Top of the league

Press, 7 August 1985, Page 31

Top of the league

Not only has Hornby, as a unit, dominated the Canterbury rugby league club season so far, but individual members of its premier team are poised to carry off the two main scoring trophies. In spite of absences caused by extensive representative commitments, the Hornby captain, Barry Edkins, is assured of winning the Turner and Le Brun Cup as the top goal-kicker. Edkins has 60 goals and one field goal in his 129 points in the premiership. He is well ahead of the Kaiapoi full-back, Steve Dixon, whose 96 points include 40 goals. It has generally been a low-scoring season. Greg Brott (Marist-Western Suburbs, 80), Phil Bancroft (Halswell, 70), Tony Wildermoth (Papanui, 68), David Field (Sydenham, 58), Bruce Dickison (Eastern Suburbs, 52) and Vaughan Low (Hornby, 52) are the only others to exceed half-cen-turies. Low’s total is derived from his 13 tries, but he is not yet certain of retaining the A. G. Bailey Cup as the most prolific try-scorer. The speedy Hornby wing is two ahead of his full-back clubmate, Robin Alfeld, who preceded Low as the cup holder. Trailing behind the Hornby twosome with the last premiership round

scheduled for August 17 — there is to be no club football next week-end —

are the centres, Colin Tennant (Halswell) and Ray Peehi (Kaiapoi), with nine tries each. Kaiapoi’s other centre, Steve Clark, and David Perkins (Linwood) and Heemi Wihongi (MaristWestern) have all touched down eight times in the Radio Avon-sponsored competition. Hornby even provides the leading try-scorers among the forwards. Wayne Wallace and Gary McLauchlan both claimed their seventh tries last Saturday, the same number as the wings, Steve Mather (Addington) and Gary Finlayson (Linwood). Most field goals have been kicked by Mark Forsey (Sydenham), with four, one more than Perkins, whose three all came in one game.