SEDDON SHIELD

Grey River Argus, 6 August 1937, Page 9

SEDDON SHIELD

Buller’s Prospects lOur Own Correspondent! WESTPORT, August 5. After showing poor early season form, and suffering reverses at the hands of West Coast on two occasions and also going down to Canterbury, the Buller reps on Saturday will attempt to regain the Seddon Shield. On performances, the student of form would not give the side much of a chance of capturing the trophy. Buller, however, came into the limelign' by the convincing defeat they inflicted on Nelson. The fine standard of football shown by them on that occasion, under the worst possible conditions, has given rise to new hopes, and the team which will line up at Greymouth is now considered to be one with distinct possibilities. A splendidly balanced side has been got together, after the selectors had exhausted many experiments, and i! they don’t land the bacon, Coast can, at least, prepare for a big fright. Although handicapped by bad weather, the twenty players from whom the team has been chosen have undergone intensive training, and they can be relied upon to see a strenuous game out to the final bell. The non-inclusion of K. Brown has come as a surprise. He possesses every credential a wing three-quarter requires, and his resolute running and handling under adverse weather conditions against Nelson, when he raced over for three tries and only just missed a fourth, provided the high lights of the season’s football. Brown is endowed with football brains, ana has pace sufficient to show any winger on the Coast a clean pair of heels. Of course, much of the credit for his showing against Nelson must be given to his support, A. Strachan, Buller’s star performer, from whom much will be expected on Saturday. In the writer’s opinion, apart from the non-inclusion of Brown, the selectors have done their job well, and have made the best use of the mater ial at their command. Buller will go to Greymouth with a side that can be expected to uphold the Rugby traditions of the district, and, as stated above, if they don't win, they can be relied upon to compel King and Co. ,to produce all they know to enable West Coast to hang on to the "pot.” The forwards are a fine even lot, possessing all the devil of former Buller scrummagers, and, though West Coast will have a big pull in poundage, the challengers’ eight are as fit as hands can make them, and this is accepted as compensatory when the holders’ advantage in weight is considered. However, it is not suggested that Coast will lack anything in way of fitness, and performances this season support this contention. Th< match should be productive of the exciting football that has always marked the contests between the districts for the trophy, and, wet or fine, there promises to be a big exodus from Buller to witness the game. Twenty-six years have elapsed since Buller had its name first inscribed on the Shield, and on Saturday the team chosen to carry representative honours will endeavour to demonstrate that the whirling of time, though it has compelled many to hang up their Logs, has not robbed Buller of its sporting instincts, and on the occasion of this week-end’s tussle their sole wish will be: “May the best side take the spoils.” The Buller team is as follows:— Full-back: A. Dunn. Three-quarters? J. Hill, A. Strachan, R. Butterfield. Five-eighths: S. Neighbours, S. Stewart. Half-back: H. Finlayson. Forwards: R. Pratt, G. Orman, J. Lake; G. Mason, G. Wilson, K. Corrie, J. Brown; T. Phipps. Emergencies: Baqjks, J. Gonley, D. Strachan, G. Brown; forwards, D. Hudson, Caldwell.