SENIOR A

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 139, 16 June 1930, Page 14

SENIOR A

PETONE AND HUTT. Since their re-entry into the senior'A grade this season Hutt have come into the reckoning as strong contenders lor. tne championship title. Petone, too, are being viewed in the same light. It was to be expected, therefore, that the first meeting o£ these teams would be an event ol importance, the more so because ot the fact that the teams are captained by two of New Zealand's most distinguished players—A. E.- Cookc (Hutt) and M. F. jXicholls (Petone). There were over COOO people at Athletic Park to see this game, and many more would have been there but for the very keen weather. It was.a stirring contest, in which principals were able to demonstrate some of their brilliance, and others also supplied bright touches. But the game had its disappointing features, none greater than the failure of Hutt to function effectively as. a combination. Some of the players were flurried, and this accounted for mistakes. Matters worked more smoothly with Petone, whose forwards played solidly alt through and whose backs operated in a manner which made them a dangerous attacking force. Hutt went well in the loose,-but it did not pay them to lose touch with the ball, as'Nicholls was almost invariably in the right place to turn; the tide with a well-judged kick. Cqokc was handicapped through the uncertainty of his first five-eighth. There was much scrummaging during the game, and in this -the penalties were heavy, more so against Fetone than Hutt. Petone looked like registering a comfortable win until Hutt came with some late rallies, which made the concluding stages.keen, and interesting. Petone were four points to the good at the finish. • ."■ • ■■ The teams werp:— Petone.—Byrne; Huxtable, Pollock, Walker; Nicholls, J. Lambourne: Coman; Carr; A. Lambourne, CoulstoD,'Fell, Mar- -. tin,I.Held, Clark,'Potts. Hutt.—Jarman; Russell, Pomare, Ball; Cookc. Feeney; M'Kay; Monigatti; R. Hinton, H. Hin ton, Peck, Roberts, Skilton, Dowsett, Wood. An absentee from the Petone team was Davis, who was suffering from an injured ankle, and on this account Byrne wns played as full-back. Peck played for Hutt in spite of an injured knee. Petone had the choice of ends and played against the wind, which meant that Hutt bad to face the sun. Playing well in the loose, Hutt hammered hard at the P'ctone defence, which held good, the forwards packing round solidly and the backs assisting with clearances. The Hutt forwards, with the two Hintons and Roberts conspicuous, -continued to make matters lively in the loose, but when the backs were called upon they failed to operate as an effective attacking combination, and Cooke's activities were restricted. M'Kay on one occasion endeavoured to force his way through on the blind side, but was1 held up. A penalty kick gave Hutt a chance to open their account. Pomare, however, was unsuccessful with the kick, as he was with several others in subsequent play. Petone had previously given Hutt a scare when Carr made a break-away and J. Lambourne kicked the ball to the goal-line. Walker clipped ou the pace; but the ball just beat him into touch-in-goal. In another Petone advance .Reid, Martin, and Clark 'showed that they could handle like backs. Mistakes were still being made in the Hutt rearguard, and there was a case of genuine bad luck when Monigatti slipped over when almost within reach of a try. Petone's next attack was carried to success through brilliant work on the part of Nicholls, who, with a cut-in, cleverly eluded Cooke and made.a fine opening for Carr to score. A splendid try was converted by Nieholls. 5-0. Hutt moved even more briskly after this, and Cooke became a'conspicuous figure, although he was -well guarded. Weaknesses were still apparent in Hutt's back line, on defence as well as on attack. When the full-back was bustled Petone lost no time in pressing an attack home, Coman supplying the finish ing touch by dodging round a scrum and diving for a try. Nicholls just failed to convert with a good kick. . 8-0. It was not long bofore Hutt made amends. Cooke was obstructed when in the act of following up a kick, and this time Pomare landed a very fine goal. 8-3. The solidarity of the Petone forwards was very evident after this, although Hutt still made matters merry in the loose. A final effort by Hutt before the spell ended had a successful result. Monigatti sent the leather out wide, and too high for Cooke, but Ball kicked it. Cooke followed up speedily, took it on the bounce, and was over in a flash, scoring near the posts. Pomare converted, making the scores level at halftime, B—B. The second spell had not been long under way when Nicholls "potted" a goal, but he was unfortunate in that a knock-on before taking the ball was detected. Walker and Huxtable made determined dashes on'their respective wings, after which Walker, fielding a ball from a cross-kick by Nicholls, drop-kicked a goal. 12—8. Nicholls was -now playing as first five-eighth, and was.a stumbling block to many of Hutt's attempts to break nwny by the kick-and-follow-up method. There cai>e a period, however, when Hutt kept Petone hemmed in. Much keen tussling occurred near Petone's line, but in the end Hutt were beaten- off, soon to have another score registered against them. A series of scrums near Hutt's line ended in Coman 'dodging his way through for his second try, which Nicholls converted. 17 —8. Hntt's. prospects were fading, and when. Fell and Walker made determined dashes they could not hold them, Walker scoring a try, which Nicholls, from near the touchline, just failed to convert. 20—8. Hutt were by no means a spent force. Forcing then- way to Fetone's quarters, they ac-i-ompliiliurl a splendid bit of snappy'passing, the hr.]) going from M'TCay, through Feeney anrl Cooke, to Pomare, who dashed straight through and scored under the posts. Pomare converted.. 20—13. Inter-est-stirred, and. poms lively play, gave rise-

to much enthusiasm. Hutt finished on determinedly, but Petone were not to be bustled, and they, too, made some spirited rallies. In the concluding stages Pomaro kicked another penalty goal for Hutt, making the final score Petone 20, : Hutt 16. Mr. H. S. Lcith .controlled the game.