LEAGUE FOOTBALL

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 July 1941, Page 10

LEAGUE FOOTBALL

NEWS AND NOTES. As was to be expected after the display given by the representative team at Reef ton last month, the West Coast selectors have made few changes in the team to defend the Anisy Shield against Canterbury at Wingham Park next Sunday. The omission of L. Beban from the backs came somewhat as a surprise, for his display at Reefton was above the standard of his club football, but P. Mulcare, who has replaced him, has been playing consistently well for Ngahere. Only one change has been made in'the forwards, and it was not unexpected. W. Glynn, who has replaced Hoggarth, played so well in his last two club games that he could not be overlooked. His experience and weight should considerably strengthen the Coast scrum, which has been rearranged. The Canterbury team is almost an even balance between last years team, which put up such a good showing at Greymouth, and new players. Roach, R. and L. Brown, and Davidson are well known to the West Coast followers of the game and, on paper, Canterbury appears to have a Team capable of making a bold bia for the Shield.

Speculated: It is seldom that a senior grade full-back attempts tc clear with the despised “speculator, but the Runanga full-back, . Armstrong, on Sunday made a habit of it. He was fortunate in that the unusual tactics did not get his side into serious trouble, but even so, it was not good football. Armstrong had frequently showed that he has the ability to make a first-class fullback, but he does not make full use of it.

Erred in Judament: As captain of the Runanga team, it was rather surprising to see Pattison taking the majority of the numerous penalty kicks awarded his team on Sunday. Pattison has never been noted for his kicking, and it appeared that he committed an error of judgment in not giving the kicks to Currie or one of the other kickers of the team. At the vital .stage of the game, hr placed several kicks poorly, and did not give his forwards a reasonable chance of being up with the ball.

Good Start: Although defeated by 11 points, the new Seaview junior team made a good showing at its first appearance on Sunday and produced several promising players. As was to be expected, some of the players showed ignorance of the finer points of the game, and incurred penalties needlessly, but in view of the fact that its first match was against one of the leading teams in the competition, Marist, the new team, can be optimistic regarding its prospects in the next campetition.

Smart Hooking: In contrast to man’ other games this season,, the hooking in Sunday’s senior match at Wmgham Park was uniformly good and there was almost a complete absence of the usual fault of the referee having to have the ball put m two or three times before getting it past the «ide men. This was partly due to the fact that Referee J. Mathews quickly made the halves aware that he required the ball put in properly, with the result that the hookers had their opportunity and made full use of it. Howden is always a good hodker, but Merriman (Runaga) was also at the top of his form, and the speed with which the ball came out the back of the Runanga scrum on occasions was a revelation. It was unfortunate for Runanga that their backs did not make better use of it.

Good Dispiab; The Blackball fullback, Jim O’Donnell, gave a firstclass display on Sunday, and was a big factor in his team’s, success. He was not bustled by the big Runanga forwards, and his fielding of the ball was an example to many of the other

backs. He seldom failed to take the ball cleanly, and was quick to seize any opportunity to run his backs into position. Found Old Form: After announcing his retirement several times W. Glynn, one of the best forwards West Coast has produced in recent years, is again back in his old place in the Runanga backs, and judging by his display on Sunday, he is far from being a back number. He was the outstanding forward for Runanga, his rugged play getting them out of many awkward situations, and fully earned his selection in the representative team. • Doing Well: Half way through this month, J. Anderson, the former Blackball and West Coast League representative, now playing for Marist, Auckland was fourth on the list of players- scoring the greatest number of points in senior League at Auckland. He had scored eight tries and kicked 12 goals for a total of 48 points. Smith (North Shore) headed the list with 67 points. The Inangahua League’s fixtures for Sunday are as follow: Waitahu v. Grey Valley, at Reefton; Waiuta v. Waratahs, at Waiuta. RUGBY FOOTBALL. NOTES AND COMMENTS West Coast followers of the Rugby game were justifiably disappointed in the performance of the representative fifteen against Buller on Saturday last, and if West Coast’s chances of retaining the Seddon Shield are to be reckoned on that match, then the trophy will not remain long in the province. The performance of the Coast team was poor, when the two fine games against Canterbury are considered, and it is only reasonable to expect that they will improve considerably on their performance of last Saturday, when the Shield is at stake. It was only in the last quarter of an hour of the game with Buller that the Coasters showed anything like their true form. However there were several faults that will have to be corrected before the Shield matches, apart from the lethargy that was apparent.

Sound Full-Back: The West Coast full-back, J. Gillan, had more to do than his vis-a-vis on Saturday, and he came through a heavy day well. The way he went down to the for*wards on several occasions, and held up dangerous rushes was heartening, and he handled well throughout. More accuracy with his kicking for touch would be an improvement. His failure to tackle Weenink when the Buller half scored can be put down to inexperience rather than inability. He made the mistake of trying to tackle his man “head-on” instead of getting “inside” him. The result was that he was caught practically flatfooted, when Weenink swerved.

A Fault: L. Sweetman played a fine game at half for the Coast team, but in the later stages particularly he was noticed putting the ball in while the Buller forwards were on the movfe, with the result that all they had to do was to walk.over the ball. This is a good plan if it can be worked when a half’s own scrum is moving forward, but it gives away too much if the opposing scrum is the one that is going forward. The 1935 All Blacks found that the English half-backs worked this point to great advantage in the early matches on that tour. On the other hand, Sweetman handed out highly creditable passes, despite the attention he was allowed to receive from the Buller breakaways; and he went down consistently to the forwards, if not always successfully.

Matter of Tactics: If the West Coast backs are to be made an attacking combination, some alteration will have to be made in the positional play as compared with Saturday last. In that match, both Vaughan and

Scott took places as for defence, with the result that when the ball came to them they did not have pace on, and in fact on too many occasions they were taking the ball almost flat-footed. This did not give them or their associates any chance of breaking through or of running round an opponent, and if the backs are to score tries better positional play will be necessary.

Two Chances: If West and J. Haddock play up to their recent form on Saturday, and that form has been of a high standard, they must stand good chances of getting into the team for the Marlborough match. West has not been known as a strong defender, but he is no weaker in that department than at least two of the players in the team last Saturday. His speed would supply a quality that is badly needed, while he is as übiquitous as the small boy on cover defence. The way he speeded up the Coast backs when he went on in the Nelson match last year will be recalled in his favour. Haddock has been playing such outstanding football that he would have been a bigger asset than several of the forwards m the team last Saturday. There were far too many loose forwards in the Coast pack, and this was the more surprising when it is realised that West Coast have made a name for the solidity of their pack work.

The West Coast Rugby Union selectors have chosen the following Greymouth players for special training at the Cobden Club’s gymnasium at 7.30 this evening: Gillan. Wareham, Scott, Vaughan, Hendry, Sweetman, T. Butler, Sinclair (2) : King, Birchfield, Blair and Croudis. Messrs. F. W. Baillie and King will be in charge of the training. GOLF. (BY “NIBLICK.”) With the qualifying rounds of the Club Championships to be played next Sunday in view, many members playin the Dewar Cup match to have a try-out. The best card returned was that of R. Tindale 2 up. This player started only this year, and is taking his golf seriously. The first round winner, Reg Marshall, also held his lead and with a score of 5 up for the two rounds, looks a certainty for the final round. The senior round was won by Stopforth, lately promoted from juniors, and he is already making his presence felt in the senior division. Despite the frosty conditions, several good cards were returned, and Handicapper Caulton has made the following reductions: Stewart and Steer 28, Tindale and Harker 29, Reg. Marshall and Casey 24, Hook 23, Stopforth and McNulty 18, Walters 16. The Kaiata Cup has reached the final, Rhodes and Tizard being the finalists. This should prove an excellent match, and the winner is hard to select.

Saturday’s Matches: W. D. Taylor and Jones, Rhodes and Dixon, and O’Halloran and Hartley are to play their second round matches for the Orkney Cup on Saturday. . . Draw for Sunday (qualifying rounds for Senior, Intermediate and Junior Championships, 36 holes):— No. 1 tee: —9.30 a.m. and 1 p.m.: Caulton, Hill, Rhodes. 9.34, 1.4: Jones, Chivers, Dixon. 9.38, 1.8: Tizard, McQueen, Thompson. 9.42, 1.12: Brown, Garth, O’Halloran. 9.46, 1.16: W. D. Taylor, Wilkins, Boustridge. 9.50, 1.20: Lindley, Walters, Lynch. 9.54, 1.24: Quill, Hartley, Matthews. 9.58, 1.28: Foster, Stopforth, Kane. 10.2, 1.32: Meldrum, Warnes, McCallum. 10.6, 1.36: Heaphy, McNulty, Duncan. No. 10 Tee: —9.30 a.m. and 1 p.m.: Russell, Pattinson, Gibson. 9.34, 1.8: Mitchell, Marshall, Hook. 9.38, 1.12: Robt. Marshall, O’Donnell, Casey. .9.42, 1.16: Davis, Steer, Sligo. 9.46, 1.20: Woodhouse, Nightingale, C. Stewart. 9.50, 1.24: Fleming, Harker, Coffey. 9.54, 1.28: Howie, Stiles, Miller. 9.58, 1.32: Tinfiale, Deign, E. Taylor.

10.2, 1.36: McQuinn, Morressey, Brown. Messrs. McNulty and Heaphy will be starters.