RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 September 1934, Page 9

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. There will be little or no interest in Rugby at Greymouth on Saturday, for no fewer than four teams will be out of town, the senior and junior reps at Hokitika, the senior colts at Reefton, and a Civil Servants' team at Hokitika. A deal of interest has been aroused in the Dittman Shield match at Hokitika, and the local team are considered to have a good chance of recovering the trophy. A rattling good game is expected, for all the players will be on their mettle in view of the selection, after' the match, of the touring team for Wellington and Canterbury. This game will see the re-appearance of the erstwhile representative five-eighth, W. Hughes, who is reported to have recovered well from the knee injury, which put him out of the game on the eve of the Ranfurly Shield match at Christchurch, last season. The junior representatives will also* play at Hokitika, and the Coast junior reps, will be chosen after the match, for the Christchurch visit. The standard of junior football this season has been good, and a strong team should be chosen to play Canterbury junior. The senior colts team, to play at Reefton, contains the names of several promising young players, who are at present just outside the representative standard, but who are expected to develop well. The Grey senior team is weakened somewhat by the absence of W. McNeight and C. Schroder, both of whom played for the Sub-Division in their Dittman Shield challenge, and are thus ineligible for the Grey team. Junior Representatives: The Greymouth junior representatives will meet the Westland juniors, on Saturday,, at Hokitika, for the second time this season. At their first meeting, Greymouth won convincingly, and there seems no reason to doubt that they will meet no reverse on Saturday. By frequent match play, the Grey juniors have been moulded into a strong team, and they played attractively in their last game. The West Coast, team to play Canterbury juniors in Christchurch on September 22, will be chosen after Saturday’s match, and though the selectors have been instructed to consider Hokitika players, it looks doubtful if any more than one or two Southerners will make the team, judging by their display at' Greymouth. A Tip: ’’ The 'Grey junior captain, D. Eggleton, has played well in all the representative games so far this season, but has, on several occasions, marred | otherwise good displays by a tendency to hang on until caught in possession. Eggleton cuts in well, but should remember that one of the essentials for success with this plan, is surprise, and it’s no surprise when tried regularly, particularly by a first five-eighth.

His Big Chance: One player who has played consistently good football almost throughout the season will get his big chance in the Dittman Shield match on Saturday. That player is R. Bunt, the Blaketown first five-eighth, who- will have an opportunity of playing his way into the Coast team to play Wellington and Canterbury. Bunt is a very straight runner, a good tackler, and a natural footballer, but he has had to contend with more than his share of injuries. He should do well on Saturday, and has good men outside him to make the most of any good efforts he may make. Best Available:

The two wingers chosen for the 'Greymouth Dittman Shield team for Saturday, King and Scott, are, in the Absence of Schroder, the best available. Schroder was ineligible owing to his playing with the Lake Brunner Shield team. King is one of the best on the Coast, and a good game from him on Saturday should win him a place in the touring side, in place of Pfahlert, who should not take much displacing on his form in the last two rep. games. King is a determined runner, and a sure tackler, and a point in his favour should be the fact that he can take the full-back position should occasion demand. Scott is another determined runner, who is in his right place on the wing. The main contenders for his place were Caldwell and Elder, both of whom would have done themselves, and Greymouth Rugby, credit.

Strong Forwards: A strong forward pack has been chosen, but they will be up against an excellent Westland pack. Hokitika have for years been strong in forwards, and as this year’s crop is well up to the usual standard, the Grey men will do well if they can hold their own. Some surprise has been caused by the selection of M. Jamieson, but though ho is hardly on the improve, he has played well for his club, and was the obvious selection as lock with his club-mate, Thomson. Jones has been chosen as one of the breakaways, instead of his position in the representative team as last-man-down. Ogier, who takes the place of Jones, as last-man-down, has been showing improved form in recent, games. McNeight was unavailable, having played for the Sub-Division team.

An “Improver”? Was it as something of a reward to an old representative who has given valuable service for many years, or what was it that persuaded the selectors to choose Jock Bell as one of the Colts to play luangahua on Saturday? Bell has done yeoman service as a Coast rep., for many years, and will no doubt be of considerable assistance to the team on Saturday, with his experience and his hooking ability, but surely a player witli more pretensions to being a “colt” could have been chosen with a view to giving him experience, which would assist in developing his talents. Such players as R. Scott, Rapley, Wilson, or even W. Buchanan, the ex-representative rake, a younger player, and a better hooker than Bell,‘ might have been chosen with better • judgment.

Unlucky to Miss: One player who seems to have been overlooked in the two teams chosen is i. Elder, the Blake town wing threequarter. Though lacking in size he lias shown more than usual dash, and with any amount of speed, he has proved a particularly dangerous three-

quarter for his club, and a game defender. He has more performances to his credit than Mathieson, at least, and is a better all-round man. A young player, he should have been given a chance, even as emergency back, as he performs with credit among the inside backs also.