FOOTBALL.

Grey River Argus, 1 July 1922, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

TO-DAY’S RUGBY. MARIST AND UNITED SENIORS TO MEET. FOURTH GRADE MATCH INTERESTING. A great deal in connection with today’s Rugby fixtures will depend upon the statu of the weather, which at the time of compiling these remarks, does not look too promising. It. is certainly to be hop Id that followers of the game who were disappointed on last. Saturday will to-day be present ed with an exhibition sufficiently spectacular to compen sate for their disappointment. The ground will almost, assuredly be heavy and, in consequence, tiring on the players. Forwards should be given an opportunity of proving themselves. Had the fixtures been arranged with a slight alteration to their present order, those enthusiasts who are keenly following the game would have had an opportunity of seeing the two games having the greatest bearing upon the competition. I refer to the Marist-United seniors and the Marist-United fourth grade matches, both of which are catalogued to be played at the same hour on different grounds. In reference to the senior competition it may be well for those whose enthusiasm is waning to centre their attention on the match mentioned. The Marist XV. has disappointed its supporters lately by a series of seemingly unwarranted losses—unwarranted because the team has not been at its full capacity in either of its meetings w#li Stars this season. This of course—as the cynic, may point out —is “their own funeral,’’ for co-opera-fion is an essential attribute when striving for the success of a team. Efforts have been made recently, however, to reorganise lue Marist team, and its members appear to be entering into tin competition with considerably more vigor than hitherto. As there is still a chance for them to retrieve their j lost ground, an interesting competition may yet result. Star seniors have an advantage of two points at the present time. Regarding the prospective results ot to-day’s .fixtures I rather fancy the i chances of Marist in the senior game, I for their team looks very formidable ini deed. The forward division will be j considerably supported by the inclusion I of J. O’Neil!, a big forward touching i the scale at 14st and standing well over j six feet in height. McCormack is a new addition to the forwards and on his play j in the last match is nut too bad. Hall's j ('captain) hand has mended and he is ■to play to-d: y. The backs will wcl- { come the return to their .ranks of Ryan. I who has in the past satisfied his coach. | ('ally’s speed is useful, whilst Heaphy j and Dunn are nifty at half ami tive--1 eighth respectively. McCarthy will be away to-day. E. King and Deere have I played we'd recently and the latter’s j kicks came in very handy in the last match. Maloney is established as a , warrior in the forwards. The United j XV. is certainly stronger than the team j they put out against Star recently, and j after the vigorous defence effected in that game, Marist should get a s'uakj4ng up to-day. Two juniors are includ- ; ed in the selection —McKay and Richmond —and these two players have proved in junior notches that they could well lake the field for senior. Rothwell and Teller, who were recently reclassified to junior gre 1 ■. ■ : • :usn picked, and if they play to-day, will be classed as seniors. Telfer is very slick and has already justified his position. Roth well did not show up in his last match. Stevens on the wing is a “dead bird’’ U elder and is very formidable to a. fast, opposition. Russell, as centre, has demonstrated his capabilities on frequent orc.- sions, and his remarkable drop i kick from nearly half-way in a recent . match proves his worth in this respect. Winchester and Richmond are assets to the back r: nks, but the latter has a habit of frequently waiting off-side, having been penalised for this offence on several occasions lately. Nightengale is both big and game and is frequently mentioned for prominent attack work. Anderson does not spare himself in the. forwards, but Hughes could do with more condition. The defeat which United juniors suffered at the hands of Cobden recently is merely another illustration of the unexpected results produced by the ganiv, and cannot be attributed to anything but tin eccentricity of the sport. Fairhall, the speedy wing, was missed, and would almost surely have made a difference to the play. The Cobden boys played a great game and their narrow win was a credit to them. In

spite of this, however, 1 do not anticipate United experiencing any difficulty with Star juniors to-day. The latter team possesses several splendid individual players, but combination is singularly absent. Brown Bros, play well, but are too selfish with the ball, and do not give their supports an opportunity. The half-back takes too much upon himself instead of ridding him self immediately the ball issues from the scrum. United will probably fee! the loss of Richmond and McKay. Ngahcre meet Cobden at Cobden and if the latter team plays anything like its best game, the country lads should be left. Constant practice on a good ground would improve Ngahere considerably and it is unfair to ask them to play on the ground they occupy at present. Marist juniors have arranged to play Lake Brunner representatives at To Kingu and will enjoy the hospitality of the country boys over the week-end. The fourth grade competition maintains a remarkable degree of interest and seems to have developed into a contest. between United and Marist. The former are in the lead at the present time by two points. In the seven-a-side (the last occasion on which thes-e teams met), United defeated -Marist, and the result of the meeting of the fifteens will be anticipated by their respect i ve supporters. Fixtures. Complete fixtures foe to-day are: — Seniors. —United, v. Marist, 3 p.m., A ground (-Mr Wilson referee). Juniors.—United v. Star, 1.30, A ground (Mr Beaumont, refereeX Ngahere v. Cobden, 3 p.m., at Cobden (Mr Mclntosh, referee). Fourth Grade. —Star v. Cobden, 1.30 p.m.., B ground (Mr ’Williams referee). .Marist v. United, 3 p.m., B. ground (Mr Bring referee';. Fifth Grade. United v. D.H.S., 11 a.m., B. ground (Mr Rothwell referee). UNITED JUNIORS. The following will represent United juniors in tlieir match, with Star oij the Park to-day at 1.30 p.m.: HeyHolds, Fairhall, Buck, Burtons. Castles, WiUues, Jamieson. JI. Jamieson l\f., Hm.dmu. Ames. .Sherlock Ruiuy. Uudale, Unrar nnd MallottU ' ■■ 1

INTER-ISLAND TEAM. It is understood that Aitke’n (Wellington) and McLean (Poverty Bay.) are unable to play in the inter-island match to-day. There places have been filled by Byrne (King Country) and McNabb (Hawke’s Bay) respectively. WESTLAND REPRESENTATIVES. (By Sub-Rep.) Hokitika and surrounding districts are alive on all matters pertaining to their footballers, judging by the crowd present at last seven-a-side tournament on June 3. The Sub-union may well feel proud of the following they have. The next item of interest is the fact that Westland is going to make an attempt to win the Dittman Shield from Grcymoutli on July <B. Needless to say, there will be a general exodus from Hokitika on that date, and the representative team will get all the pep they may need from their followTho Westland team has greatly im proved this season and the forwards especially are a fine lot indeed. Players such as McEnany, Hagar, Baird, Carley and Scott are a.- line type of man and well versed in the fine points of the game. The selectors, who meet on Saturday evening to pick the team, are: Messrs AL Houston, H. Butland, and T. B. Gillooly. I would suggest that the following team should prove a good proposition: Full-back, T. Seebevk; three-quarters, Robinson, Irving, Al<■ Mannaway ; fiveeighths, Moynihan and McKay; half, Gifford; forwards, N. Scott, Freitus. Agnew, McEnany, Baird. J. Cutbush. Devaney, T. Carley; emergencies -For wards, O 'Connell and Cunningham; backs, Wallace ami. Clietwynd. Devaney ami <’:rley are indeed a great pair of hookers arid have played together before. J. Cutbush has al! that commends to fill the all important position of lock. Baird, who is in his third year of football, is destined to make his name in the football world and is the mainstay of his team. Mu Enany, the well-known forward, is always worthy of a place even in the Const seven. Hagar has all last sea son’s performances to work on, but this year his opportunities have not been so good. However, let the op posing team tell the talc. N. Scott played wing-forward last year and according to form should easily hold his place. Freitus is a f: st improving players. Aydon is a fast, heady for ward. Giffrd, McKay ami Moynihan will make things merry if the selectors have faith enough to choose them. Don Irving commands respect again this year. I wonder how things would have gone last year had he not filled his position. T. MuAlannaway and Rob in son Should be a pair of fast wingers, ami will) T. Seabeck (full-back) there should not be many mistakes. We shall await with interest the decisions of the selectors. LEAGUE FOOTBALL. TO-DAY’S GAME AT THE REC. A reminder is given to football followers of th<' attraction at the Rec this afternoon, when the Waiuta team meet Kohinoor in a senior cup match. The game is set down for 1.15 p.m., so intending spectators should carefully I note ihi.-. Both teams will be at full ’strength and a line* fast and open game 1 is anticijcitcd. Mr Lawrence will referee. At Rapahoe, to-morrow, the Kohinoor ai’<l Runaogu Juniors vill play, the proceeds of a collection being devoted io an injured soccer player, so doubtless a large crowd will witness this game. Owing to unfortunate circumstances, the senior game Runanga v. Blackball, which was to be played to-morroiv at Blackball, has been postponed indefinitely. This is indeed bad luck, as a very close and interesting match was expected between these two teams. Houghton is a member of the .Runanga junior team to play Kohinoor today, liis name havi > ■ been omitted from the list published. SOCCER FOOTBALL. The Moonlight team to play Blackball is as follows: Wilson, Hogg, Jolly, McNieol J., Bond, Hall, McNiuol A., McNicol T., Quibell, Adamson, Hampson. The Blackball team to play against Moonlight is as follows: -Frick, Taylor, Penman, Park, Baldcrstoire, A. Clark, J. Kerr, Wolstenh’olm, Uroft, Clark, Drummond. The Blackball junior team to play against Nelson Creek juniors at Blackball on .Inly 1 is as follows:—Curtis, Stenhouse, McDonald, Kerr, Perry, Meadowcroft, Haisty, J. Kerr, Taylor, L. Neilson, W. Neilson, Hudson, D. Faris. GREYMOUTH V. RUNANGA. At the Recreation Ground at 3 o’clock to-day the above teams meet. I'lie. following is the Greymouth team:! Goal, Bennett; lull backs, J. Smith, J. Grav, half, backs, C. Henderson, J. Sharp. J. Okuy; forwards. F. Lovatt. A. Crompton, T. Freeman, W. Howe, J. Murphy. AUSTRALIANS BEAT TARANAKI. NEW PYYMOUTH, June 25. Good weather conditions prevailed for the big Soccer match, Australia v. Taranaki to-day, which \v; s won by Australia by <• goals to 1. A crowd estimated at 4000 watched the game, which, though one-sided, was full of interest, the Australians’ clever footwork, pretty headw’ork and good, combination generally delighting the spectators. T: ranaki gave a. good display, considering that Succer is in its infancy in the province, but Jacked the Australians’ science and finer knowledge of the game. Their shooting was also erratic at times. The star players for Australia were Brown, Thompson, Cumberford brothers, and Dane. On the Taranaki, side the outstanding players were Jones, Worthington, H'owarth, and AVoodhead. ■