FOOTBALL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXI, Issue LXVIII, 21 June 1912, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

ASSOCIATION.

(By Sideline)

Twice within a week your correspondent has been disappointed with the non-appearance of the Auroa team. No notice was publicly given of their intention not to play, and so I had a disappointing trip. Perhaps Okaiawa were at fault for not turning up at Auroa last Wednesday week; if so some notification should have been sent to the Union's secretary, who then no doubt would make it public through the newspaper.

There is a tendnecy with Rugby, as well as Soccer teams/ not to undertake a long journey if they are hopelessly out of the running for the finals;, showing very clearly a lack of true sportsmanship. How they are ever likely to improve their position with lack of practice and lack of enthusiasm is hard to see; they might just as well drop out of the fixtures altogether. Bravo Kaponga! You have shown what training and trouble can do to improve a team, and I pronhesy preater ''lines for you if you follow on the r.nme lines. It is the team that works b^twe^n matches, whose members individually study.to improve themselves, that comes out on top in the long run. No doubt Hawera wpre off colour a bit and had not their full tea^i. Nevprtheloss the win was such a substantial one *>so put them on their mettle for the finn 1

Linesmen don't seem to be very clear os to their duties, or the limits of their duties. Their first duty is to be unbiassed. This is not shown best by yelluz; and barracking for their own team, as one prominent Union official seems to think. Linesmen are expected to keep quiet and hump themselves up and down the line and to be sure to see when the ball crosses the goal line. This they cannot do if they stay near the centre of the line and talk to spectators.

Linesmen's decisions are always subject to the referee's veto; indeed, the linesmen are only subordinates of the referee to help in the control of the game. That means, a linesman is not fulfilling his duties when he argues the point with the referee, or veils derisive remarks at his or anyone else's exoense. They are also expected to see whether it is a goal kick or corner, in case the referee asks for tbeir opinion; they should not give it unless appealed to by sign or otherwise.

A linesman can be ordered off the field by the referee. If referees were to haul one or two men up for rough play, I mean playing the man instead of the ball, cleaner football would result. Nothing acts quicker than this to smooth the play.

In regard to the representative team to play Wanganui on Monday next, it is fairly representative, and, in my opinion, strong enough for the job. It is not the best team Taranaki could put on the field, but the selector evidently endeavored to please as many as possible and SDoiled his team thereby. Unfortunately, Soccer is not firmly enough established, nor ar© clubs unbiassed enough to allow the best team to be picked regardless of clubs or ends, or any other faction. T should like to have seen It. TTre in the emergencies, but ivo do\ibt Hawera was numerically strong in the tenm, nnd his chances bad to be subordinated to sentiment. An-rlimv. I wish thn representatives <-"iod luck, and prophesy a win for them.

turn out the best j-ossible article for the Home market. He wanted the factories to make every effort to make only the first grade article. One of the most important factors to be contended against at the factories was in regard to the quality of the milk forwarded. He considered that sometimes there was not sufficient overlooking of the milk supplied to the factories, and he would ask all suppliers to exercise every care in handling the milk before sending, it to the factories. He believed in many cases there was room for improvement in this respect, and he would impress upon them that on the suppliers largely depended the quality of the cheose made. He pointed out that the least bit of dirt left in the milk overnight would produce millions, of bacteria, and they could quite understand how this would destroy the whole quality of the milk in the factory. In conclusion, he remarked that the class of article needed for the other side was a close-cutting cheese with moisture. He desired to thank the company for the kind things said of. his firm.

Other toasts included that of "Co-op-eration." proposed by Mr Death, who spoke of the good that had been accomplished in Taranaki as the result of co-operation. He asked farmers to fully support the Farmers' Union in their own interests. He hoped to see a moi'fe unanimous feeling among the farmers. The toast was replied to by Messrs Ban/la, iiuckeridge, and Campbell.

Musical items were contributed by a number of those present, and were much appreciated. The catering Avas admirably carried out by Mr J. P. Keen.