CITY GO AHEAD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 134, 9 June 1930, Page 16

CITY GO AHEAD.

Marists' winning way notwithstanding, Devonport's stand against City on Saturday just goes to emphasise the obacurc possibilities in this year's championship. 'This pioneer club, like Newton, started the season with a senior division only a shadow of that associated with the name in recent years. City, notably speeded up by the Inclusion of Reynolds and WPerry, were extended to win by 23—10. Their better form was a factor in the final phases, when the* balance of points was registered. Taking the underfoot conditions into' account, the game went at a rapid bat and found the Shore men a little unprepared.' Nevertheless their display was a vast improvement on earlier performances and a hopeful sign for the seasiders. The first try to City came from a nice move between midfield and the twenty-five, where Shortland, in the open, inspired his inside backs to the attack and W. Perry romped in, for Watene to convert. Shore took the initiative and several times had the defence tottering 'but for cool play by Laurie Barchard, who was in fine fettle throughout, whilst his vis-a-vis gave his worst to date. Shortland retired, McLaughlan coming on. Soon after, in a hectic field-length rush, City's full-back got to the ball in a scramble and Watene did the rest, giving the reds a 10-point lead at the interval. Just prior to this the tall and promising McCarthney, who had Been playing In good style, retired and was followed by Coghlan, Devonport's half. ■ Kule and Preston were the replacements. City forwards had heen doing well in the open, but were beaten badly in the scrums. When the sides got to grips again, S'eagar, who has not impressed much this year, delighted with a clever

"dummy," which beat Wetherill and McLaughlan badly as he glided over from ten yards out. Little Rhodes, behind the winning pack, was playing like a champion, and T. O'Leary was also on hand, but Preston and Beattie had no finish. Wetherill, who had been well watched, recovered from a couple of knocks and was everywhere. A dashing piece of work between G. Perry, who was starved, and Wetherill nonplussed the opposition, and Watene, whose great tackling was a feature of the contest, missed the kick, making City 13 points. City forwards raided and W. Hadley sent a snap long pass from the ruck to McLaughlan, who swerved over near the posts. Watene coaled. Len Barchard pleased with a strong solo effort. City were now on their toes and a deflecting passing bout from the left wing to Hamilton, Clarke and Len" Barchard allowed the lastmentioned to side-step for a confident trj and Watene's fourth successful kick. Casey, Dixon, Saxon and Ruby swept the field and Kule touched down. Just before the bell Preston had the easiest of chances and failed to produce that spirited final burst which stamps the footballer. Barchard, W. Hadley, Iverson and Hamilton were the best of the City pack The backs did not combine as well as usual because the opposing van got the lion s share of the ball from the scrums. Reynolds played resourcefully and ,Wetherill was always to the fore, with a proline preference for kicking, his mark being O'Donnell, Devonport's custodian, who could do nothing right. His handling was erratic and his line-kicking equally poor. Still he is a very game young player. T. O'Leary often fell back to assist him and was always prominent. Beattie was not at his best on the wing and L. O'Leary, considering his pace> does not put enough pep into his play. Ruby revelled in the open going as usual and was well supported by Dixon and Saxon. Devonport packed a real good scrum, the advent in which of Neville St. George as hooker removed any doubt as to possession of the ball. It was a keen contest between two good sides.

MARISTS' GREAT WIN.

Ponsonby were thoroughly trounced by Marists in the principal game at headquarters to the tune of 22 points to 2— the two for the vanquished being a fortuitous dropped goal by Pat Skelton. The game was conspicuous for the great defensive play by Marists, and the latter's ability to launch attacks both fore and aft. Western suburbs lielded a side below usual strength—a thing that spelt trouble right from the jump. Delgrosso, the genius of the side, was on the bank with an injury, and Riley, a thrustful and trusty threequarter, arrived too late to take his place in the original thirteen. Moore, who was playing again after -weathering suspension standing over from last season, captained the side when the teams lined up to ex-

change compliments. The teams went to it with vigour at the outset, with Marists having the upper hand, but Ponies were the first to register points, Pat Skelton dropping a goal after fumbling a pass, thus repeating his performance of a few weeks ago when points came his way under similar circumstances. From then

on Marists went on to assert their superiority, and at the interval they had six points to spare, the score being 8 points to 2. Ponies threw away points by erratic handling on the change over, but after a time their defence began to crumble, and the superior combination of the opposition told its tale. In the last quarter of an hour Tykes did pretty well as they liked, and piled on points every few minutes. Had Delgrosso been in the custodian's position instead of K. Peckham, it is possible that the score wo.uld have been different, for it was on the full-back that the greatest work fell. Though Peckham tackled with determination he was hopelessly swamped at times by the dominating play of the green forwards. His positional play also got his side into trouble. McIntyre made his appearance for the first time this season, but, behind a beaten pack, he was not seen in a favourable light. Thompson and Pat Skelton defended solidly against great odds, as also did Angelo until the dying stages when he let Brady away all too frequently, Winters and Schofield played well with limited opportunities. Gardiner was the outstanding Ponsonby forward, but Stevens, Lunn and W. Skelton figured as triers all the way. Graham played a game out of the box in the -Marist pack, and, in addition to scoring, was in several passing movements that carried his side through for tries. O'Brien was always in the picture, while Campbell, Johnson. Webbley and Young played their part well! Hassan was seen to great advantage, and, seeing plenty of the ball, fed his backs freely. He always seemed to do the right thing at the right time, working the "blind" or using the open side as the occasion warranted. Gregory and Brisbane rose to brilliant heights both on attack and defence, defending in great style, and engineering attacking movements that had the opposition in a frenzy. Brady was in great form in the second spell, and proved one too many for his vis-a-vis, Angelo. He was at the seat of most of the trouble that came Ponsonby's way in the last twenty minutes. Drew was the pick of the wingers, and scored on one occasion with only half a pair of trousers—enough ■ even to stop the career of the most dashing of three-quarters. He is a promising sort, and more should be heard of him later in the season. Campbell was by no means overworked, but on the day he acquitted himself well.

RICHMOND DISAPPOINT. Although the greasy state of the ground militated to a large extent against fast. open play, the match between Kichmond and Newton, who acted as the preliminary to the chief attraction at Carlaw Park, was very poor. The handling of the ball was the most disappointing point, neither side passing with anything like their usual accuracy. It was expected that Richmond would emerge winners, but, except for a few occasions, the maroons were mostly penned on the defensive. It was hard to understand the action of Richmond's skipper in playing five forwards and eight backs, as, with bad conditions prevailing, it wolild have been to more advantage to rely largely on the .vanguard than the rear division. Newton, of course, had to follow suit. The winners thoroughly deserved their victory, having much the better of play, and adapting their play to the conditions. Kichmond were the first to attack, a combined passing movement taking play to Newton territory. An opening - by McLeod saw Hill cut the defence to ribbons and score a great try near the posts. Brimble, converted. Gaining possession in midfield, Hill flashed away, to draw Davis before transferring to Clark, who beat Mincham badly and scored well out, while Brimble made no mistake with the kick. Although Richmond made strenuous efforts to reduce the leeway, their efforts were "nullified by erratic handling. Half-time came with Newton leading B—o. The game had only been resumed when Richmond went invading, Peckham sending Prentice away, the last named cutting-in brilliantly, then transferring to Mincham, who dived across at the corner. The Richmond attack was only momentary, and- Newton swung into action, Cammick working the blind 'side of the scrum and racing down-field. When about to be tackled he cross-kicked, McLeod gathering, to score wide out. Maintaining the pressure they were unlucky in not further increasing their lead, when Francis dropped his pass with no one to beat. Newton had the better of the final stages of the game, and finally ran out winners 11 —3. Dempsey, Newton's full-back, was inclined to fumble the ball, but improved as the game went. Brimble was the better of the two wings, but the ball did not reach the wings on too many occasions. Hill played a great game, his cutting-in being especially brilliant. Clark gave an exc6llent display, his fine following frequently catching the maroons out of position. _ Cammick fed his backs to advantage, while of a hardworking pack, Francis and Middleton stood out. Lee had a big day's work, but came through with honours. Mincham was off form, his handling being very poor. Prentice was prominent for solid defence, while Peckhani exploited the short punt to advantage, also making some really brilliant openings. Of s. tireless pack, Lennie and Potter were particularly noticeable.

' GRADE RESULTS. * SENIOR B GRADE. Parnell' 7, beat Mount Albert 5. Otahuhu 10, beat Northcote S. SECOND GRADE. Ponsonby ,14, beat Marists 9. Devonport 22, beat Mt. Wellington 18. Richmond 9, beat Otahuhu 3. THIRD GRADE. Kingsland beat Devonport by default. Ponsonby 11, beat Ellerslie 0. Marists S, drew with Avondale S. THIRD GRADE INTERMEDIATE. Northcote IS, beat Richmond 10. FOURTH GRADE. - City 6, beat Ponsonby 3. Devonport 6, beat Kingsland 7. Akarana 13, beat Pt. Chevalier 0. Avondale 7. beat Mt Albert 5. Richmond 34, beat Papatoetoe 0. FIFTH GRADE. Otahuhu 6, drew with Newmarket 6. Akarana 8, beat Ponsonby 3. ' . SIXTH'GRADE. ; Devonport 9, beat Ellerslie 0. Kingsland 5, beat Richmond 2. Citv 6, beat Newmarket 0. Richmond 11, beat Ellerslie 0. Pt Chevalier 25, beat Devonport 0. Marists 8, beat City 0. GAMES IN SOUTH. CHRISTCHTJRCH. Marist 14, beat Woolston 4. - ' Waimairi 13, beat Sydenham 0.