FROM THE SIDE-LINES

Press, Volume C, Issue 29539, 14 June 1961, Page 13

FROM THE SIDE-LINES

Before Saturday’s soccer matches Technical anAouneed its intention of adopting the Engtieh and European style of play in tackling. This involves no body contact, and genanllff the defender will hang back slightly from die man with the ball, and wait lor inan to make an error in passing. With High School Old Boys doing the same on Saturday, die Technical forwards took, full advantage to rattle oh 10 goals. ★ Although he accomplished much in his first season as Canterbury fullback last year, W. F. McCormick has a very strong challenger far the position in D. C. Leary (University). Leary hasi played a succession of first-class games, and with flaws being exposed in McCormick's defence in recent matches, Leary must come strongly into consideration. ★ One of the most improved players in the senior Rugby League championship is the Marist forward, B. Taylor. On

Saturday, playing against Sydenham, he gave Pat Smith an easy run in for a try. Taylor sized up the situation very quickly and ran his man into position neatly. ★ A welcome return to the field of play was the appearance of J. Searle in the West Old Girls’ women’s hockey side in the senior match last Saturday. She was a regular senior player, but has not been out for a run for two years. Instead, she has been spending her spare time in the winter coaching younger players. With two of its side down with influenza last Saturday, West called out for her to fill a gap at left wing and she showed that she has lost little of her former ability and can still teach some of her regular-playing colleagues a thing or two. ★ The captain of the Canterbury under-20 soccer team, W. McKenna, was until Saturday the only player in that team who was not playing first division football.- This was no doubt occasioned by the strength of his club, Western, in the half-back and full-back positions. On Saturday McKenna made a good debut in the top grade with his play on the right wing.

The Merivale first fiveeighths and vice-captain. C. Henderson did some very effective kicking against Belfast on Saturday. He is an experienced plaver who is not easily bustled. This was borne cut time and again with his cool saves and long, sweeping line kicks. * A. Smith, the Linwood and Canterbury Rugby League full-back. has scored 103 points this season. In seven club games he has kicked 36 goals and scored one try for a total of 75 points; and in the three representative matches, he scored 28 points all from goals. ★ The capable leadership of D. J. Graham (Old Boys) was one of the features of his team’s game with Sunnyside-Spreydon last Saturday. His return to the side made a big difference in the standard of its performance. Graham has captained Canterbury on several occasions, including the matches against Buller and West Coast earlier this month, and led the All Blacks twice during the South African tour last winter. ★ A player to show out in recent weeks for the Marist Rugby League team is J. Costello who fills the

centre or five-eighths posts in an efficient manner. Without -being brilliant, Costello has been noticed by spectators as a player who can be very dangerous. On Saturday, he used a very clever change of pace to completely fool the defence and score a well-earned try.

Inspiration, which has visited the Shamrock soccer team in the two previous weeks, hurriedly left on Saturday when the side met Nomads in a local Chatham Cop semi-final. The Shamrock team’s forwards returned to their mediocrity of the season's opening matches, and some members of the usually-dependable defence were also out of touch. ★ The Hornby Rugby League team has a fine utility player in D. Neiman. Formerly a fiveeighths. Neiman's increase in weight took him into the forwards, where he has been giving some fine displays as a lock. In last Saturday's game against Linwood he filled in as gave an excellent account of himself, handling cleanly and making many strong runs up into the back line. It was a strange situation on Saturday to see a senior Rugby referee refusing to stop play for an injured player, because he had been informed of the player’s plight by the vice-cap-tain and pot by the captain. The captain at the time, was in the middle of a scrum.

With the extraordinary total of eight goals for Technical against Old Boys on Saturday, E. Charlton moves far into the lead in the local soccer scoring table, with 18 goals. C. Whitehead (Western) has 11 and B. Fergus (University), P. Rennell and I. McCallum (Nomads) each has 10. K. Olley (Western) has scored nine goals, and the Nomads players P. McFarland and A. van Rooyen, eight each. ★ With the club Rugby season now more than half completed only a few teams in the open grades remain unbeaten. In the senior grade every team has had at least one loss but in the iow’er grades, Teachers’ College (senior reserve), Merivale A (Junior A), University C (Junior B) and Marist (under 20) are all unbeaten at the present time.

A former Otago and Auckland Rugby League five-eighths or centre. RRMUhmjf has Atted into the Linwood back line excellently. His sharp accelletwtoon and change at pace has added more thrust to an already wellequipped line. Billington is a member of the Training School squad and is expected to reach higher honours this season. * Mrs Mona Barber must hold the record for playing years in Canterbury basketball. Thia season is her twentyfourth. She first played for Riccarton, then McKenzie's, Mairehau, Awatea, Air Force, Olympic, and Technical, and for the last six years the Junior Comets, a team she has coached for the last 10 years.

Now playing in the third grade, Mrs Barber is one of the very few who has played in each grade. She is still an accurate goal-thrower, an asset which has helped put her team in the lead in its section this season. Her service to the game is 28 years, for she was a selector for four non-playing years. Each Saturday she plays, and referees. She has been a referee for 10 years. A daughter Annette, was a fifth grade representative last season and is in the fourth grade this season. ★ Proof that keenness and fitness are two of the essentials of a senior Rugby player has this season been proved by the Marist side row forward. P. Dolg. Still under 20 years of age, Dolg is only in his second year of open Rugby. He was a member of the Xavier College First Fifteen tor two years and captained the team when it won the annual Marist Brothers' quadrangular tournament in Auckland in 1959. Last year he played for the unbeaten Marist under 20 team and this year went straight into the senior team, of which he has been a regular member. A player who never gives up, Doig has good prospects of going further in the game.

Quite the most consistent forward in the Sydenham pack against Linwood on Saturday was D. Bryson. A good, experienced forward. Bryson led some spirited Sydenham rushes.

The return to Greymouth of the Unwood Rugby League's loose forward, R. McLean, will leave a big gap In the side. McLean has been playing splendidly this season and his bursts from loose play have done much to help his side produce some fine attacking football. Making his last appearance last Saturday he was his side’s outstanding forward. Hte fine break through the defence allowed P. White to get started on his winning try-scoring run. ★ The Nomads wings L McCallum and P. McFarland have shown their worth in the senior soccer competition this season with 10 and eight goals respectively. Wings do not generally receive many opportunities for putting the ball into the net and these impressive totals reflect the ability of these men to race into the penalty area as soon as they see that the ball is being crossed from the other side of the field.

The University left wing, J. D. Pask, again showed fine form on Saturday. For so big a man. he is very fast, and he uses his weight

very tellingly. He scored a good try himself, and made ope for Q. Tapsell later requiring three defenders to arrest his determined progress. Tapsell was left unmarked, and went over easily. Pask must by now be a candidate for the Canterbury team.