LEAGUE RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 152, 29 June 1914, Page 10

LEAGUE RUGBY

FOOTBALL IN THE MUD , SUBURBS (14) ' v. ATHLETIC (0). Only one Rugby League senior match was played on Saturday, Suburbs beating Athletic by 14 points to nil at Petone. The League has not had anything like a run of good luck, and Saturday's experience was not in any way pleasant. In tho first place New town Park could not be used, and the Newtown-Petone match had to be abandoned. Then for some reason best known to the engine thereof, the motor-bus carrying the two town teams to Petone broke down two or three times on the road, and did not arrive till about 3.45. It happened to be very convenient to 2Jlay Suburbs against Athletic, because these teams missed last Saturday the concluding match of the second round. But for that fact and the advantage of keeping the players in trim for the English match, the game would probably have been declared off. After some discussion it was decided to g° °n with it, playing half-hour spftlla. The result was a foregone conclusion when it was found that the Athletic team was three men short. The club's representatives have picked up a good deal since the beginning of the season, but they had no hope of doing well with such a majority against them. Suburbs managed without much trouble to attach another scalp to their war-belts. Nevertheless, Athletic made a game fight of it. The ground was very wot, patched with loose water, and fine football was out of the question. But the defeated team, with everything against it, battled hard and willingly and put up, especially in the curtailed second spell, an extraordinarily good defence. _ The position now is that the match will in all probability be regarded as belonging to and completing the second Vound of the competitions. This will enable a square start to be made with the third round when the visit of the British team has left the Wellington League rejoicing over either a physical or moral victory.