STANDARD OF PLAY IN REP. LEAGUE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 76, 31 March 1945, Page 3 (Supplement)

STANDARD OF PLAY IN REP. LEAGUE

INTER-ISLAND FAILURE

Comment At the Annual Meeting In Auckland

The standard of play iri the interisland match, played in Auckland last season, was adversely commented upon by the chairman of the Board of Control, Mr. J. W. Watson, at the annual meeting of the Auckland Rugby League on Wednesday evening. He said that the New Zealand League Council should take steps to see that in future the standard of football was better.

Mr. J. F. W. Dickson considered that there should be more representative matches in Auckland, even if the games turned out a fiasco. It was true that the North v. South match towards the end was not satisfactory, but they had had cases of a senior team outplaying another senior team. The New Zealand League had done its best to foster the game in the Dominion. It should be encouraged to put on more matches, even at financial risk. It was by experience that players became better players League would never be any good until it was played in every centre. They did not wish to supplant other sports, but they wanted League to flourish.

The president of the New Zealand League, Mr. J. A. Redwood, said that Auckland had one of the greatest football-loving publics in the world, which had followed League and the sister codes loyally. In Other Centres Referring to the inter-island match, Mr. Redwood said that they had a duty to all in the leagues in staging the match. It was always a draw for the public, and last year there was a record "gate." However, the match had to be played at short, notice, and it took place as soon as travel restrictions were lifted. There should be a spirit of toleration for all the leagues. There were people very keen on the game in the souch, and they were trying to foster it. Where the management had been good, there had been good League football. Where they had the right men in control, the game flourished. That was the case in South Auckland, where they were debt free, and had a wonderful ground. This year new teams were coming into the South Auckland competition. There was no doubt about the future of the code at Wellington, but the position in Canterbury was not so satisfactory. On the West Coast of the South Island the code was flourishing. In Taranaki people wanted to start the gam-? again, and in Northland the code would be played when the players returned. Mr. Redwood said that this year the Auckland League had started on the right foot by endeavouring to arrange its representative programine ahead. That would be an incentive to players to get ready for the big matches.