LEAGUE FOOTBALL

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 July 1942, Page 3

LEAGUE FOOTBALL

RUNANGA AND NGAHERE WIN. BRADSHAW CUP MATCHES. The West Coast Rugby League's Bradshaw Cup one round competition was commenced yesterday, m ideal weather. Following the recent rains, however, the grounds were muddy and it was a day of forward football. The attendance at Wingham Park was adversely affected by the cancellation of the , bus service, owing to war-time restrictions, but a fair crowd saw an exciting struggle, Runanga defeating Marist by a margin of three points. The other senior match, at Ngahere, was won by the home team, after a close tussle with Brunner.

RUNANGA 10, MARIST 7

Although the standard of football was not as good as the average seen on the Park this season, the Ru-nanga-Marist fixture held the interest of a fair crowd of spectators, due mainly to the closeness of the, scores and the hard forward play. With the greasy ball defying the efforts of both sets of backs to handle, the game soon developed into a stern forward struggle, with little enterprising back play on either side. Runanga had an advantage in the set scrums, but the backs were unable to turn it to account. In the loose, the teams were evenly matched, and the margin of three points just about indicates the territorial advantage, as Runanga were the attackers almost throughout the final quarter. Marist were a little unlucky not to secure at least a draw, as the winning try was in the “doubtful” category, four players being mixed up with the Runanga try-getter as he grounded the ball in the corner. The tackling was a bright feature of the game, as reflected in the comparatively lowscores. R. Glynn was a tower ol' strength in the Runanga pack, and was well supported by Dalzell and Mundy. The backs were not seen Io advantage, but the McTiguc brothers and Bowman were always useful. D. Watson was again the leader of the Marist forwards, with good support coming from P. Coll and M. Power. Smith, the Marist half, was one of the hardest workers on the field, while Palmer, Mann and D. Knapp all showed up at times.

Runanga v/on the toss, and played with a strong' sun at their backs. They attacked from the kick-off and following loose play inside the Marist 25, R. "Glynn and Dunn kicked through for the last-named to score an easy try near the posts. Glynn converted. Runanga 5, Marist nil. Marist attacked strongly after this early reverse, but their play lacked cohesion and solid tackling by Runanga broke down the most promising movements. With the greasy ball giving trouble, Runanga tried kick-and-i'ollow tactics, but W. Mann at full-back for Marist, proved a solid defensive link. Marist gained ground with a loose forward rush, and P. Coll picked up to dive over for a good try under the posts. He also converted, to equalise the scores. Led by Glynn and Dalziel, the Runanga forwards pressed strongly and Dunn touched down, only to be recalled lor an infringement, and Marist cleared. Half-time was called with the scores: Runanga 5, Marist 5. The first incident of note in the second half was when Palmer, the Marist five-eighth, brought off a splendid interception and gained 20 yards before being pulled down inside the Runanga 25. In the ensuing scramble, Runanga were penalised, and P. Coll placed Marist two points in the lead with a goal. Marist altered their backline at this stage, Mann going to second fiveeighth and D. Knapn to full-back. Play centred in midfield until Marist were penalised on~ their own 25, and Bowman again equalised the scores with a splendid goal from the sideline. Runanga were unlucky when N. McTigue put in a splendid solo run from the 25 to touch down in the corner, but put his foot into touch as he crossed the line. Runanga attacked strongly, and kept Marist pinned on their own line for a long lime. Eventually all of the Runanga backs handled in a cross-field movement, for Freeman to score in the corner, with several Marist players hanging on to him. Bowman failed to convert. Runanga 10, Marist 7. Marist, with Mann and S. Knapp prominent, made a last-min-ute effort to avert defeat, but the defence held and there was no further scoring. Mr. D. Kidd was referee.

NGAHERE 11, BRUNNER 5. The ground at Ngahere was is fair order foi’ the Ngahere-.Brunner match, but play was confined chiefly

to the forwards. Several new players were included in the Brunner team, which showed improvement to hold Ngahere to a six-point victory. The result was always in doubt, and considering the conditions, it was a bright game. Ngahere opened the scoring when Pascoe received from Gibson and touched down after a good run. Symes failed to convert. Brunner attacked strongly, and Dixon secured in a forward melee to dive over for a try. Hoggarth failed to. convert. Half-time was called with the scores: Brunner 3, Ngahere 3. Ngahere again took the lead early in the second spell, when W. Balderstone secured a loose ball for a try in the corner. L. Balderstone failed to convert. Shortly afterwards, Hoggarth kicked a penalty goal for Brunner, but Ngahere again increased their margin when L. Balderstone kicked a penalty goal. The final try was scored for Ngahere by Krakosky. Balderstone again missed the kick. Mr. L. Kinsella was referee. THIRD GRADE. Playing the curtain-raiser at Wingham Park, Marist third graders defeated Runanga by nine points to five. At Ngahere. Blackball third graders defeated Brunner by eight points to nil.