Young league players on trial tomorrow

Press, 29 September 1979, Page 60

Young league players on trial tomorrow

By

JOHN COFFEY

' Several members of the Canterbury rugby league XIII will be attempting to move a step closer to full provincial honours when they play against the visiting Northern Division j(New South Wales) team at the Show Grounds tomorIrow. Mr Trevor Bisman, the Canterbury coach, said i yesterday that the five players without first-class exiperience, Merv Clarkson, Russell Seaward, Bob Grant, John Cole and Doug Thompson. would be under scrutiny with the 1980 representative programme in mind. So, too, would the forwards, Lester Wilson and Danny Millward, who were on the verge of Canterbury A selection earlier in the winter. Millward and Seaward were actually named in the side to oppose Great Britain early last month, but the game was abandoned because of unplayable ground conditions.

The Canterbury Xlll's preparation has been disrupted by the withdrawals of Ken Tait, Bob Jarvis and Robin Alfeld. The final composition of the back-line was delayed until today so that the availability of Michael O'Donnell and Kevin Franklin, who have heen in Australia with the New Zealand Marist squad, could be ascertained. Although the match clashes with the South Island club championship play-off between Eastern Suburbs-Hertz and Runanga (West Coast) at Greymouth, it should provide entertaining end-of-season football. Clarkson, an 18-year-old wing, will have his toughest assignment in his short premier career, for the Northern Division outside backs are noted for their formidable physiques and forceful running. It would require an outstanding effort for Clarkson to emulate his feat of the final match of last season, when he scored three

tries for Papanui in its Thacker Shield loss to WaroRakau. Over on the other flank, | Seaward has the strength and attacking thrust to make his mark, while Grant, a former New Zealand Colts rugby union scrum-half, gets his first chance above club level since he switched • codes. Cole and Thompson are both long-striding young forwards with positive attitudes iwho should benefit from the presence of the more seasoned Mark Broadhurst, Paul jTruscott and Wayne Wallace. Northern Division, on the evidence of its spirited challenge to Britain, will be favoured to reverse the result of its only previous meeting with a Canterbury LXIII. Northern appeared at the Show Grounds in 1973, losing, 26-15, to a provincial side for which the Kiwis, Mocky Brereton and Bruce Dickinson, each scored two ; tries.