LEAGUE FOOTBALL

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 June 1943, Page 3

LEAGUE FOOTBALL

BLACKBALL WIN CHAMP’SHIP With an easy win over Ngahere at Ngahere yesterday, Blackball completed their matches in the senior championship with an unbeaten record. They have played six matches and have won them all. Ngahere are runners-up with four wins, Brunner and Runanga have each won two matches, but Marist have failed to win a game. . The match at Wingham Parti, yesterday, between Brunner and Runanga, provided an exciting encounter for the large attendance of spectators, and was won by by nine points to five. It was a hard fight throughout, with the result in doubt until the final whistle. There was not a great deal of concerted back play, but both sets of forwards played yigoi’ous football. Hobbs was the best Brunner forward and Thompson scored six of Brunner’s points off his boot. Williams, Barnard and Millett were the pick of the Brunner backs. For Runanga, Clelland, Dalziel and Glynn were the most consistent forwards, and Allan ana McTigue were useful Runanga backs. The teams were: — Brunner: Anderson, Smith, Millett, T. Hogarth, Barnard, Williams, Dixon, Thompson, H. Hogarth, McLeod, Walton, Mclnnes, Hobbs. Runanga: Allan, Leitch, Rose, Hinks, N. McTigue, Clarke, Morris, Glynn, Merriman, Stevens, Clelland, Fitzgibbons, Dalziel. A splendid goal from a penalty by Thompson drew first blood for Brunner, but Runanga took the lead when Dalziel took the ball over the line at his toe and scored for Glynn to convert. Thompson kicked another goal from a penalty on the Runanga 25 to make the half-time scores: Runanga 5, Brunner 4. Brunner took the initiative after the resumption and were rewarded when after Hobbs had caught Allan in possession Smith scored well out. Thompson failed to convert. Brunner 7, Runanga 5. There were exciting exchanges in the last stages, but Brunner went further ahead before the final whistle with two points from another goal by Thompson from 30 yards out. Final score: Brunner 9, Runanga 5. BLACKBALL 38, NGAHERE 8 Ngahere did not play as well as usual in their match with Blackball at Ngahere yesterday and the champions romped home by 38 points to eight. In the loose the forwards were fairly evenly matched, but Blackball won most of the ball, and their backs overwhelmed the opposition. Blackball played brilliant football. LOWER GRADES In a third grade match at Runanga Runanga defeated Marist by 21 points to five, and Blackball defeated Brunner by 16 points to five. In a fourth grade match at Wingbarn Park, Brunner and Runanga played a scoreless draw.