catches a dashing forward in Francis, quite an historic name in Rugby and Kugby League, annals; ■when the redoubtable A. % H. of that surname is recalled. Brimble, Butterworth and McLeod are possibilities, and, of course, Hardgrave needs no mention. ji Among the Ponsonby lights a--born footballer is the fleet-footed threequarter Winters, who on Saturday revelled in electric bursts and never let up. Often it happens spectators g£t so accustomed to an unassuming player of calibre, that he misses the limelight. This applies forcefully to Thompson, a 6ide-stepper of aggressive type, who is profiting by Delgrosso's example. • PonBonby's hooker Stevens had a succe'ssful day, and Hutt was prominent in-* the tight play and very-valuable in the:open. Kimberley, on the right wing, did- not seem to be quite at ease, but hej is a trier. Schofield was reliable ori»' the other flank.

Wilson had a heavy day's work at full for Newton, but is wasted so far back. Little was alert and Cammiek, at half, had limited chances. His opponent, Moore, played well, consistently sweeping the ball out to his supports. The next meeting of these teams should be invested with more than average interest, as the Newton boys do not relish defeat at the hands of their traditionally keenest competitors, whether or not important trophies are at stake.