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Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 110, 11 May 1935, Page 22

.. ;; f, i (Two I;series of matches in the local i, '.senior first, division;' championship :.;. ; have been <played and the teams were i^tiolhav? their third}games today. The i .results, in some: \;respecte have been • ■■> ..surprising, ;and,. whatever the effect v.-; upon teams of selections ■ for the New i., Zealand team, there 1§ every indica- .;?,,.•; titjn, that the, senior competition- is .;' igqing. to be no "easy thing"' for. any f« side. At present there is an .evenness I' •which pbints-to a prospect' of exceed- ;■ -ingly keen arid interesting cpmpeti- • j rtion'.all the way. As'disclosed uv.the .-■ championship tables, two series of ,-i -matches ; ; \yere sufficient to rule, out ..J;,any. prospect of. ai team getting nfeixichampionship~pbints< :. ; ; '] ; As the! competition jriatches proceed 'i,'.; the^form.'^of players and prospects of t s" their', being called npoa; for; the- New ~"£;: Zealand: trials jare being more keenly "X ..discussed.. Already, several players s .*.'jliajVfiX'established, y^ry. strong claims ■.';'.:tojbe:placed on the list of nominees, ■..■^".:vtjUt. it. is."ieJarly .yet for'playerp to. be .':.--"•.judged jo^. this;1 season's form.' .Howl [Sver, those doing well are no doubt . .■..being. noted, by the Wellington 'selec;,:jtbr» and it can be taken: for ■ granted ■t.hfet_the'twb New Zealand selectors :, .* .wjio have been at■ Athletic J?ark. ajso; ',],■ h'stve local naiiies'Sor future tef. '[ iierence..: '■-. : '.%:*+«, ;* '' i '[ : Wellington has beenweli-"off. iii the' matter'of half-backs, and the'positioh1

thjs season is that three of them are to be regarded as well worthy of being tried out'for the New Zealand team. The question is: How can it be done? If the "Wellington selector were to nominate three halves, there would * probably be some comment from other quarters.. But it matters not where a< player belongs. If he is good ," enough he should be given his chance, an 4if in any one centre, be it Auckland. Otago, the Bush,~or anywhere , else, there are--several worthy candidates for, any one position they should , be put forward. All, of course, can- „ not be fitted in*- to a first trial, but they can be given their chance 'later, arid itiat is the intention, so far as this I season's trials are concerned. * Kilby, * Tindill, and Sadler should, m form, all come into the reckoning in the search Ttor half-backs- for the New Zealand

team, just as in the Auckland sector there are three full-backs (including •one in. Waikato) who are to be re- * garded as being entitled to places in the trial teams. The'case is probably

<the same with regard to other posi- *■• 'lions, fs6me centres being better ofl! \*^ than others in the mattertof talent for

particular 'places in the team to be -"-sent overseas. Froviqcial , selectors, >• -then, should see that all players considered worthy of a trial are nomin- • ated.

*" THE EEASOtf WHY ' OMISSION FROM ALL BLACKS

Some few seasons ago /the Wellmg- ,- ton Football Club had /in C. G. J. Stanley a player from England who made his presence felt ,in tlie pack, a fonyard who played a very vigor-

ous game and, who, at his best, rarely seemed to be out of touch with the s , ball in the loose. He played in some representative games for Wellington, mainly those rated as "B" class matches. It is amusing, therefore, to j learn from a writer in the "By-1 "stander" (an English publication) the I "reason, why Jinx Stanley did not appear as an "ATI Black " The writer states — ** - "Here let me drop m a true, pleasing, and totally irrelevant story I t hear j that J. Stanley, the Harlequin ' forward, who has been farming in New j Zealand, * made some impressions in {( All Black circles out there Stanley, fyou may remember, ,was a soit of' hurtian thunderbqlt, an amazingly hard-l player, but a perfectly fair one. He took\part in> club, football in New. Zealand .very successfully but when

bia name came up for representative games, the New Zealander selectors would not consider him, because, they said, he was too rough. Kich, that seems to me—very rich indeed. Stanley is certainly tough, and to be tack- > led by him, as I know from experience, is like being hit' by' a sledge-hammer, > but for an English forward to be too Tough for our New Zealand brethren

gives me a quiet smile. > *■ - "There are Tumours, doubtless quite mnfounded, that the All Blacks who are coming over next year will not be particularly formidable, but I take >, leave to, suspend judgment The All Blacks touring ttws country will always be formidable. • The game is in their , blood, and a touring team has every i opportunity for cultivating just those co-operative .methods which are the backbone. ,of New Zealand tactics Incidentally, the tour is pretty well fixed up now, down'to the smallest detail. .?■ A complicated matter it is too, this arranging of a tour, a matter calling for tact and discretion, especially in the allocation of hospitality. But for affirm hand m the preliminary stages, -a^touring team would spend all its v nights dining and dancing, and all its days vjsiting'factones and works And the All Blacks do like to play football " now and again.".