REPRESENTATIVE FOOTBALL

Northern Advocate, 23 July 1923, Page 3

REPRESENTATIVE FOOTBALL

fKAIPABA WINS BRAKE SHIELD.

WHANGAREI -RETAINS PREMIERV SHIP.

RECORD CROWD WITNESSES HARD

GAMES.

Numerically the crowd of spectators at Kensington Park on Saturday afternoon 'on the occasion of the matches between Kaipara and Whangarei for the Harding and Brake Shields, was the largest that has' yet assembled to witness, football The gate was approximately £130, as compared with £207, which ,was the record established at .the game between North Auckland and New South,; Wales two years ago, but on the last-mention-ed occasion the amount of takings was Uirgely due to the fact of the charges for admission being greater than they were on Saturday.

People went to the Park expecting

to see keen contests and good foottell, and they wero not disappointed.

It was freely admitted that the standard of play in the Brake Shield natch was higher than has ever been shown previously in Whangarei, and the game was exciting from start to fifiinTi- As for the senior match for tho Harding Shield, it had beon recognised that Kaipara would make a big 'bid for the-'"premier honours, and although Whangarei retained the trophy by a margin of five points, the game was certainly the most strenuous that has been battled out at Kenßing-' ton Park in' defence of that trophy. It was hard, perhaps a little too much so at times, but it was a real struggle

throughout and the class of football

played showed that in the North the' ... standard of Rugby is improving in .common with-the consensus of'opinion . concerning' the.. game in all parts of the Dominion.

Prior to the matches being played there was a good deal of speculation relative to the chances of success of both aide 3, apd it seemed that the general impression was that the Whangarei juniors wore odds-on favourites, while the seniors were given even changes., Results proved contrary to those opinions for the visiting juniors annexed the' Brake Shield by 9 points to 6 after a match in which Whangarei made desperate efforts to scorc again in the closing stages, and the Harding Shield was retained by .11 points (three tries, one converted) to 6 points (two penalty goals). The weather conditions were Almost perfect, dry, no wind, and little sun, and the ground was in good order. THE HARDING SHIELD MATCH. There was not much difference in weight between the teams, and both aides played equally a forwards' game, though the sets of backs showed themselves well up to the standard set in previous games for the senior trophy. Play was of the most energetic kind throughout and Whangarei owes its slight superiority to having more finesse than their opponents.

The outstanding pla»*r on the Kaipara side was certainly G. Fletcher and lie did a tremendous amount of work all through, although he was well marked and was up against a tough proposition in the Whangarei vanguard. Towsrd* the end of the game he eased up considerably. .His powerful kicking was a special feature, although some spectators were inclined to amusement wtenhe endeavoured to place-kick goals from beyond half-way, a font which he has performed on many occasions in the past. D. McLeod, who was a member of the Whangarei team in 1880 which lifted the Harding Shield from' the Northern Wairoa, was the next best visiting forward on the day. H. Fletcher and Whiteman were not very w§ll, but they played good football, as also did Olscn. Brown and Mowbray had. a hard time of it, especially the latter, and both wtere prominent in stopping the Whangarei forwnrds after breaking through. KerrTaylor, at centre, showed plenty of dash when the ball went his way, but the handling by the other members was not as good as it was amongst the Shield holders ' backs.

The Whangarei forwards nn-tlne day proved a fine selection. Bunny Finlayson was, despite a recent attack of influenza, at "the top of his form, and he and Tote Finlayson and Emerson could be fnirly reckoned as being in the same category as C. Fletcher. Emerson gave his best exhibition yet in Whangarei. O'Shca and O'Carroll wctc not so conspicuous to the public r« others, but they were rarely far from the thick of it. Sheriff and Hardie also played up to expectations, fine of their tackling being first-rate. Bain finlayson gave his usual showing of vigour as rover. Crawford behind the pack had a gruelling time and although he sent the ball out cleanly, he showed his old practice of jumping in amongst the forwards-when on the attach. His dcfence and that of the fiveeighths was sound. Conyngham showed good speed and playing well to McKay, who is the right man in the right place at eentre. three-quarter. Hamilton was the only fiikurangi Club representative iif the team and in the first spell, he did not shape at all well, although ho improved a great deal afterwards. Collins was satisfactory on the othr wing, and Hunt at fullback gave little cause for -anxiety, his handling and kicking being sure.

Tire teams were as under:— Whafljgarei — Full-back, B. Hunt; three-quarters, C. Collins, A. McKay and J. Hamilton; five-eighths, S. Cbnyngham gnd A. Hidings; half, S.

Crawford; rover, Bain Finlayßon; back row, T. O'Shea and E. Emerson; second row, Tote Finlayson, J. Hardio and Bunny Finlayaon; hookers, M. Sheriff and P. J. O'Carroll.

Kaipare — tfull-back, Baker; three* Quarters, C. Kean, L. Kerr-Taylor and S. Falkncr; five-eighths, R. Ifwersou and T. Mowbray; half, E. Brown; rover, C. Fletcher; back row, C. McLcod and W. Gardner; second row, G. Whiteman, O. Olsen and' D. McLeod; hookers, Aitkenhead and B. Fletcher.

aHE PLAY. ! From the kick-off it was cijar that the.game was to be a fast one. Tote and Bain Finlayson were responsible for invasion of visitors' quarter, but Ifweison returned play to halfway, where a period of hard play led to Hamilton fumbling and mis-kicking to the Whangarei quarter'flag, Crawford 's linf: kicking and a penalty to •Sheriff, however, returned it to midfield. Ridings got possession, cut in nicely and passed to McKay who sent the ball on to Hamilton, the lastmentioned failing to take it, but Whangarei attacked strenuously,, Emerson being particularly noticeable. A Kaipara forward passed off the ground and Sheriff missed a comparatively easy penalty kick at goal. Shortly afterwards C. Fletcher essayed a kick at goal from a central position five yards beyond half-way. D. McLcod and the Fletcher brothers were leaders of an assault on Hamilton's wing and although Crawford did some fine defensive work his efforts were nullified by Sheriff being penalised off-side and C. Fletcher kicked a good goal from near the-side line beyond the quarterway flag. Kaipara 3—Whangarei nil.

Concerted actiori~by Tote Finlayson, Emerson and Bunny; Finlayson carried play into the visitors end, but C. Fletcher gained relief until the Whangarei vanguard repeated the assault. Kerr-Taylor was ' penalised off-side, Hamilton taking the kick at goal from a central position just boyoftd halfway and missing. Ifwerson's clearing' kick however went .into touch five yards out and C. Fletcher carried over and forced. From the resulting scrum out Kerr-Taylor broke through to beyond half way, and Hunt was compelled to seek safety shortly afterwards at the Whangarei quarter-way flag. 'Collins recovered the ground and then Emerson and Hardie charged and compelled Falkner to find the line towards his own goal. line. Conynghan sent McKay away just before the change over, the latter finding the line well within Kaipara territory.

An interchange of long kicks was the chief feature after changing ends until Emerson again emerged from the ruck with the - ball at his feet and reached the attacking quarter. The same player was responsible a little later for a fine effort and a transfer to Bwnny Finlayson, who gained ground, passed to Ridings, took a return pass, lucked over the line and fell on the ball scoring a well-deserved try. With a good kick from a difficult angle he added the major points. Whangarei s—Kaipara 3.

Hunt was called upon soon afterwards to ward off a fine attack headed by Whiteman and, Olson, and then Bain Fiulayson improved the position. Mowbray and Ifwerson instituted .another assault from which Sheriff gained respite with a penalty kick. C. Fletch : er tried again to kick a goal from nearly, half way, but .it fell short. Hamilton followed his kick well and grounded Mowbray in possession, enabling Conyngham to make a fine dash as far as Baker, whose return reached Sheriff in a handy position for a mark, but he did not claim oncj and C. McLeod warded off trouble for the time being. After hftd dribbled through Bunny" 'Finlayson could also have taken a mark in a likely position, but he kicked and KerrTaylor marked and jrot play back to the neutral area. Faikner ran well

within the Whangarei quarter where from a line out Kerr-Taylor cut in smartly and then fooled the defence by the direction of his kick. The assault lasted for some time, but Hunt evontually cleared. From midfield ruck play Tote Finlayson made an opening for- Sheriff who was stopped by Brown a few yards "from the line* Bain Finlayson got round a pack and held play in the Kaipara danger zone. Then from a scrum'•'Crawford ? dashed round, passed to McKay, the latter shooting the ball on to Hamilton who dived over and scored another good try for Whangarei in the corner. Bunny Finlayson's kick was unproductive and half-time was called with Whangarei leading by 8 points ' to 3.

Kaipara. changed their tactics upon resumption and began throwing the ball about in good style working their way to the offensive, where Brown passed to Falkner, tho latter being pushed into touch near the line. Tote Finlayson was penalised off-side, but C. Fletcher did not gain points for the breach, and Conyngham's smaTt effort took play back to midficld. The Kaipara forwards, well bunched, forced the -ball again to the. Whangarei end and a score seemed imminent when Gonyngham found the line with a powerful kick. A game saving mark by Crawford and Hardie tackling C. Fletcher in good style repelled the next onslaught by the aggressive Kaipara forwards. Unavailing exchanges of kicks ■ended in Collins, after having beaten Kean, finding the line at the Whangarei quarter flag , just prior to being knockcd out by C. Fletcher. A little later Mowbray and Ifwerson kicked tho ball over the Whangarei line, but

did so too hard and Crawford forced amongst spectators standing near the dead ball line. Play became very hard at; • this stage, with the visitors mostly on the offensive. Tote Finlayson and C. Fletcher both jumped for the ball and collided in the air, the former being temporarily knocked out. A most persistent attack by Kaipara was spoiled by Kean kicking too hard and enabling Hunt to force. Crawford and Ridings were chiefly responsible for Whangarei reversing the order. IfWerson took a saving mark and McKay set the home backs in action from the kick but without much success. Again the Kaipara backs adopted short passing tactics which gained a lot of ground. A scrum took place well Within the Whangarei twenty-five and Tote Finlayson was penalised off side. C. Fletcher had no. difficulty, in goaling from a good position and the change over was called with the scores Whangarei B—Kaipara 6.

The opening of the last quarter wa* marked by,. particularly strenuous football; C. Fletcher having gone into .thepack to mark Bunny Finlayson.. An assault instituted by Mowbray was well repelled by O 'Shea, who was playing particularly well at this stage. From a line out Emerson broke away and kicked. Tote Finlayson charged up, grabbed the ball and dived over the : -line to score between the posts, but Hamilton failed badly with the kick at goal. Whangarei 11—Kaipara 6. The challengers immediately responded by attacking again, Crawford and Conyngham being noticeable for sound defensive play. C. Fletcher tried a drop-kick from half way which fell some yarda short and a little later a long range penalty place kick which aslo failed to reach the mark. Ridings sent play to midfield and a good, line kick by Hamilton gave Whangarei the upper hand. Collins, after a dodgy run: 1 found the line near the Kaipara : cornor fittg. A scrum followed the line out/ Whangarei getting the ball and Crawford sending it out- to Conyngham, Ridings, and McKay, but an infringement gave temporary relief. Bunny Finlayson also was penalised when he looked likely to score. Crawford sent a pass to Collins who rabbited his way over, but of courc had a free kick awarded against him. Returning to the attack McKay attempted to drop-kick a goal from the field,

and the game ended a few moments later with Whangarei in the visitors' territory and victors by 11 points to 6. Mr S. "Weßton's refereeing met with the general approval of players of both teams and also of the spectators.