Football

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVI, Issue 96, 10 April 1926, Page 10

Football

I’pilE famous Billy Stead, vice- *- captain of the 1905 All Black team, and now a member of the Maori Advisory Board, told a Southland “News’ reporter recently that, though the number of players to make the trip to France has not yet been definitely decided, the team has practically been selected. If Stead is to be believed Hawke's Bay 's going to suffer severely through the tour, for he states that no less than 12 men who have played for Hawke’s Bay in recent seasons will be included. If such is the case Mr. Norman McKenzie will havo something to ponder over this season. * * # The news that the Rovers will be able to field a senior team this season will be received with great satisfaction bv followers of football in this district. The defection of the Havelock Club left Hastings with only three senior teams, as against four in Napier, and would, of course, have meant a bye every Saturday. Havelock’s eclipse--let us hope it is only temporary- has left some good players unattached, and would probably mean that some of them would be lost to the game. Followers of football will be sorry to learn that there is a possibility

that Nuku Grensido will not be able to play this season. Towards the end of last season he experienced considerable trouble through a leg injury, which kept him out ol several games. It was expected that the summer’s rest would have cured tho injury, and apparently it had done so, but training for the recent sports brought it to light again, and at time of writing it looks as if he will have to prolong his rest for a bit longer. It is hard luck, both for his club and himself, for ho was expected t o come into his best this season. Backs as dashing and game as Nuku are hard to find these days.

Southland people appear to rate Kilbv, the fair-haired youngster who played behind their pack last season, a good deal higher than his performances warrant. One Southland paper looks forward to seeing him take Mill’s place behind the All Black pack when the Maori team goes to France. It is easy enough to be mistaken in these matters, but Kilby looked to be a good deal below New Zealand form on his only appearance in this district. * * * A. E. Perry, the ex-All Black and Otago five-eighths, turned out for London Hospital against St. Bartholomew’s recently. Quite a number of famous players played on either side. These Hospital Cup ties, by the way, are supposed to provide the roughest and hardest football played in the Old Country, and have caused a lot of concern to the Rugby authorities at times. Incidentally they provide the hundreds of students connected with the big London hospitals with an opportunity for the most glorious “rag.”

# * * “Alfie” West, the veteran of the 1924 All Black team, has decided to have one more season,’and will play in the Waikato this year. “Moke” Bellis also, who was a contemporary of West’s in the New Zealand Army team, is taking it on again. Bellis has been playing rep. football for something like fourteen or fifteen years, having turned out for Wanganui—as a wing threcquarter—somewhere about 1911. L. F. Cuppies, another great forward in the 1924 side, is reported to be donning the jersey in the Waikato district. * « *

Some of the Wellington football scribes do quite a lot of worrying over A. E. Cooke’s movements. A few weeks back some of them were quite sure he was going back to Auckland, and since then some of them were quite agitated over the rumour that he was going to play lieague. One writer gets quite indignant about it, and implies that Cooke himself has something to do with the various rumours. Which, of course, is not so, for Cooke has stated definitely whenever he has been approached on the matter, that he has no intention of leaving Hawke’s Bay to play either in Auckland. Wellington, or elsewhere. * # # At least one Wellington paper expects to see the Ranfurly Shield journey back to the Windy City this season, if only the AVellington selectors will pick the right team—and stick to it. But there’s the rub—which is the right team? * * * New South Wales should have a. very fine team this season. In addition to Thorne, Lawton, Ross, Nothling, Bowers, Crossman, Morrissey, Reid, Meagher, and Doran, ol last year’s team, they will have available A. C. Wallace (the Oxfoird Uinversity and Scottish international threequarter), Vander Merwe and Pegler (South Africans), and Robertson (a London Scottish half-back). Already interest is being shown in the coming visit of the All Blacks, and the proposal has been put forward that the team should be put into camp for special training prior to the matches.

Dr. Thacker has always been “a cerroi fox finding out things,” but this latest discovery, that the All Blacks owed their success in England to the adoption of League tactics, must be easily the most humorous of his career. However, it will serve its intended purpose of it draws a little limelight to the League side about to tour England. It is about m a par with the statement attributed to another supporter of the Lague game, that not more than one or two of the 1924 team would bo chosen for the professional side if they were available. A glance over the names and records of the players who represented New Zealand under tho professional code last season is sufficient to show tho absurdity of this statement. * * * Recently an attempt was made to start a professional Rugby League in France. Tho inaugurators of the movement claimed that they could produce some hundreds of players who were prepared to adopt the professional game. Close investigation, however, has shown that there were not enough players to form even one team, and these were men who had been suspended by the Rugby Fede's tion.