Two seek league place

Press, 24 August 1977, Page 42

Two seek league place

By

JOHN COFFEY

The final order of the eight teams which comprise the Canterbury rugby league premiership will be more clearly, if not conclusively, defined after the second-to-last round is completed at the Show Grounds this evening.

Eastern Suburbs and Hornby, the two clubs which have been vying for the run; ner-up roie behind Papanui ; for several weeks, should es- ; tablish their championship | rankings in the main fixture. ! There is an undoubted ilure associated with finishing among the top two be- ; cause of the system which ; allows the losing major ! semi-finalist a second chance of maintaining its bid for the Pat Smith Challenge Trophy. The frequently unconvincing form displayed by Papanui in the competition must have boosted the

confidence of the Eastern and Hornby supporters that their teams have the potential to topple the title-holder next Wednesday evening and advance directly to the grand final. Neither Eastern nor Hornby has managed to head off Papanui this winter, and they must first decide their own standings. Hornby won their first meeting, by 10 points, and Eastern had an 11-point margin in their return game. To succeed, Hornby must counter the various talents of Eastern’s three outstanding forwards, Alan Rushton, Barry Edkins and Terry Gillman, and the leadership of Wayne Robertson was sorely missed by Hornby when the sides last played. Robertson’s presence and the experience of Bob Jarvis in the backs should ensure a close result. , Sydenham, which is locked in an exciting tussle

with Linwood for the fourth place in the championship, cannot afford another lapse of concentration such as that suffered against Eastern on Saturday. It must beat Addington tonight and the improved Kaiapoi XIII in the last round next Saturday to keep its hopes alive. Even then Sydenham must rely on Eastern maintaining its standard and repulsing Linwood next Saturday. Ironically, only Linwood and Sydenham have upset Papanui during the premiership, and one of them must finish off the season in the Gore Cup (bottom four) section. The tail-enders, Kaiapoi, I Addington and Marist-West-I em Suburbs, will be the; : other Gore Cup participants,' and Addington and Marist i also face the bleak prospect | of having to rebuild before’ being opposed by Halswell; and Riccarton in the 1978! qualifying contest.