LEAGUE LADDER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 157, 6 July 1931, Page 14

LEAGUE LADDER.

MARISTS BEAT PONIES.

RICHMOND DOWN CITY,

SHORE WIN FROM NEWTON

League followers were served up with excellent football 011 Saturday, when thf , second series of matches in the concluding round of the senior championship was decided. The principal attraction was the meeting of Marists and Ponsonby, and, in the first spell, it proved to be one of the finest expositions of the code this season. Fortunes fluctuated with amazing rapidity in the early stages, but, in the end, _ Marist triumphed and won by the comfortable margin of 25 points to 10. On No. 2 ground, Richmond scraped home against City by 11 points to 8, while across the water, Devonport 'had a day at home and fulfilled expectations by defeating Newton by 20 points to 5. The following table shows the present position of the senior teams:— P. W. L. D. F. A. Pta. Devonport ..8 7 1—134 64 14 Marist 8 7 1' -~ 130 61 14 Richmond ..8 4 3 1 79 71 0 Ponsonby ..7 3 3 1 97 So 7 City 8 2 5 1 Oo 100 o Newton .... 8 1 5 2 44 08 - Ellerslie .... 7 — . 6 1 42 142 1 . BRILLIANT MARISTS. In a game which rose to superlative heights in the nrst spell, but was merely mediocre in the second, Marists, secured a well-merited win over Ponsonby by 25 points to 10. The score boys were given a hectic time during the opening passages owing to the frequency with which points were registered, and the crowd was thrilled by the rapidity of the exchanges. The puce was on right from the jump, and it was not many minutes before the Marist backs functioned in scintillating fashion to put on eight points. With barely as many minutes gone, Ponies opened their scoring account, their forwards bursting through. Again the Marist backs worked with 6 rhythm, and Brady, ■ ~■.' ". ....,.................................i who was playing a

great game at centre, slipped across for his second try of the day. to make the scores: Marists 11, Ponsonby 3. By dint of hard work, primarily by their forwards, western suburbs managed to reduce the deficit to a single point, but the interval found the championship leaders nursing the advantage by 14 points to 10. Territorially, Marists had all the better of the second stanza, their backs working

with delightful elan and mobility. There was thrust in their every move, and the defence was sorely nonplussed. Even the veteran Delgrosso, who usually senses the trend of the play, was baffled. His young lieutenants were all- at sea, with the result that Brisbane and Brady, the Marist five-eighths, cut through time and again to give scoring chances to their supports. The latter scored a beautiful try, and sent List over on three occasions before the curtain was rung down on a disappointing second spell. In only one department did Pones manage to . hold their own—in the forwards. Strengthened by the inclusion of Lou Hutt, who has returned to his old club after a spell in England, they held on with grim tenacity even when their backs were powerless to stem the fast-moving Marist rushes. Hutt was not in form and, except for doing a lot of valuable scouting, did not impress as an international fresh from the high lights of League. Limn and Cyril Thompson were always on the ball, sind the latter scored his side's opening try. Gardiner, Fagan and Stevens- wore tireless in the hard stuff. The Marists pack played with plenty of devil and dash', and collaborated with their backs sweetly. They were always looking for work, and backing up when their backs needed support. "Stump" Campbell did a great job of work in raking the ball from the serums, particularly in the second half. Clnrko worked valiantly in the loose, and opened up the piny at every available opportunity. Others who were always where the play was. thickest were Webberley and Railey. The lamentably weak defence of the suburbanite backs may be attributed in a measure to the loss of Pat Skelton from the five-eighths line as the result of an early injury. An entire reorganisation of the chain was necessary, and Delgrosso did not make the best of his task. When Brisbane and Brady were continually finding gaps in the defence, for instance, Thompson would have been better in the second fiveeighths position than Friend. . The latter was not at home, and Brady ran rings round him. Thompson was also beaten badly, and let List away far too often. Indeed none of the Pony backs came up to scratch, except White, who battled gamely behind the pack. They all suffered in comparison with the greens' scoring machine— man for man. Exploiting the passing game Brisbane, Brady, List, Bachelor and Meehan were in radiant mood. They handled the ball sweetly, were always backing up, and perplexed the opposition by changing the direction of the play with long passes*. Hassan at half, played a great game, and in one fine run left the opposition standing. Brady and Brisbane shared the honours m making beautiful openings. The latter was the more solid of the two on defence, and his appreciation of positional play stood his side in good stead. List's straight running was a feature of the play in the second spell, while Meehan thrilled the crowd by his trickiness and pace on the wing. The ex-Newmarket boy has the makings of a top-notcher. He has speed, determination and a good pair of hands. Bachelor on the opposite flank did all that was expected of him, while N Campbell, at full-back, simply could not do anything wrong. He seemed to be imbued with the confidence of the men in front of him, and did not let his side down once

SHORE BATTLE.

In the first round Dovonpcrt tin-ashed Newton in hollow fashion by 2G—O. There were times on Saturday when it looked as though the Rangers might wreak their vengeance by clinching a surprise victory. Whatever confidence the Shore team had of its capacity to again trounce Newton was soon dispelled. It is safe to say that all spectators who had seen Newton perform earlier in the season, and the Devonport men themselves, votod the visiting team, a vastly improved combination.

Shore were lucky to finish with a 20—5 margin, which was not a true reflex of superiority. The seasiders have to thank their greyhound, Euby, for a day of remarkably effective forward work, responsible for a contribution of 11 o£ the 20 total. One try,. only, and that by the same player, was registered as the result of anything like the usual crisp team work of Devonport. Even this was but a flash in the pan. It was well on in the second spell before the home side made an impression, and neither Len Scott nor Les- O'Leary got chances to speak of during the match. Shore's strength lay in several bustling forwards, led by Kuby, Simpson, Masefield and Alf. Scott, but except when the opposing half was caught unawares, the ball was always

cleared with crisp handling. In the scrums, too, the lighter pack hooked well, and, breaking up quickly, the sextet, -with Francis foremost, were tigerish on defence and attack. Rhodes was a storm centre, and when he did set the ball away, O'Donnell, Trevor O'Leary and Seagar seemed to be at sixes aud sevens. They mis-handled repeatedly. O'Leary threw the ball

blindly at times, improving, however, as the game went on. Seagar, on the other hand, often extricated his side by utilising his fend, but invariably went too far. In the early stages Simons overshadowed Dempsey, the latter eventually showing attractive farm against odds. Eddleston. Newton's winger, did commendably, and it is a pity he has not a little more pace. Harris, on the other liank, played with great resource, and is rapidly developing into a player of class. lie easily held his own with I*B. McCarthy, ,-&. pro-.

moted reserve centre, hss all tlio qualities for the position, and '.vent well in line with Pope and Hill, two liv.C;C*ij?htlis who play with promising colliibointimi. St. George again upheld the family niirac, as a .cootl rake, and, wilh Francis, who was everywhere, Kirkup and Mitfdleton, Xcwton's was a most energetic pack. Tlie team lnit-scd E. Brinible", their fast ;nside back. The game was another of recent illustrations that good training and coaching are vital factors in iield display. KEEN TUSSLE. The match on No. 2 ground proved a'keen tussle between Richmond and City, the former being a trifle lucky to notch a win during the last few minutes. It was quite a good game to watch, many bright movements taking place. Both tries scored by City resulted from snappy passing and the ability of the fast-moving backs to keep up with the play. Richmond gave a solid, rather than a brilliant exhibition, and owe their success primarily to good tackling. They proved superior in the scrums. Tlie backs held their own, penetrating deeply on the move. Mincham, as usual, gave a fine display on the wings, while inside Dunn made some line openings. Marshall impressed with his sound play in the last line of defence. Lawless was conspicuous in the forward division. He showed a fine understanding with his backs, frequently getting up to assist. His best supports were Ritchie and Jones—a pair of solid grafters, always looking for work.

.The City insides, Savage and Davidson, did well on defence, but were frequently caught in possession owing to the slow release of'the ball from the scrum. Alderton, behind the scrum, gave one of his poorest displays to date, while Reynolds was slow in sending the ball along. Few chances went the wingers' way, but McLoughlin and L. Barchard were dangerous when they were sent away. Steve Watene was below form as far as his position on the iield was concerned, and he was sent away before the game ended for an argument with Prentice, a Richmond forward. Both lads shook hands as they left the ground. Watene , s numerous misdirected kicks caused much trouble to his side In the forwards Iveson, Pascoe and Miti Watene were always in the picture.

GRADE GAMES. SENIOR RESERVE. Ponsonby 8, beat Marist 5. Richmond 13, beat City 7. Devonport 0, beat Newton 0. SECOND GRADE. Monnt Albert 10, beat Mangere 6. THIRD GRADE OPEN. Ponsonby 7, beat Marist 0 Papatoetoe beat Glen Eden by default. THIRD GRADE INTERMEDIATE. Ponsonby 12, beat Richmond 5 Marist 8, beat City 3. FOURTH GRADE. City 2, drew with Devonport 2. Point Chevalier 2, beat Richmond 0. Papakura S. beat Newmarket 7. Northcote 17, beat Mount Albert 2. FIFTH GRADE. City 14, beat Richmond 0. Newton 26, beat Mount Albert 0. SIXTH GRADE. City 9, beat Devonport 0. Marist 16, beat Point Chevalier 0. SEVENTH GRADE. Ellerslie 8, beat City 0. Papatoetoe 10, beat Richmond B 0. PRIMARY SCHOOLS. Devonport 19, beat Ellerslie 0. Richmond 6, beat Papatoetoe 0. City 25, beat Avondale 6. Akarana 7, beat United 0. Newton 15, beat Northcote 7. GAMES IN THE PROVINCE. WHANGAREI. City IS, beat Waro 0. Hikurangi 28, beat Towai S. Juniors. —Kamo 0, drew with Waro 0 HUNTLY. Juniors. —Huntly 8, beat Kia Ora 0. Colts.—Huntly 14, beat Taupiri 0. GAMES IN THE SOUTH. DUNEDIN. City 26. beat Athletic 5. Pacific 15, beat Christian Brothers 5. WELLINGTON. Nnwtown B 25, beat Newtown A 24. Old Boys 6, beat City 2. CHRISTCHURCH. Addington 28, beat Sydenham 24. Hornby A 10, beat Hornby B 2. Linwood 37, beat Riccarton 13.