RUGBY LEAGUE Lessons To Be Learnt From Australian Play

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 September 1949, Page 3 (Supplement)

RUGBY LEAGUE Lessons To Be Learnt From Australian Play

The League team has gone, but it is to be hoped that the lessons that it taught will be long remembered by players in the West Coast Rugby League.

It may be unpalatable to admit it, but Wednesday’s game proved what has been hinted at- several West Coast Rugby. League meetings, as well as in the press, this season, that the true Rugby League game is not being played in this province at the- present time. If ■ this lesson alone is learnt; then the Australian visit will have done a great deal : for the code'in New Zealand. Partly due to unfavourable grounds, a style of play far removed from the football seen on Wednesday has become increasingly popular in the senior grade on the West Coast this season. It places far too much emphasis on loose rucking, kicking and following by the forwards and the result has been neglect of true back play and dull football from a spectator’s point of view. The Australians, showed at Greymouth that attack through snappy passing, both by backs and forwards, is far more constructive- than kicking in any part of the field. Possession of the ball is the keynote of Rugby League and the visitors based the whole of their play on this cardinal principle. Playing-The-Ball The Australians’ method of playing-the-ball came, in for some criticism and, it must be confessed, it did appear that they infringed on occasions. At the same time, the mapner in which they, obtained possession from the play-the-ball was an object Wesson to those players on the West Coast who have not attempted to learn the art of sweeping the ball back and who are content to kick it through, merely giving possession to the opposition, as surely as if it had been raked cleanly from a scrum.

In general, the West Coast team on Wednesday did well under conditions of play which were strange to most of them. At times they were made to look mere novices, not so much. be- | cause of mistakes, but because of the, bewildering speed and tactics, of the Australians. On occasions the West Coasters did not tackle—not because they did not want to but because their opponent was not where he was expected to be at a given moment. The ' Australians were adepts "at quick changes of direction and pace, and these often left the West Coasters flat-footed and bewildered, while the attack sped on in some other direction. Menzies Did Well The Australians themselves were impressed with at least one of the West Coast inside vbacks, the “baby” of the team, G. Menzies, and there is no doubt that this season he' has lived up to the good.things expected of him. He missed his man on occasions, but it must be remembered that he was opposing one,of the trickiest fiveeighths in Australia and' New Zealand. - His quick movements on attack were above the general standard of the West Coast back play. The West Coast wingers, V. Meates and J. Curragh both did well on occasions, although Meates was a little hesitant, at times. He made an excellent job of marking the speedy Australian winger, R. Roberts and it was only when the last-named had plenty of room in which to work, and frequently, an overlap, that he passed Meates. Curragh also was responsible for some good tackling of a difficult opponent, but he was a little shaky on attack. The manner in which he dropped back to cover the full-back was worthy of. praise. J. Soster, had one of his off-days and at .no stage did he appear really comfortable. The Australians, as master tacticians, made his task difficult, as when they did kick the ball was swung around so much. before that it was difficult to assess from which direction it would come. At the same time, Soster did not handle up to standard and in view of-the nature of the play, he took far too many risks in. coming up into the backs, thus leaving a gap, for the Australians, to find.

11l a game played in the. usual West Coast arid-New Zealand style: of hard rucking, W, McLennan, P.. Mulcare and R., Baxendale would have done well. McLennan worked harder than probably in . any game this season, but* his efforts, largely went unrewarded. because the: Australians rer fused to be drawn into, tight rucking,

At every opportunity backs and forwards began the passing game which wore down'the Coasters and provided the bright football of the day. Mulcare was another hard worker but he was. in variably caught in possession, being too slow to get the ball away to his supports. Two Tries Just Missed With previous experience of the type of football played by the Kangaroos, C. Mcßride, J. Newton and R. Aynsley were easily the most effective of the West Coast forwards and Newton, with an ounce of luck, may have scored two tries. He showed surprising pace in following through a low kick early, in the game and if the ball had bounced right for him he would have gone over between the posts. It was unfortunate that he missed out, as an extra five' points to West Coast at that stage of the game may have resulted in a much more exciting game. It appeared that most of the West Coasters were suffering from an inferiority complex, brought about no doubt by a series of defeats in interprovincial games this season, and a substantial lead early in the game may have given them confidence and resulted in the team producing the football of which it is capable. Conditions were vastly different, but even allowing for that, the fact remains that the West Coast team did not play nearly as well as it did in Auckland and at Christchurch in July.