League Selectors Ignore Reputations

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31365, 10 May 1967, Page 21

League Selectors Ignore Reputations

(By Our Rugby League Reporter)

Reputations have meant little to the Southern zone Rugby League selectors in announcing their teams to play Queensland next Sunday and also to take part in a trial match as a curtainraiser.

The forwards in the zone team are much as expected, with Wellington supplying three. West Coast two and Canterbury one.

The big Wellington prop, N. Bert, breaks into a new

class of football but the other five have all played in this grade of league or for New Zealand, K. Dixon and G. Smith being the two Kiwis. Smith plays for Wellington but is a former West Coast representative. He played in both tests against Britain last season. In the face of a shortage of class full-backs in the country the selection of the former Kiwi, W. Harrison, was no surprise. He toured England in 1961 with New Zealand but has not gained national selection since.

M. Brereton is a young winger of great promise but the other winger, P. Scully, is virtually unknown. His choice is an indication that

the selectors are looking for new faces to face the final selection panel. The Canterbury player, J. Bond, returns to a higher class of football after being out with a troublesome knee injury for some time. However, his choice as a centre is a surprise as he made his name in New Zealand teams as a stand-off half and it would not be surprising if he goes to Australia in this capacity. Two former Kiwis make up the half-back line—G. Woolard, of Wellington, who played international football as scrum-half, and R. Irvine, who has won this position. The greatest surprises, however, are in the two trial

teams as the selectors have gone past three Canterbury players who have worn Kiwi jerseys.

The Hornby full-back, I. Drayton, has been passed over but his misfortune perhaps is that he should have been specialising as a prop forward, the position In which he gained New Zealand honours. At present be does not look New Zealand material as a full-back under the new rules.

P. White and B. Langton have been very unlucky. White has been playing better football this season than he did last season and the same could be said of Langton.

Two players whom It was

thought would never play big football again because of injuries have returned to the trial sides—R. Strong, the Wellington centre, who suffered a severe back injury after touring England and France in 1965, the West Coast full-back, W. Mann, who was injured after the choice of the 1965 team to tour England and France and had to withdraw. Two surprise selections as far as Canterbury supporters are concerned will be B. Williams (Kaiapol) and P. Smith (Marist). A third is the placing of J. Hawthorne at fullback, considering he has played only one club match this season and that at centra last Saturday,