PLAYERS STILL NOT CLEARED

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31680, 16 May 1968, Page 15

PLAYERS STILL NOT CLEARED

(By Our Rugby League Reporter) The two members of the Shirley Rugby League Club who have played for Sydenham in its last two senior matches, R. G. Scoringe and N. G. Mattison, have yet to fulfil their obligations to their former club and have not been granted clearances to play for Sydenham.

The president of the Shirley club (Mr V. Thompson) said that his committee had discussed the matter at its meeting on Monday evening and had decided to write to Sydenham informing it that clearances would not be granted until the players had discharged their financial obligations to his club. Mr Thompson also refuted suggestions that Scoringe and Mattison would avoid the four-week transfer suspension on the grounds that they did not play Rugby league last season. “Our committee checked through the records and found that they both played for Shirley in Canterbury club matches last season. Some clubs have conveniently short memories,” he said. When asked if clearances would be granted upon ■the receipt of the players’ outstanding financial commitments to allow them to play on Saturday, Mr Thompson said that the final (decision

would have to be made by the Canterbury board of control. The board’s chairman (Mr D. C. Wilson) told a meeting of delegates earlier this week that no competition points could be won by any team playing unregistered players. Although Sydenham has lost the two games in which Scoringe and Mattison played —against Hornby and Eastern Suburbs—it would be strongly favoured to beat Kaiapoi in the next round. On Saturday, Eastern Suburbs won by the narrow margin of 24-21 and the previous week Sydenham had led Hornby until the last quarter of the match. Scoringe, in the A team, and Mattison in the B team, were selected for the Canterbury under-19 teams to take part in the Rothmans tournament at Christchurch over Queen’s Birthday week-end. When the teams were approved by the board of control on Monday evening Scoringe and Mattison did not have clubs listed after their names as had the other players; however, the selectors had “S” written beside Scoringe’s name ... an abbreviation for Shirley or Sydenham?