PETONE AND PONEKE.

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 142, 20 June 1927, Page 6

PETONE AND PONEKE.

_ Good football was out o£ the question in the match between the old rivals, Petone and Poneke,. at the Petone ground; A driving southerly, together with heavy rain, swept across-the field, and as a'result play -was centred mainly on • the northern side of the field, -where Ac ground-soon became churned up. The backs of either side could do little," and the real trial was between the two packs of forwards, who fought out the issue with the honours fairly evenly divided. The end came about a quarter of an hour before the scheduled time, the captains agreeing to call a halt. W. Elvy" turned out for Petone,' and If. Tilyard reappeared with Poneke. v The teams were:— ■' ; :. Petone: Henwood; . Elvy, Corner, Kearns; Nicholls, Edwards; Coman; Cameron; Warden, Potts, Thomas, Williams, Spence, Carr, King. Poneke: Stubbs; Edgar, Algar, Gibbs; G. Nicholls, P. Tilyard; H. Tilyard; Jessup; Wilson, Farnell, Shearer, Pope, Peterson, • Organ, Debreseny. Petone kicked off and immediately attacked. A punt down field'by.M. Nicholls was followed by Corner, who secured and made for the line, where he was blocked. A series o£ line-outs took place, and each was followed by" a scramble among the forwards. Poueke gradually, worked down field, solid pressure in the scrums being of much' assistance. There were cheers from the spectators when the ball came out to Elvy, but the representative three-quarter was too well marked. The Petone forwards, led by Cameron and Warden, dribbled to their opponents' line, where from a scrum Corner attempted to open up play, but the ball was too greasy to handle. F. Tilyard made a good clearance. Play continued to move up and down the field, and then the Poneke backs essayed some passing. The movement ended-when H. Tilyard lost the ball on the line. Wilson was ..forced to retire, through injuries. A kick by Coman was mishandled by Poneke, and Thomas followed through to score. Nicholls missed. 3-0. Poneke tried hard, to equalise. Peterson narrowly missed a try on the blind side, after which Shearer and Jessup dribbled over the Petone line, but Corner^ forced. Half-time came with play in midfield.

Poneke attacked after the interval, and G. Nicholls missed a penalty from a good position. M. Nicholls relieved the presBuro with a good line-kick from a penalty. Petone were attacking when Corner centred. The ball went across the lino, and Elvy, following up fast, just managed to get his hands on it. Nicholls failed to convert. C-0. Another score seemed likely when Elvy broke through and passed infield to Nicholls, but the Petone captain failed to gather in. the greasy ball. The Poneke forwards, led by •lessup, Pope, and Shearer, put in a couple of good dribbling rushes, arid Henwood was obliged to seek relief by kicking over the dead-ball line. Line-outs and scrambles continued to be the order, and neither side gained any marked advantage. Corner and Cameron eventually broke away, and the ball went to Elvy, but he was pulled down near the line. A few minutes later the captainß agreed to call the match off. .The final score was: Petone G, Poneke 0. Sir. It. Paton roferecd..