LEAGUE CLUB GAMES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 170, 21 July 1930, Page 13

LEAGUE CLUB GAMES.

CHAMPIONSHIP LADDER. , PONIES TAKE THE LEAD. tables turned on city. --WINS FOK TYKES, KING SL AND ' AND RICHMOND. I Considering the big counter attraction staged by the sister code, there was a surprisingly good attendance at Carlaw Park on Saturday afternoon, when Ponsonby and City met to decide Hrhich team was to take the lead in the senior championship of the League. ' When the oldest rivals in the code met in the first - round, Western Suburbs . Wer- trounced by a margin of 10 points, bu' on Saturday they went one better and turned the tables on their opponents to the tune of 29 points to 12. Thus Ponies now wave their banner at the head of the ladder, holding an advantage of a lone point. On No. 2 ground Devonport suffered defeat at 'the. hands of Richmond, the, latter pulling the game out of the fire in the dying" stages, and repeating their performance of the previous week by winning by a single point. KingslfindAtWetics sprung somewhat of a surprise at the Domain by inflicting defeat on Newton. On the same ground Marists jiad their first win for several weeks, - downing Ellerslie with many points to ,spare. fIT PONIES ROMP HOME. TVifh a weakened back line* City were pwept aside like a tree in the path of an avalanche, when they met I'onsonby for the second occasion this season. They gave a patchy, unconvincing, display, and. aftef the fij'st quarter never looked .like winners. On the other hand, Ponies, determined to be avenged for a heavy defeat inflicted on them by their old rivals in the fifst .round, .-.rose to the occasioh, aiid staashed through : the defence of the opposition unmercifully. "Suburbs led at the Interval by 17 to* .7, and, before the final whistle, piled on 1-2 points, while City ttdfied Oiily five.. As a spectacle the game

was not oyer-brilMrit, 6nd both sides .threw e-way scoring chances by erratic . handling. The same was coti- ' epicious for splendid goal-kicking by both j'aton and Delgrosso. The latter played eoundly in all dep'artments. Kiley, in the l'onscmby five-eighths line, was a continual thornd in the side Of the opp6sition and Combined well with Slclntyre behind the scrum. The latter .. showed a return to • that form which won

• Blm recognition a. fe!W ..... V .« Seasons ago. Pat Skelton played one of • His best games to (late. -He .defence nicely"! and by brlUlaflt eidestepping scored the prettiest try of the day.. Winter and SchOfleld both played well on tlie wmgs, Wilson was sound at lull-back. . The latter ' fielded well, but'his kicking need ■ '{tf- improvement. While the suburban for- . /Wards played rattling good football, it was the thrust of their backs that won tbe day. iLunn and McLeay were the two outstandiiig scrummagers, and their .fast TaKMo proved Inspiring to their supports. Stevens ' proved costly to his side as Keftrfee McCall penalised him continually for lifting in the scrums. Otherwise he did- his sh ar ® °f ' Mid work along with W. Skelton Gardiner and Moore. The City pack held their, own, and revelled in the hard stufl. Pascoe was the best of the sextet. He was ably supported by Hainiltofl, Hadley and Boss lie least said about the City backs the better, they were outclassed on the day by a scoiing machine that held too many guns foi them. Shoi'tland did his best against big edds, and, wsl§ the choice of the backs. Reynolds and G. Perry gave their opponents altogether t.&o mjichc latitude. JWrfon. ' Sras seen. in. a; subdued light, but made the ttfbst of the . opportunities that. c4me his 'fray in the three-quarter line. - ..." .

; * DfiYOKPORt UNLUCKY. ->• For tiie second -week in succession; Rich- *■ faond pulled, the game out of the fire in the last few mihfites of play, oh Saturday, defeating Devonport when they met on No. 2 grtiriiid tit Carlaw Park, the margin of points being 14 to 13. It was not an Interesting game, play being mostly devoted . to tie forwards, with the backs only Indulging in combined movements on few Occasions. Devonport were a'sh?lde unlttcky .in meeting defeat by the Odd point, as they held a territorial advantage right from the commencement, their forwards being seen to great advantage ,in concerted dribbling tushes. On the other hand, Richmond only Began to infuse any dash into' their efforts Qver the concluding stages, when they had Devonport penned continually oh the defensive. DSVonpdfct hive been an uhlucky team this season as far as casualties are concerned, as they have, been losing players, through injuries firdiri practically the opening of th 6 season, And tlife'team fielded on Saturday comprised practically all junior players amongst the backs. Right from the ' kick-off Devonport set out in earnest to opefl tile seating, and a flfie. effort, in which O'Leary and Smith shone, saw the firstrimmed score,, also converting his own. try, Ohce again they swept dowrifield; concerted : work by the forwards culminating in O'Donnell flashing across. Richmond were making every endeavour to set their backs goifig, btit they ivere ifidlilgihg iii ttio ititieh • kicking. Mincham shortly after wiped off two.points of the deficit. A great cut-in by Davi§ sent Richmond raiding, the! fiveeighths drawing the defence before sending out to Miricham, who dived across with O'Leafy hanging 6m There was n6 further score to half-time, Devonport leading 8 to 5. Wheij ,they resumed) Richmond attacked and" had Shore iiilrd jpressed to keSp them out, when they were awarded a free, kick, which Mihcham tlimed to advantage. With only one,point between them both teams .were straining hard to gain the upper hand, r 'hut. the defehces were very solid. An "csplditihg' kick fduild Richmond out,.of "position, a scrimmage on the Richmond line =*resulting in St. George securing and going • across under the posts., L. O'Leary con--i.vcrted: - Once again Shore were penalised, vand-Miricham added another two points. wiriger had how scored the ilihe points • Credited to Richmond. Richmond then t6 sHow some of their bSst fbrih;. h -'high kick by Prentice placing them on the offensive, constant pressing beihg Ultimately ■ rewarded. when Edwards, scored. It was a quesflijiiable try, as it appeared that 0 Letir'y had clearly-forced, but the referee 1 Molded in favour of Richmond. Mincham cynosure of all eyes as he took the -■kick, 'as it meant the difference between j'Winnmg and losing, but the winger's shot sailed Clejlflly between the uprights/ The game finished shortly after, with Richmond gaming victory by- the odd point in four-

the \vinners, Lee, at full-back, -was outstanding, giving one of the best displays -fi 6 ? l ?- sea soh: His line-kicking and •neldmg were brilliant, and he was a big factor in Richmond's success. Edwards was An e^ ter tlle flanks > the ball uiu not reach the wing on too many occasions. Prentice kicked a bit too much, „But was a tower of strength on defence. The J?™ 1 '" were toilers from the opening hi„ ' with Lehnie, Ritgg,: ahd Potter m ays .Prominent. f,„rV O ' L « a ' r y wns - n °t us safe as usual at ■ ■ e se " !l siders ) aiid has given better splays. Both L. O'Leary and Saxon ptit ,u some very fine dashes down the line, but no ! £ et tlle opportunities their play warranted. Smith is one of the most pronf A n <? seen out this season, some. Tooii opfifttegs lie made oa Siiturddy being , eauy clever. B. Laing was too slow for h^ n « nsi( l e „ man > supports frequently position through over-ruiiiiing. hiHl wa ? better of' the two haif- „ ® s ', setting his backs going at every pportumty. The vanguard worked hard Tfnio K° ug tlle game, Ruby, Casey, and e oemg particularly noticeable. EASY WIN. Usui— Do ; mn in on Saturday Kingslaml l sained a decided victory over niri w " Be, " s b y 13 to 5 - Tl, e game rv,«i • reach brilliant heights and the wlii. i, . t' lo rearguards was very poor, fintwi. ?. r effective tackling spoilt all mini' r had sligiitly the heavier •tmi 'tvjfc kiij'gslarid had splendid hookers rif «,• y K a,ne fl Possgssiofi iri the majority • Kingsland, lacked comhinaL?£ *5 the vanguard and two of their nfi c^ ei ' e dub to individual efforts, But rittfiiP- e th eir solid tackling was very e( -tiYe. The majority of the passing

movements in the Newton rearguard amounted to nil, owing to._the ball. being dropped at the critical' stagfe of liieKot: support when needed. - In , the fil'st half play was even, Newton being the first to score, and Kingsland equalised shortly after with a penalty .and try; but ..in the second half the former failed to gain furtheir tries, While Kingsland added eight points to their score. Imftiediately after the kick-off jJlOilett neatly intercepted and passed ."to St. George; who,, after eluding List, transferred ;to MiddletOn;- who dived over just outside the posts, and E. Brimble converted easily. ..However it WasJ hot long before Herrihg kicked a penalty and Simms, securing from , the loose, dashed past. several forwards and scored wide out. A passing movementalong the Kingsland backs failed within a few yards of the line and Hili was very unlucky in not getting across, Cocks tackling him a yard from the line. Desultory play followed the resumption liritil E. Carter made two runs dowii the lifie, and when inside Newton's twenty-five List gathered to gain an unconverted try. Jtist before the whistle List gained another try that Herring had no difficulty in Converting, Carter being instrumental in sending List away. For the winners Cocks, at full-back, played a brilliant game, seldom failing to take ttie ball cltoiily or to bring down his opponent. .K. Carter was the best of the wings and List was Seldom caught with the ball. Dix fed his backs assiduously, but his l , good work wais not made fiill use of. SjmniS was ally good in the forwards With McCloUghlen and Raffim close followers. For Newton, Dempsey at full-back gave a sOuiid display, extricating liis sid6 froth danger on numerous • occasions. The Brimble brothers played their usual g'Ood game 'and Hill was noticeable several tiities for his solo efforts, but Beattie was inclined to hold on to the ball too long. Of the hard Worked pack, St. George was the head of aifairs ( while Middleton and Mollett deserve special mention, GOOD FOOTBALL.' 1 ' Although Ellerslie were. defeated by jlitrists o.n Saturday the teaih frOjai the racecourse.. suburb put up a goOd fight. There was a consensus of opinion after the gaihe that had Ellerslie.kept the play tight during the first half when playing against a heavy wind, ahd opened the gajjie uij in the second half they would have made a much better" showing. Marists, on the dth&r hand, played football as this team played it some seasons ago. They played a game " out of the box." A feature Of the nlatch.was its Keenness and cleanness, oilly Ohe incident marring an otherwise sporting go. Drew, the speedy left winger for Marists, was right on his game, and gave a brilliant exhibition. He scored 12 of Marists! 25 points.' with four' great tries. Hassam, their iialfj was .rtlso Weil up to form, and Feran, the full-back, never madea mistttke. MaristS' forwards also worked well together.

Olliff, tli§ tficky little Eltei'slie half, was much in the picture. This player is a towei! of Strength td hW side, Ho Cdii always be expected to ftlay ft fine ofreh game. Webb, too, was playing well, and Hickey Was Wdftli watCllillg. Qtiii'ke iiiiide the riibst of the opportunities -which came liig Wily, liig try on the qall of time being a sfdeiidid effort. Batclielor scored some of Ellerslte's points ill a eonvinoing manneri GRADE GAMES. SECOND GRADE. , Richmond 3, fceat Ponsonby 0. Mount Wellington 17; Beat Mangere 0. Marist 10, beat Devonfloft 7; THIRD GRADE OPEN. Avondale 5, beat Glen-Lynn 0. '' EOUHTH GRADE. Mount Albert 8, drew with Glen Lynn 8. Avondale.O, dfew with : Point Chevalier 0. City 14, beat Kingsland:s. Devonport 18, beat Paptttoetoe jC. Akarana B, beat Pdnsoriby 0. FIFTH GRADE, Otahtihit 13, beat Newmarket 7. Richmond 14 s beat Northcote 2. Mttrists 11, beat Papatdetoe U. > SIXTH GRADE. _ ; City 9, beat Richmond 0. Point Chevalier 5, beat Marist B 2. Mafist A 12 1 beat Newiiiarket 5. '* • Newton 6, beat Kingsland 0. . PRIMARY SCHOOLS. Richmond 22, beat Ellerslle 0. Newiiiarket SO, beat Avoiulale 0. Pafcatoetoe 8, dfeW With Ohehunga Con. 3. .. . . GAMES'IN SOUTH.V'" ' CHRISTCHDRCH. Aldington. 30) beat Matifet 27. ■ Hornby 27) beat W6dlstoii 2i - Waimairi 5, Beat Llnwobd 0. DUNEDIN, - - • CMistiitii Btdthfers B 18, bea't Athletic 15. Christian Brothers A 13, beat Pacific u.