Flashes From Saturday's Games

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 106, 6 May 1940, Page 12

Flashes From Saturday's Games

Marist Still Good.—Rugby champions last season, the ilarist senior fifteen lias shown in the two preliminary matches that it is again strong and will be knocking at the door this season when the final figures are hoisted. Against Training College, however, a little lack to the defeated side would have made the result much closer. Once a good kick from a penalty by Kingston hit the upright and rebouudeil, ana on another occasion College seemed unlucky not to gain a five yards decision instead of a drop-out at the twenty-five. However, Marist, too, had it's narrow margins in missing tries, and it was the better side on the day. Bond was well to the fore in all phases of play on Saturday, and Sullivan also did good work.

Watch the Williams.—A splendid allround game for Training College on Saturday was played by Colmore-W'illiams, who filled tlie wing-three-qautre position for North Auckland against the Springboks in 1037. (.'lever and speedy, he seemed to be everywhere and is a dangerous attacking player beside being solid on defence. He started on the w.ng position against -Marist, but soon came into cent.e, in which berth he was a thorn in the side of tlie opposition all day. He runs with his knees coining high, and in this respect, together with his determination, is somewhat similar to Jim Parker, that great wing-forward of the 1924 All Blacks. Williams, first five-eighths, also must not be overlooked. This nippy little player was clever and elusive and hie cross-kicks to speedy wings had Marist sorely pressed on more than one occasion.

Wrong and Correct Tactics.—The match between Suburbs and Technical gave an ideal demonstration of tractics—wrong and correct. On the one hand, with pouring rain, greasy ball and difficult foothold, Suburbs persisted in throwing the ball about and making bad errors which played right into the hands of the opposition. On the other hand. Technical for the most part kept the ball at toe and what a great and harrying game the forwards played in the loose! An outstanding leader was D. Ryan, who played a fine, all-round game. He is speedy and clever. In the Suburbs vanguard K. Ladbrook was conspicuous for good work in the line-out. While on the subject of tactics it is worthy of note that for a period in the secopd spell Marist had to face a strong sun . in the match against Suburbs. One cannot understand why high kicks right for the centre of the goal-mouth were not brought into use.

Representatives in Form.—The Auckland representatives showed good form on Saturday. C. Brady, the Suburbs half, and Laurie Curtayne. the Marist first fiveeighth. Brady did great work on defence, while he cut through the defence at times to start movements which deserved a better reward. Curtayne's 6trong running and weight made him difficult to stop and he made a brilliant opening for Neary to open Marist's account against Training College. He was also prominent in a fensive role.

Sutherland's Two Tries. — Technical fielded a dashing and promising secondfi\ e-eighths, B. Sutherland, who scored two good tries. He anticipated play well and interest will centre in his displays under hard and fast conditions. Suburbs has a nice type of three-quarter in. V. Lndetwood. a speedy and determined runner with a sound knowledge of the game. Young XV.'s Triumph.—Even after leading North Shore by five points at the interval Manukau supporters hardly expec-ted to emerge victorious. A win appeared to have slipped from the grasp of the youthful Onehunga players when two goals (one potted by O. Sheehan) gave Shore a 13 —11 advantage 20 minutes from time. Manukau, however, were not afraid to throw the ball about when they got it, and as the. result of a spectacular opening by E. McPherson they made it 14 13 when E. Sai Louie scored his second try. The Shore defence was sadly lacking on this occasion, but in getting the opening try of the game sown after the start the Chinese lad dodged liis wav through the opposition. He was a third player last winter. As ten of Shore s points came from goals Manukau's enterprise in securing four tries to one against a heavier side really made the victory more emphatic than the score indicates. J. Goodacre. a forward (brother °? George, an old Grammar full-back) kicked two penalties for the losers, for whom the try was obtained bv W \ Raynes, runner-up in the Auckland provincial furlong championship on February 24. He played junior for Otahuhu in 1939.

Dick at Five-eighth.—Although at first beaten m all departments of the game, Graiton, in their match with Air Force showed promise of good things to come. Lack of a hooker robbed Grafton of many chances, as with a good set of backs, they undoubtedly would have run up a higher score. Noticeable in the black and white backline was All Black winger Johnny i»ek, playing at second five-eighth. Grange as he was to this position. Dick acquitted himseli well. When under way he takes a lot of stopping, as probably several of his opponents found out. AWo y !, ng i°° d football was Mai. Cato, ex V ° h Shore Rugby half, who turned to .League at the end of last season. He now plays first five-eighth for Air Fov#e, and he gave the opposition many headaehes on Saturday. Combining well with W. Kmnear. a new half, Cato often cleverly ran his backs into scoring positions, but unfortunately his outeide backs were unable to turn them to account.

Navy Lack Goal-kicker.—Solid forward work on both sides was the chief characteristic of the Navy-University game, w Inch never toae to brilliancy at any i"?i. T University forwards, however, pot the ball most frequently in the scrum, ana hunted more effectively than their opponents in the loose, though inclined at times to over-run the ball and give away penalty kicks. Their backs were slightly more versatile than the Navy rearguard, most resource and dash being shown by Mcßae at five-eighth and Kirkland on the wing. Navy might easily have won the game in penalty goals had they had a reliable goal-kicker.

Three Rugby Brothers.—Prominent in the Parnell-College Rifles Rugby game at Gribble-Hirst Park were three brothers in the Parnell side. They were Alex. Hector and Don McDonald. All played fine games. Alex, who is a forward, was in the thick of it, while Hec (centre) and Don (five-eighths) played well in the acks. Parnell's first try came from an opening by Don and Hec converted.

League is Open.—The openness of the Auckland Rugby League's senior competition tliis season was again revealed on Saturday, when more surprise results occurred. Each Saturday 6ince the beginning of the competition there have been upsets. Greatest of all was the defeat of Manukau by Marist after they had accounted for Mount Albert, last season's champions, comfortably. Marist played well throughout and there was not a shadow of doubt that they deserved their victory by a substantial margin of points. In the main game of the day Richmond came into their own again by upsetting North Shore, who had victories over Mount Albeit and Marist to their credit. Richmond played from bell to bell in the more telling way and on the day were the better side. Newton went to the top of the ladder by virtue of the fact that they beat the relatively weak Ponsonby side by a score of points. So far they are the only unbeaten side in the competition.

Newton's Late Run.—lt was not until the second spell that Newton Rangers on Saturday were able to show their superiority over Ponsonby in the early game at Carlaw Park and the mainspring of productive team result emanated from Teddy Brimble, that delightful five-eighth, whom many patrons of the game regretted did not earn recognition for the 1938 New Zealand tour to Australia. Mackenzie, Richards and Sanders reacted to his clever tactics. Ponsonby put up a great fight to stem the tide and it was pleasing to see the ex-representative hooker Flanagan making his return and proving that he is still a player to be respected. It was the winning of the ball, coupled with fine defence by the backs, that kept Newton in check until the second half. Shilling was a good full-back.

A Promising Three-quarter.—Slight of build, with pace and spirit, Mount Albert has a promising wing three-quarter in Cowley. Mansill (the runner and a son of a former prominent Newton Rangers player) had been playing well on the wing, but suddenly mishandled. Cowley grasped the opportunity and raced away from towards midfield, veering out towards the left touchline. He brushed off the fast Brassey and, cleverly avoiding a rather high tackle by the full-back, scored inside, the corner flag. It was"a solo effort of'merit enough to suggest that Cowley is a class scoring winger with a future.

Graham Outstanding.—A. Gmham, Richmond back, fair-haired, slight of frame, was the outstanding player on the ground against Shore. Not only did he pave the way for several Richmond tries, but he rounded off a good day with a try himself. A graduate from the lower Richmond grades. Graham has proved his worth on several occasions both this and other seasons, and he is a real topnotcher in possession. On Saturday he was most elusive, and "sold a pup" to such men as B. Donaldson and Jack Smith, who in the second spell was brought from centre to first five-eighth to keep an eye on him. Though Graham's light has been shaded by Dave Solomon to a large extent, die was better than Solomon on Saturday. He weaved- a passage dexterously through the Shore defence on several occasions, was usually trailing in support when support was needed, and what was more,' despite his slight build, invariably got his man.

City's First Triumph.—ln City Rovers' surprising first victory of the season over last season's champions, Mount Albert, they turned a 2—6 half-time loss into a 13 —(3 victory, due to vigorous team-work. One of the thrilling tries of the day was that of winger Gould, who, making the best of a mistake by an opposing threequarter Mansill made a thrilling run from half way to score. The last try of the winners also was a fine effort, for the Rovers, then camped on the Mount Albert line, sent the ball quickly through the hands of the for warns, and the centre Smith receiving it high on the tips of his fingers, crashed through to touch down beside the pests. It was amazing to observe that the usually resourceful Mount Albeit side had few countering moves for the Rovers.

Ted Scott Again.—Splendid forwards on both sides clashed with vigour ill the North Shore v. Richmond game, and though men such as Devine. Mitchell and Sowter stood out, there was no harder grafter on the ground than K. Scott, who has returned to the seasiders' fold. Te;l, a battler always, never battled harder perhaps than oil Saturday. He was mixing it with the "big fellows of the opposition" from bell to bell, supporting his backs when their need was greatest, and topped off a good day by bagging a try. Another Scott who played soundly was Verdun, who gave his usual good account of himself at full-back.

Matthews, of Marist.—A man who contributed largely to the defeat of Manukau by Marist was Matthews, the green's diminutive right winger. One of the slightest backs in the code, Matthews played a rattling good game and figured or. the scoring list l>esides engineering movements which culminated in tries. Another Marist back who was well in the picture was McWilliams. of box-ing fame, who was particularly dangerous when in possession.

North Shore Beaten.—The main frame nt Blandford Park proved to be exciting, although Mount Albert (irammar Old Boys had a decided territorial advantage. The hero of the game was the North Shore goalie. Pratt, around whom the excitement centred. He was continually dealing with shots from all angles from the Old Boys forwards and halves and his untiring efforts kept the score from reaching double figures. Old Boys had only a one-goal advantage at half-time and lost it in the first minute of the second spell, but they left no doubt in any stage of the game that they would run out the winners. Hopkinson, the centre-forward, dominated the attack with accurate passing and shooting. Other prominent forwards were Needham and Clark. The combination between the North Shore half-backs and the forwards was very poor and the forwards were robbed of many openings through wild and misdirected passing. Haydon and Blackie were quick to seize opportunities and Price opened their score with a great angle drive.

Unlucky Air Force.—Tt was unlucky for the newly-formed Air Force team that they did not show their mettle in the first half of the game against Thistle at the Domain. Though the Scottish team ended up with a 4—2 advantage, the score did not reveal the actual merits of the players. In the first half Thistle had it all their own way with better combination brtd a 2 —o lead at half-time. Service fitness proved more and more superior in the second half against a defence that weakened as the game drew to an end. Last year's Thistle goalie, Appleyard. was off with sickness and his place was taken by Crocker, who was a third-grade player last year and showed his mettle when he was pressed by the opposition. At forward Brackenridge. who played for Metro last year, did good work and Wiseman, a former Thistle player who played for Onehunga last season, was seen to advantage. Everson was an outstanding player for the Air Force boys

I Suburbs' Good Goalie.—Feature of the Y.M.C. A.-Eastern Suburbs' drawn game was the defensive work of the Suburbs goalie. Gavan. with whom the left back. Dickey, was associated. Both were a tower of strength, and Gavan in particular saved time and time again. Dickey's kicking was superb. Gavan's vis-a-vis, Bird, also a sound man, -did not have near the - same number of demands made upon him. Play in the main was nothing spectacular; in fact there was a great deal of wjjd kicking on both sides, and at times the co-opera-tion was lamentably poor. Y.M.C.A. showed up better in the first half, though they did not have much ■ territorial advantage. They had a lead of two goals to nil when, just before half-time, Eastern Suburbs drew blood. From then on play was more even, and after, file score was 4—2 in Y.M.'s favour Suburbs staged a good recovery to draw. An improvement in form on the previous Saturday's

play was shown by Welch and Kronsc of the home vanguard, and they were responsible for all four goals. McMurcliy, Y.M. left half, who was playing hU first game of the seat-on, scored one of his side's goals.

Comrades on Top.— Comrades proved worthy victors against Abels at Western Springs in a game in which 12 goals were scored. Notwithstanding the high scoring, the game was also remarkable for the chances missed by both sides. If each opportunity had been taken advantage of a cricket score would have been the result, with either side a couple of goals ahead. Comrades owed their victory to the speed and opportunism of their vanguard. With l'nncis and Masters outstanding, and solid support iron! their colleagues, they put in a finishing etlort in the last few minutes that enabled Masters and Walters to put in the winning goals. Kiggans and McKinnon impressed with solid defence, with Finch a m the bc*t of the other backs. \\ aters and C. Kkm.in were the best of Abels backs, the former getting in some powerful clearing work. Robinson, although handicapped by an injury from the previous week, made up with Hamilton and E. Hkman a trio that gave the opposing defence plenty to do in a fast and exciting game.

Odd Goal Win. The curtain-raiser at Blandford Park bel'ween I'onsonby and Onohunga lesiilted in .i narrow win for I'onsonby by the odd in three. The first spell was evenly contested, and it was only the opportunist goal by McGliie which gave Oneliunga the 1 to nil score at half-time. I'onsonby started the second spell with much bet'ier combination among the forwards. Dowler, I'lyger and Kelleher were outstanding in the scoring movements, and the defence of Haggett and Hoi in an was of a high order. Oneliunga s defence was very strong in the first spell, but they were disorganised in the second, the halves lacking cohesion, l'lie outstanding man in t'lie defence was T. Ken - , whose clever dribbling and tackling broke up the opposition's attack and turn it to advantage. Ihe forwards were fast, but their passes often went astray. Hay ward was the pick of t'lie forward line. With better co-operation he would have raised tb* score.

Roughton's Thrust.—lt was R. Roughton M play that turned Grammar Old Boys' fortune against the- newly-formed Papakura Military Cauip's eleven. His three goals were tile result of good shooting. Hay's full-back displav calls for special mention. His position was good and clearing hits well directed. At -centrehalf for the Camp was G. Turnbull. of Whakatane, the crack centre of countrv week tournaments. He gained Auckland representative honours in 1928. While condition lasted he played fine hockey, some of his efforts being outstanding. F. Clark, the Auckland and New Zealand representative, led the Army and was very sound, but it was .1. McDonald (Thames), his partner, who was outstanding with his deadly tackling and well-directed clearing hits. Power, inner right, is a clever fot" ward.

Wyatt's Four Goals. —L. Wyatt. the Soinerville inner forward, has struck form early. His field work was of a high standard, while in the circle his accurate shooting collected the good tally of four goals. With C\ Watts, he led the forwards on many fine attacks. Outstanding in the Albertian vanguard were X. Bennett and Mcliisky, the latter notching the team's solitary goal.

Goalie Shines.—United had too many guns for the University Whippets (the name adopted by the students' senior B team) in their game at Fowlds Park and finished up winners by the only two goals ;scored in the match. It was clearly a case of experience turning the scale, for whereas the United team, holders of the Devonport Shield and Kent Cup. had only two changes in the personnel of their side, the Whippets' eleven was comprised mostly of promoted juniors. Tt was the Whippets' stubborn defence which kept the tally so low, and to their goilie, C. Green, who was playing his first game senior, must go a great deal of the credit.

Veterans Turn Out.—When St. Luke's beat Mount Eden they were fielding six promoted juniors. Mount Eden, too, had several juniors in their side, but two veterans again turned out to help their club along. They were .1. Horspool. the speedy riglft winger, and "Ginger" Hughes, the diminutive right full-back. Although he has played continuously for the' Mount Eden Club for 20 years now. coming right up through the grades, .Tack Horspool still shows a good turn of speed and on Saturday sent across some stinging centres which might easily have been turned to account liad the forwards kept better position and the halves been giving closer support to the attack. On the defensive side "Ginger" Hughes, who also has about the same record to liis credit, proved a source of annoyance to the opposing vanguard.