LEAGUE SORTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 118, 21 May 1929, Page 16

LEAGUE SORTING.

DEVONPORT FORGE AHEAE CITY, PONIES AND NEWTON LEVEL. NOTES OX PLAY AND PLAYERS. Gradually the eight teams engaged i the senior A League division are sort ing things out, and the conquering o City by Devonport on Saturday leave the seasiders a better team than the res by two championship points. City with six points, are next in the running on level terms with Ponsonby and New ton. Richmond have suffered two re verses, and are a rung behind, thougl well ahead of Marists and Kingslant Athletics, who, by reason of a draw 01 Saturday, have at last placed their fee; on the championship ladder. Ellersli< alone remain to make their mark. Carlaw Park presented a radiant pic ' ture on Saturday, framed as it was witl: 10,000 faces, and the crowd was provided with variety fare. . Some of the. football was drab, but there was-no suggestion of mediocrity about the main attraction, the matching of Devonport and City to decide which club's colours were to flutter at the mast'head. And last year's champions fully deserved this distinction, emerging from a game, brisk in every way, with honours. City were covered with glory in defeat, for they kept the issue in doubt to the end, severely tested the metal of the opposition, and at times rose to great heights. SHORE'S TRIUMPH. So near and yet so far. That was the position of City on Saturday, when in the last quarter of an hour of their memorable encounter with Devonport, they strained every nerve to win their way to victory. A try in a good position would have made all the difference, for the boot of Watene, the Manukau Rugby Union full-back—who was making 0 his debut in the thirteen-a-side game —would as likely as not have turned a deficit into a lone points advantage. Like a battering ram, City hurled themselves at the defenders' last line and the teams, locked together in a succession of melees, swayed and strained, each with a set objective —one. to puncture the defence and the other to stem the encroaching tide. Over-eagerness, crowding of one another, and futile kicking obstructed the reds' ambition time and again, and Shore's line of resistance remained impenetrable until the end. It was a triumph for the seasiders, whose line Avas not once crossed during the day. Their homeric struggle in face of adversity was a grand finale to a game punctuated by crisp handling, clever manoeuvring? and towering ruck play, all unblemished by disagreeable incident.! To say the least, Devonport deserved their win. They were superior in all departments, though territorially hon-! ours may have rested with City, who raided relentlessly in the second spell. Shore, in successive seasons, have built up a reputation as an attacking force — in possession, fleet, brilliant, incisive and dangerous —and now they have demonstrated their additional qualities as a defensive side. They are a happy combination, both on the offensive and the defensive; a combination that has the hall-mark of champions. Much of the real merit of the play in the dying stages was lost to the spectators owing to the fading. light, the

match having been started late owing to hitches in the earlier fixtures. But players who stood out head and shoulders above the rest for Devonport in those tense moments were Seagar, Beat tie, Casey and A. Scott, though all lent their weight admirably in literally heaving City men back when in 1 the act of dropping over the line., Seagar, in particular, was fearless in pouncing on the ball when it strayed from the density of the pack, thus giving his forwards a chance to pack round and strengthen the defensive wall. But not only was he sound in this-department. He was in the two scoring movements of the clay, drawing the defence towards him before whipping the ball out for Beattie and Len Scott to do the rest. Beattie added a touch of gepius to his play also, that made the s winger's task simplicity itself. A short punt at the right moment, and a neatly timed pass that gave Watene not a ghost of a chance, were his contributions to the scoring movements. L. Scott did all that was asked of him on the threequarter line, while Tait, a young player of promise, was always a source of danger, and came close to scoring on , several occasions on the opposite wing. A straight and determined runner, he should meet with better success as he goes along. Inside, Trevor O'Leary was sound at five-eighths, while behind the pack, Rhodes was a solid little grafter. His disinclination to feed his backs early in the piece, however, was somewhat difficult to understand. Simons played a good game at full-back, and one admired him for the way he went down to forward rushes better than' he has been accustomed to doing. Forward, Shore held their own, with McCarthney, Casey, A. Scott and ' Ruby being most prominent. As for City's forwards, they worked like men possessed, though lacking that understanding with their backs that is so necessary to match-winning. Hadley, McLaughlin and Hamilton caught the eye most. Collectively, City's backs were no match for the men they faced, though individually, with few exceptions, they suffered nothing by comparison. The weak link was Lawrie Barchard, shifted by the selectors in their wisdom to first five-fighths to make room for Watene at full-back. He is not a five-eighths, though capable of getting through a wealth of hard work as 1' •

, I last line of defence. Watene, tlie cynosure of all eyes, did all that was expected of him, though he might have been tried closer in to advantage. Once he settled . down he tackled splendidly, fielded like a wizard, kicked with deliberation and judgment, at times raced his backs into line, and actually followed through once to catch the opposing full-back in possession. All of City's points were hoisted by him from penalty kicks, and every one was impressed by the display of the new recruit. Reynolds, the scrum half, played brightly throughout, but he rather over-did short kicking over the scrum in preference to opening up the play. He marred an otherwise good exhibition by attempting to drop a goal when City had Shore on the run, and five points were required to win! That gave Devonport the respite that they wanted, and they marshalled their | forccs for the next invasion. W. Perry | was solid without being brilliant at i second five-eighths, his defensive work j being a feature. He was invariably i troublesome to his difficult vis-a-vis, | Seagar. Iveson flashed into the attack! nicely at times, while Lawrence and G. j Perry, on the wings, made the most of ! their opportunities. The latter ex- j celled on defence, while Lawrence made j many a stout effort to force a passage i through the ranks of the opposition. ' NEWTON'S THIRD WIN. i Though they put up a strong stand j against Newton, the 'representatives of j the racecourse suburb played sluggishly j and therefore missed an opportunity to | make a mark 011 the championship table. | Generally speaking, it was a drab game and the winners largely have to thank Butterwortli, who gave a heady fullback display, Brimble, Peekham, Francis ; and Hall for a colourless victory. Hard- 1 1 grave also worked hard in an endeavour j to inspire his side, and the redoubtable | 1 Duftv, making his reappearance for tlie j 1 first time this season, did not exert himself too much, but indicated that he has retained his kicking powers. His exhi- | bition at centre was not impressive and ' Little was starved. His cousin, in the half-back berth,-acquitted himself well. Rhodes, Page and Somers were best in the tight. A newcomer of hefty build, Norman, strengthened the pack, and

with a big share of the ball Newton should have displayed much better merit. Their failure is explained by the fact that Ellersie is one of the best defensive teams in the grade. With more attention to subtle attacking movements and cohesion, they will upset calculations. Shore, the leaders, managed to beat them by a margin of only four points, and in four matches lost they have compiled 35 points againet 64—a creditable record for a young, side. May, Hemingway, R. Crewther, Littlewood, Ollifl', Johnstone, Hobbs/Chapman and Cooke are a . group of -fine players. Hobbs was the outstanding exponent on No. 2 ground on Saturday. He is sturdy, and what he lacks in weight is more than balanced by vim, pace and brainy method. The selectors should keep an eye on the Ellerslie forwards. They team well and were seen in some good handling in the loose. With better cooperation on the part of the rear division in nippy tactics, without too much forcing, they will give any other thirteen something to think about. Incidentally, it is politic to drop a hint to K. Crewther. A player who is fairly tackled, makes desperate struggles, and then feigns being improperly held, has no right to show temper. This causes needless trouble.

PONSONBY IN FORM. Playing as curtain-raiser to the chief attraction at Carlaw Park last Saturday, the Ponsonby v. Richmond match did not rise to the heights that one would expect, and it was only oyer the latter .part of the game that the crowd began to get many thrills. Richmond were a little unlucky in the fact that, although getting the ball from practically every scrum, their backs did not show the necessary cohesion. On the other band, Ponsonby on the few occasions they received the ball from the pack showed good combination, and' it Avas only solid tackling that kept them from adding to their total. On the day Pon-

sonny were the better team, and deserved their success. Revell, custodian for the winning team, gave a good solid display, while Schofield showed a brilliant dash of pace on the right flank. Thompson and Delgrosso made the most of any openings that came their way. Mclntyre was the brains of the blue and black backs, his contribution being the three tries that Ponsonby ' scored. He made numerous openings, and it was not his fault that the total was not of a higher scale. The forwards all toiled hard, but Fagan and Kimberley were outstanding. For the. losers McKinnon was weak as the last man in defence and frequently brought trouble to his side. Mincham gave his usual good display, but did not receive many opportunities. Hamilton was in nearly every attacking movement, and his effort was good. Hanlon has the habit of hanging on to the ball a little too long, and spoilt many promising movements. Otherwise he played a good game. Prentice saved his side repeatedly when on the defensive., and with Davis combined well, but the handling was not up to par. The vanguard worked particularly hard, Colebrook and Jones being' noticeable. P i

KINGSLAND EQUALISE. By finishing on level terms with Marisfc Old Boys oil Saturday, Kingsland-Ath-letic fully justified previous comment in this column that they were a side to be reckoned with. It was the full-back ! weakness that prevented clear victory, : one try being a gift to the opposition. [ No three-quarter line can function with confidence unless this' position is secure., , The man who successfully covers or thwarts retreat may- develop orthodox clearance into attack, a fascinating feature of the modern Rugby game. Havden was a failure, but, to give him his dues, he somewhat compensated when subsequently played in the pack. List, at centre, played wonderfully in the circumstances and appears to be striking good form. Both wingers, R. Carter and Christmas, played with credit, the for-, mer giving more promise as a scoring three-quarter. The five-eightlis, Angelo and Longville, collaborated well, offering a sound defence. Six points for goals were hoisted by Longville. Lucas is a great little half, but.__ needs to go canny about opening out too freely in his o w n twenty-five. York and McLoughen were outstanding in an even set of forwards, a n d Wilcox raked well. J. Campbell c o 11t i n u e s to shape nicely as custodian for Marists, and lie I i fielded with judg- ' ment. Brisbane had a busy time and he was closely watched, this restricting opportunities for his outside- men. However, Bachelor responded when called upon. Bulcraig escaped the trend of play, but he is a good type and may be seen to better advantage next time out. Stewart and Hickey, at five-eighths, were fair, but lacked sparkle in swinging to action. Hickey should go well with Brady. Hassan gave 1 crisp display behind the scrum. Old Boys had the weight and did not use it. Duane showed up and Graham, who is a tireless trojan, captured two opportune tries. Moisley, Campbell and Courtney worked together and O'Brien roved, as is his wont. The greens should brush up their combination, which means more atten-1 tion to training. j

AUSTRALIAN VISITS. OTAGO LEAGUE'S VIEW. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) DUNEDIN, this day. The Otago Rugby League favours inviting the leading team in the New South Wales competition touring New Zealand, and the Australian team for England playing against an interprovincial team at Auckland.