LEAGUE HONOURS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 151, 29 June 1931, Page 14

LEAGUE HONOURS.

GAMES IN SECOND ROUND. SHORE DEFEAT CITY. TVTNS FOR NEWTON AND MARIST. Between sunshine and showers the second round of the Rugby League senior competition was inaugurated on Saturday afternoon, when interesting, if not sparkling, football was the order. At ( Carl'aw i'aik pride of place was given! the Devonport and City encounter, and a large crowd saw the seasiders battle their way to victory by l(i points to 5. As a spectacle the game was disappointing, but it was productive of hard, keen and! fast football, punctuated by occasional snappy passing among the backs. On No. 2 ground Newton demonstrated their superiority over Ellerslie to the tune of J4 points to 3, while out at Western Springs Stadium, Marist continued in winning vein and accounted for Richmond for the third time of the season by S points to 3. The following table shows the present positions of the senior teams: —

DEVONPORT SUPREME.

' With Captain Alf. Scott and that clashing loose forward, Casey, defections from Pevonport's ranks, the prospects of City turning the tables on the seasiders were decidedly bright. Bnt actually they lost ground, and defeat by 23 points to IS on the occasion of the teams' first meeting was widened to defeat by 16 points to 5. Certainly City were unlucky not to register a bigger tally, but, for that matter, so were Shore. Within a few minutes from the start Len Scott missed a sure try through kicking too hard. This in a measure counter-balanced the one really glorious missed-chance on the part of City in the second spell. The town men were infusing plenty of ftcvll into their attack right on their opponents' last line when the ball shot i across. Iveson failed to gather the rolling ball; M. Watene got his "mits" on it only to lose it again; and then Clarke niade a dive a fraction too late. The ball, which was up to more tricks than a "cage full of monkeys," trickled into touch, and Shore supporters gasped their relief. The general run of the play was disappointing, but -it was incidents like that at a time when the result of the game was in the balance that held the interest of the crowd. To a large extent the forwards fought out the issue. There were occasions, however, when both forwards and backs collaborated in fine style on the move, and when individuals sparkled in flashing runs. The honours of the match were mainly carried off by - Devonport, for City frittered away innumerable chances to open up the play. Their forwards hooked the ball repeatedly for them, and their diminutive half,

i j Alderton, was tire-less-in sending It along. It must have been a disappointing day for him on, the wholee, however, for most of his efforts were nullified by the mistakes of the five-eighths line. Savage and Iveson were slow in sending the-ball along, and Davidson was too wellmarked to do anything when he received his passes. Indeed, none of the City backs showed up in a favourable light, and even the usually reliable S. Watene, at full-back, did not acquit himself too well. His positional play left something to be desired, and his ticking was erratic. He suffered in comparison with Simons, the Shore custodian, who retrieved some of the ground' he lost the' previous week by an indifferent display against Marist. The seasiders' backs, generally speaking, showed better understanding than they did the previous week, and they defended splendidly throughout. Seagar, at centre, was the mainstay, and was the best back on the ground. His captaincy of the side was masterly. Rhodes played grandly behind the pack, while O'Donnell and Trevor O'Leary were enterprising in the fiveeighths line. Len Scott and Les O'Leary gave nothing away on the wings. The former scored a fine try, was dashing and dangerous at all times on the move, and saved a score by City by coming across from the wing and; upsetting Len Barchard when the Devonport defence was all at sixes and sevens. City's defeat can in no way be attributed to their forwards, lhey did what was* expected of them, and more at times, but they were up against a stiff proposition in the lighter opposition pack. Pascoe again stood out as a silent grafter and one of the best hookers in the code, while others who played rattling good games were Clarke and M. Watene. Ine Devonport sextet were tenacious in defence, excelled in the loose, collaborated splendidly with their backs, and were quick to make the most of the mistakes of the opposition. The fair-headed -Simpson was always in tne picture, and made a fine breakaway early in the piece for Masefiejd to score. The latter was a great little grafter, while others who functioned nicely were Ruby, E. Scott and Hunt. • The scorers were .—Devonport, Iβ by Masefield, Rhodes, L. Scotland O Doniell,, and two conversions by Seagar; and City, 5: A try r>y Alderton and a penalty goalby: S. Watene. ONWARD MARIST. The Marist-Richmond game proved a good Attraction as the first big football contest staged on the Western Springs stadium enclosure. Unfortunately the turf is not very, well rooted, and, after the previous night's.' rain the area was in very heavy condition.. The reserve graders churned up the surface a bit, and showers that fell during the main match made conditions °Marist • were quickest into their stride, though they were atrte to make little impression in the first half. Magnificent work by Brisbane —one opening being topped oil in finished style by List—produced what looked like two easy tries. After that Richmond rose splendidly to the occasion, and more than held their own in the closing stages, and, with a shade of luck might epsily have drawn level before the boll. Richmond's hooker had quite a good sV.are of the ball, but the Marist inside backs revealed understanding and enterprise. Hassan was fine behind the scrums. Brady, who had to leave the field with what proved to be a small cut in the head, which bled profusely, was playing fairly well, although often bringing trouble on himself by want of care in his methods. Brisbane was outstanding, and List seems to be profiting by the association. His try, really inaugurated by Campbell, gave a glimpse of artistry. Meehan and Bachelor, the respective ■wingers, were dangerous on occasions, and got through a busy day with credit. .Wehberley, Johnson, who took the wing position when Brady went otf, Carter, and Riley were hard working forwards. Clarke was not much in the picture. He seemed to be unduly troubled by the slippery ground surface. Lawless was great. He has exceptional speed, and is full of resourcefulness. His display stamped him as well qualified for rep. honours. Jonos and the rest of tne pack gave good support, and their play towards the end testified to effective training. B. Davis was alert at half, and G. Davis showed defensive tactics. Dunn's ability extricated the side from awkward situations. When Mincham retired, Prentice played in the second half, the side also missing Telford with a badly cut eye. Prentice slowed up the team a bit, but compensated for this by bringing signs of more confidence, and it was the grim Pren-tice-like attack that yielded the one try. Fairmnn, who was playing his final game prior to going to Christchurch, where lie will be found wearing the colours cither of Sydenham or Linwood teams, played with pep on the wing, though' lie is better nearer the scrum. He has pace, energy, and strength, but is inclined to be rash at times. Young Mincham has something of the name blemish. He did well as centre in the first half. Pell aid not get much chance to show his worth. Marshall, in his first performance as fulMmck with class company, compared very favourably with Camp-. bcil. A less reliable custodian on a typical kiek-and-rush day would have been expensive. If he maintains that standard he will be a worthy successor to Mery. Lee. The result, B—;s,8 —;$, Jn favour of Blaritits, shows the Bovers to b« ;i force to'rbe further reckoned, .with before the championship ..ie eettled.

A DULL GAME,

The match played on No. 2 ground between Newton and Hflerslie was unentertaining football. The last time these teams met the result was a draw, each team scoring five points. On Saturday Newton showed themselves vastly superior to the team from the racecourse suburb, but their play was nothing to enthuse oVer nevertheless. There was not an outstanding incident throughout the game, and the few rnthusiasts who followed the fortunes of their favourites were treated to .an extraordinarily dull display. Followers of the League code should be treated to something much better at Carlaw Park. The ground was in fair condition, despite the rain of the previous night, but there were occasional showers that made matters a little ui.comfortable for the players. Newton showed (lashes of good back combination from time tu time, but too often the ball went straight across field, and not an inch of territory was gained, despite the fact that the whole division participated. At other times the Inability to cnteh easy passes spoilt good opportunities. Wild passing and throwing the ball out without looking where it was going were faults that both teams were guilty of, and the sarcastic advice of sup]K>rters had no effect. Porteous, the Newton half-back, played a good game, and St. George showed to advantage on several occasions with a good run with ball at toe. Drew and Mickey were always in the Ellerslie picture, but they had not the backing to bring matters to successful finality. As usual there were many infringements, and the whistle was constantly in requisition.

GRADE GAMES. SENIOR RESERVE. Devonport 15, beat City 0. Newton 16, beat Ellerslie 12. Marist 0.8. o, beat Richmond 0. SECOND GRADE. City 13. beat Mt. Wellington 0. Mt. Albert 5, beat Northcote 0. THIRD OPEN. Marist 0.8. 0, beat Richmond 3. THIRD INTERMEDIATE. Richmond 11, beat Glenora.O. Akarana 0. drew with Ponsonby 0. Marist 0.8. 8, beat Mt. Albert 0. FOURTH GRADE. Akarana 11, beat City 3. Northcote 24, beat Avondalc 0. Mt. Albert 5, beat Papatoetoe 0. Marist 0.8. 14 beat Newmarket 5. FIFTH GRADE. Northcote 6, beat City 0. Newton 15, beat' Richmond 0. Marist 0.8. 7, beat Devonport 0. Ellerslie 12, beat Mt. Albert 2. SIXTH GRADE. Marist 0.8. 8, beat City 0. Richmond 5, beat Newmarket 3. Akarana 3, beat Pt. Chevalier 0. SEVENTH GRADE. Richmond A 15, beat City 0. Ellerslie 14. beat Pt. Chevalier 0. Papatoetoe 29, beat Newmarket 2. Richmond 17, beat Parnell 2. Newmarket 11, beat Papatoetoe 0. GAMES IN THE SOUTH. WELLINGTON. City 27, beat Newtown B 0. Newtown. A 28, beat Petone 13. CHRISTCHURCH. Hornby 17, beat Addington 13. Linwood 22, beat Sydenham 6. DUNE DIN. City 9. beat Christian Brothers 5. Athletic 23, beat Pacific 22.

Pts., Ch, P. VT. L. D. F. A. pts. DeTonport i 6 1 — 114 o!) 12 Marist . . 7 (i 1 — 111 51 1"2 Richmond 7 3 3 1 G8 63 7 I'onsonby (i o J. 1 SI 60 7 City 7 2 4 1 S7 !)5 5 Newton .. T 1 4 . 2 39 78 4 ©Herslie 7 — G 1 42 142 1