THE LEAGUE ROOSTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 207, 2 September 1929, Page 18

THE LEAGUE ROOSTER.

KNOCK-OUT COMPETITION FIRST SERIES OF GAMES. RICHMOND SURPRISE SHORE. MARIST, PONIES AND CITY ALSO WIN. The pursuit for the Roope Rooster, the prize for the League knock-out competition, commenced on Saturday afternoon, when three senior matches were played at Carlaw Park. After a prolonged epell, occasioned by the staging of representative fixtures on three successive Saturdays, players returned to the fray ■with renewed vigour, though handling showed marked deterioration"and robbed some of the games of their usual sparkle. Noticeably this was the case in the Marist-Kingsland- Athletics encounter, which was won by the former by 9 points' to 3 after a hard struggle with the revitalised amalgamation side. The finest display of the day was provided by Devonport and Richmond, and it was impressed on the fixtures committee that they made an error of judgment in not giving the teams pride of place. Having improved' their, combination;"immensely by energetic recruiting, Richmond gave their beet exhibition of the season, and surprised the seasiders by running' out winners to the tune of 17 points to 12. Their success was largely attributable to the excellent kicking of A. Berridge, the ex-Auckland Rugby representative player, who signalled hjs entry into the League code by kicking four penalty goals and combining beautifully with his supports. In a high-scoring game/Ponsonby accounted for Newton on No. 2 ground by 31 points to 24; while out in 'the suburbs City defeated Ellerslie by 18 points to 9. By running Marists, recognised as one of the strongest combinations in the code, so close Kingsland-Athletics put up a remarkably creditable performance. A young, enthusiastic side, the maroons are great battlers, and a little more experience should make them a power to be contended with. There was no gainsaying the fact that the greens were the superior side on the day,' but'the fast following-up and quick breaking-up of the opposing forwards, combined with resolute tackling by the inside backs, prevented their scoring machine "from functioning with its usual gay abandon. ' -. The game at no

stage rose to spectacular heights—it was too keenly contested for that— hut it was interesting for its rapid changes. Mistakes were frequent on both sides, the long, spell of inactivity , telling its tale when Avhen the backs were on the move. Adept individualism turned the scales in Tykes' favour. In this department Brisbane was the outstanding figure on the field. With fleetiieee of foot and straight running, for which he is noted, he would transfer defence into attack in a flash and cut the defence to shreds. _ On defence as on attack he was the brilliant Brisbane of international form.. Gr.egory,, as usual, made 'a great deal of the playfor him, and once,again the pair demon-;, strated what a 'devastating inside pair they are. The latter let nothing past him on,defence, and ;, ,played his regular solid all-round game. At; no time bustled, he invariably, got his, kicks away with splendid judgment. Brady' was not as reliable at: centre as he' has been in recent games, and, like his . supports, mulled the ball time and again.-Ba.tchelor was the pick of the wingers, and his try—the -last of the day—was ;a fine effort, the product of a clever dash and speedy following that found the, Kingsland custodiin, J. Wilson, wanting. McDonald's'handling was as iinjci'rtain ae his defence. Hobson gave- aiv , excellent display behind the pack, while. W. Campbell again proved himself 'ta full-baek' with - few'equals in the;. 1 There was not a great deal* to pick and choose , /between the two "'packs, though, in the tight work Tykes held a slight advantage. They also, showed.'-better understanding with their., b&cke,' and were usually backing up at the business end. O'Brien was again the pick of the bunch, and supporters were Duane and G. Campbell. The. pppojmg sextet,,did ialian'tvwbrk;. 'Their hooker, Wilcox; iSj to -'be. congratulated on; winning? so milchiof -vthe ball - from euch an experienced player as Campbell. Particularly was he successful in the early stages of the game. York was one' of the best forwards on the ground, while others .who' grafted with a' will;were; J. Carter and Simms. Lucas was cleverness personified behind the .. scrum, but was inclined to run with the ball when a quick pass, to,his five-eighths would have served his side better... L. Wilson, the Maori Rugby recruit, made good in the five-eighths line, although marked by such'a masterjbf the game as Gregory. It "Was rarely/that he was outwitted. It wasr.'he, who scored the amalgamation side's only points, .and they came as the result of a solo effort that had a touch of genius about it. Revell, the ex-Pon-. sonby player, filled the role of second five-eighths, but was not impressive, though he proved a hard nian to stop on the run. He carried "too .much; condition." List -and Carter combined well in the three-quarter line, and were repeatedly conspicuous for strong running. On the move they were always dangerous, while on defence they were a tower of strength to their side. J. Wilson, the full-back, another Rugby neophyte, did not shape too well, Ms kicking and positional play being at fault a good deal. RICHMOND CROWING. A period of obscurity is often a tonic for a young team of footballers, for adversity imposes tests that bring out the best qualities in the long run. Richmond is a case in point, but City, Newton, Kingsland and Ellerslie all come witMn the category. The maroons .took the. No. 1 ground against Devonport to some purpose. They looked the part and had heartening encouragement from the sideline. With new blood back and forward they had a slight advantage of the Shore thirteen, who missed A. Scott, Ruby, Dixon and McCarthney. Still, it is difficult to presume that the appearance of the quartet has changed the fortunes of the side. There were no thrills in the preliminary stages, when Richmond's new back, Berridge, twice illustrated his goaling prowess. Then the men from the "Parade" woke from apparent lethargy, and, when within long range Seagar replied to Berridge with a fine goal from' well 4ut. It was only a matter: of minutes

before L.vO'Leary finished off a surprise movement, but no goal eventuated. Tho point lead did not deter Richmond, and Prentice, playing with inspiring cleverness, was running his supports into effective action. Berridge, collaborating prettily with Hamilton and Patterson, created intense interest by adding two more goals to make his tally 8 points—not bad for a recruit making his. first bow to tho Leagueloving public. The blacks made valiant efforts to swing, into their accustomed gait, but swift tackling smashed their cohesion and Richmond were quick to profit by mistakes. Peckham now replaced Agnew behind the scrum and settled down to play in workmanlike style. The maroons were packing a fine scrum and their hooking was splendid. Just before half-time Patterson dashed over to score following a sustained series of willing pieces of back play. Shore showed, more resourcefulness when operations were renewed after the interval, with a deficit of six points, Casey and Saxon playing with much tenacity. One raid went within inches, but the eXrCity man, Paxton, cleared. After Seagar landed a great goal from near touch, beyond the twenty-five, the maroon backs again raced away andPatterson, rising to the occasion: with strong and confident running, scored : wide out, thus making Richmond's tally 14 points, double that of the premiership teamj which was. kept, hard -on the defensive until Beattie broke away. Several warm softies caught Richmond off guard, arid Seagar came on the scene to score the simplest of tries and convert it. Shore were now within two points points of the maroons, who again took charge. ' From a scrum close

up, Surtees swerved nicely and went over near the posts, Berridge missing an easy goal. .Richmond 17, Devo'nport 12, the final scores. Richmond now has a classy team and it will take a power of beating in the dispute for the poultry trophy. Paxton performed fairly well at full- Berrid°o shaped- creditably beside Prentice. Their interplay was a treat, Seagar and O'Leary being often left standing-. As the game progressed this combination improved and Patterson also shone at centre.- • The wingers, Hamilton and Mincham, were also on their games, most of the play veering to the fqrmeri Agnew was α-ood behind the scrum until injured, and Peckham excelled when he came on. He appears to have dropped jigging about methods. Jenkinson played a-grand game as last man down and the forwards were keyed up to a man. The ex-Point Chevalier player, Surtees, was prominent, and Whowell, the ex-Soccer man, showed promise. R. Jones was in everything. Devonport were all at sea against the spirited Richmonditcs. Smith at full had to withstand a heavy barrage, but stood up well to his task with' the aid of the three-quarters. Len Scott was in great fettle, but the rest of the backs put no sting into their play. Efowever, Seagar, Beattie and T. O'Leary scintillated at times. The forwards did not hang together as usual; .'Casey and Saxon were outstanding, though Rule and St. George occasionally featured in the-;-tight- work, It will take a side to knock' the maroons' off their perch.

ELLERSLIE DISAPPOINT: Although giving excellent displays against the .'best teams in the grade, Elferslio are very unlucky, the only success down to their credit this season.' being against Point Chevalier. Again on Saturday they suffered defeat, this time by City, who won by the margin of 18, to 9.- Although the red and blacks won, they could not be complimented on their display, as it was .only the weak tackling of theEllerslie team that enabled them 'to combine to-advantage. On the other hand, ;Ellerslie .were their- : showing beihg. particularly below their be§t forjn , ; and altogether, the game was -far ' from interesting-, s ■■• City took- the offensive from the commencement, -; and after play liad proceeded fpr 'over'ten minutes the red and blacks opened the scoring, after a great effort by Perry, finalised by Clarke, under the posts, for iL, Barchard t,o.- convert. ■! Ellersic ;replied- 'after , '' this reverse, "per medium of Hemingway,, whp kicked a fine', goal' from near half-way. Another score to City by G. Perry, also converted by Barchard, saw the red and blacks, leading-10 to 2at half-time; From the resumption City attacked, and a concerted forward rush saw ,Len Barchard brought down a yard from the suburban team's line/ Again the red and blacks took play near their objective, and a ■passing rush, in which all of the backs took part, saw Iveson cut through., brilliantly to score in a good position, Barchard again raising the flags. With the score' 15 to 2 against them, Ellerslie set out to reduce the deficity.and from a fine effort ' by Ol'liff •to' R. Crcwther, and the latter left W. Perry standing, to go over under the posts, Dufty converting. Dufty added another goal shortly after. Ellerslie were infusing more combination in their, dashes,- ; but faulty handling was spoiling many promising movements. Just 011 time Barchard further increased City's lead by a try at the corner, the game finishing shortly after, City gaining a victory by IS to 9. For the winners, W. Perry gave a safe display at full-back, kicking and fielding the ball with judgment. Watene, who came on after the game had progressed for about a quarter of an hour, was not up to his best form, but this was no doubt due to his suffering from an injured shoulder. Laurie Barchard did not get many chances on the wing, but made the most of any that came his way. Perry and Iveson collaborated well together as the two iuside men, the lastnamed perhaps giving the better showing of the pair. Shortland gave his best display of the season, but Olliff was little inferior on the day, Shortland having the advantage of playing behind a better pack. The forwards all toiled hard, with Clarke, Allen and Len Barchard prominent, the latter particularly, in the loose.

Dufty was, as usual, very safe as fullback for Ellerslie, frequently finding the line well down the field when the suburban team were hard pressed. Drew, with limited opportunities, gave a good exhibition, putting in some very fine dashes down the line. R. Crewther was the" better of the five-eighths, making some great openings, but faulty handling continually spoilt the movements. The Ellerslie vanguard all worked hard, but lacked the leadership of Hobbs, who did not play. Those prominent, were Quirke, Dance and Calder. ' ." ■ •