FOOTBALL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 556, 10 July 1909, Page 6

FOOTBALL.

TO-DAY'S HUGBY GAMES.

i 1 In the Png)jy "bKa^pionslupSi' what appear* : ' f .to.be excellent games are down.for., decision jit ■Pari'!*.** is theßwefetiiig' 1 .Melrofcew and . Ponbke, I 'aiid; though. tho Melrose team ■ has not shown anything brilliant this esason, Ihey may be > depended ; upoii to put.', up; a, ;j strenuous ;gsme against?. Porieke? On ,^the_ ad?. ;.,? joining ground- Pstonevmeet SoutheriE v Orion-" tal' and Old Boys meet at Lower Hutt, and, judging,.from', tuo lattcrs'. form; on Saturday - coupled wiffi the fact that! they beat 'Oriental in the first round, a. keen contest'may. be- expected. Another game ! at' Hutt, which .> ■ will-probably: monopolise the attention of tho : ■ local enthusiasts, is to junior puhe.beine ro-, played between Athletic and Kia Ora.' When; these teams in the'eeason the gimo ended ,in; a > draw. If'Kia Ora iwin this afternoon they will have , won tho championship. If ' they lose they will have to do as ,was the cj» 1 lastyear—play off withPotone. , , y BROWN SHIELD ; , Tl» \tnahasement guiding thi destinies of iootball in Wexlington have every 1 reason .to expect a-large attendance'of this publio at the intewjrovincial match for tho Brown - Shield,. which is to' be .played on the • Newtown Pari this ■ pfternoon. -After a brilliant yiotory over Canterbury, Taranaki, and Otago at Dunedin last year, Wellington beoimo the proud holderaJof tio oowsted Brown Shield'. ', The team- .which''has : been* dispatched ..from ■■. Taranalri to do battle for 1 the prorince on the occasion* according to the manager (Mr. Clark), ;; is the. strongest which has ever been Bent, away, and -he' feels confident that it will givo. . a- good account of itself. Likewise, Welling- ...' J tonV supporters are, sanguine that the shield v mil not be wrested from them. Tho selector# ■ (Messrs. Mayer, Paton, and Waters), -.deserve ( to be oongratulated upon their choice'of the , ■ The team; as a whole, met . with .unanimous approval; and that,, ifl 'the , ■highest ■ compliment which , ■ could be paid ; , thorn. 'The; 6cleotion of. the_ TaranUri teia ; was a very difficult one, owing to the scattered districts interested. Mr. Geo.' Brodie, ■ erstwhile of Wellington, gave valuable" afc- ■ sistanca, in. the of the team. J. , Gwilliam and, Ti ITEnnis, formerly of the Wanderers team 1 (Wellington) are included in - Tarariaki's team. The team is to. be ftted at the Y.M.C.A. Rooms this evening, and are to , be tho guests of Mr. Holmes, the general secretary. . - ' ■ {THE NEXT PROFESSIONAL TEAM. .■ (By Tclceraph.—Press Association.)' ' New ; Plymouth, July 9.'\ , '■ It ■is authoritatively stated that ,; the ; next . New Zealand professional, Rugby, team to tour England in 1910-1911, referred to recently by , W. Johnstone in\l)imedin, .will bo financed by two well-known sorting-' residents from Now Plymouth and : Auckland., Johnstone, and tho - ■ two directors-are tb meet in Auckland next month to arrange preliminaries Ahd 'make the initial'seleotionj.and,the team will .leave -New Zealand-' in} the • following 'August for ' Great,. Britain, :i'' v 'V- ;: . -' ;■ ' , V. ;

: ; TARANAKI FOOTBALL. Now Plymouth, .Tuly 9._.... «' The Taranalri Rupb'y Union championship ■ is to bo decided during tho next fortnight by a contest between the Stratford, Waimate, and Qpuriake teams, which;are the respective, win- ;£•. ncrs in the three divisions/ It is generally con- 1 sidered that Stratford will win the championship, with Waimate ..rnnners-np. Clnb foot-' , ■ball in Taranaki thi6 season has not boob of a vory high standard, but it is expected-that the representative team, will bo especially; strong, its feature, being ah, attacking throo-quarter division,' wliilo thoro will- be some, very fine; forwards. Amongst the most promising young players is J. Stolir, a 19-year-old boy of splendid physique; who possesses attributes wliioh . should'moKo I 'him "ono of tho finest thrcc-qnar-tcr-backs Zealand in tho coijrso of aV few years. ■ • .■■■ •• Although the junior matcli on the Wellington Collego Ground has been postponed* the third- • class match, College v. •Polhill,, is to bo,played. :