League Scorer Transferring

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31762, 20 August 1968, Page 15

League Scorer Transferring

Canterbury Rugby league will lose one of its most colourful personalities when J. M. Toki transfers to Central Otago after playing for Papanui in the championship grand final, against Linwood, at the Show Grounds on Saturday.

Toki has scored 21 tries in club matches this season and will be presented with the cup awarded to the leading try-scorer in senior football after the grand final. His nearest opponent, R. L. Lanauze (Addington), completed his club season with 16 touchdowns.

However, if Papanui wins the grand final and the right to challenge the champion West Coast club for the Thacker Shield, Toki will travel to Greymouth with the team at the Papanui club’s expense. Toki represented New Zealand Maoris and North

Auckland at Rugby Union before changing codes towards the end of file 1966 season. He toured Fiji with the Maoris in 1964 and scored six tries in his nine appearances as a Maori All Black In Fiji and in New Zealand in 1963. In 15 games for North Auckland between 1962 and 1964 he scored five tries.

After scoring two tries in his first Rugby league match —against Sydenham, in 1966 —Toki and M. R. Napier gave Papanui a formidable wing pairing in Canterbury club Rugby league last season. Napier finished with 16 tries and Toki 11.

Kaiapoi, in particular, has experienced difficulty in con.taining the strong-running, 14st 71b three-quarter this season, Toki having scored 11 tries in his two matches against that club. He also scored three successive tries in his last meeting with Linwood.

Toki’s try-scoring spree has not carried over to representative matches. He played three games for Canterbury in 1967 and represented Southern Zone against New South Wales Country earlier this season, failing to score on each occasion.