LEAGUE FOOTBALL

Northern Advocate, 12 August 1935, Page 8

LEAGUE FOOTBALL

GOOD GAMES ON SATURDAY CITY TROUNCE KENSINGTON. TAKAHIWAI ANOTHER REVERSE. The fourth series of the Northland Rugby League’s knock-out competi- ' tions on- Saturday produced splendid football, and, particularly in the senior category, a high degree of keenness was apparent. Fans at Jubilee Park were treated v-to a fine exhibition of teamwork by . City, who nonplussed Kensington with raking onslaughts, and romped home to the tune of 24 to nil. Tai Cross played a leading part in upsetting the maroons, whose aggressiveness did not contain the punch imparted by Cross and his supports, to the successful City fnarauds. After haying, so . brilliantly annexed the championship, Takahiwai have yet to open their winning account in the knock-out. At Hikurangi the Uniteds subcjued them and clinched a meritorious victory, 6 —2. Good football was turned on and the meagre disparity fairly indicates the trend of the game. In the junior division, City overcame a depleted Onerahi side while Kamo scored convincingly at the expense of Hikurangi. SUPERIOR COMBINATION. SPECTACULAR CITY THRUSTS. Kensington encountered City at the peak of their form. There was little between them until-,just before the interval. but’then an inspiring try, capped off with the goal, turned the tide. With every man oh his mettle. City unwound spasms of classy play and, assuming control of the game, rattled on another 19 points. The highlight of the issue was a ding-dong duel between Tai Cross and Dave Parkes, opposing each other at second five-eighth. The honours on the day went to Cross, who never failed to account for his vis-a-vis and, occasionally, outwitted Parkes to penetrate and strengthen the City attacks. Cross was undoubtedly the outstanding man on the field. For-the once. City saw more of the ball from the scrums, and this materially assisted them in their tussle with their determinedly valiant Kensington confreres. Teams: — City: Child, T. Jones, Dent, Irving, Cross, F. Hollows, Lenne, Ferguson, Watts, Crowley, Bowyer, Payne and Merrick. Kensington: Angelo, Beehre, H. Parkes, Dangen, D. Parkes, Tito, Zane, Letchford, L. Parkes, Rutherford, Hayward, R. Taylor and J. Taylor. A burst up the line by the fleety Jones and a safe tackle by Angelo was the first prominent move and City were the aggressors. Bowyer failed with a difficult shot at goal. The blue

and white backs were fanning out nicely until Dent mulled his pass, and H. Parkes was quick to break through the breach to spell danger. City were at sea, but Zane missed the pass which would have given him an easy road home. A snappy burst of passing saw City again in hostile territory and Crowley went through with the ball at toe. Zane saved by kicking the ball dead. Then Cross opened up neatly and Merrick figured in a dribbling rush, only to see the leather again roll into touch-in-goal. A heavy patch of ground near midfield was not conducive to a ball suitable for accurate back work, but the City rearguard gave it a good airing and only rugged defence by the Kensington line, with D. Parkes a tower of strength, nullified much nice handling. For a period, the maroon forwards gained the upper hand and had City penned in their twenty-five. But then a thrust by their rearguard allowed City to knock the invaders back. H. Parkes shone in a run that beat three men, but that “daddy” of tacklers, Lenne, just, flew round his ankles. , '

Then, rather unexpectedly, City scored their opening try—a beauty. J. Taylor punted doWnfield and Jones recovered at his twenty-five. Clamping on all speed,' the winger raced diagonally, to outstrip four opponents and make the half-way- line, where Cross came up on t£e outside at top to gather in a pas£ and sprint 25 yards, draw a couple of defenders beautifully, and time a nice transfer to Hollows on the inside, who galloped across and add the finishing touch to a movement which traversed three parts of the length of the field. Bowyer added: the' goal points to make it s—nil with half the game gone.

City had doubled their score within. thr-ee minutes of the resumption. Taking charge in the loose, the blue and white forwards, led by Watts, Payne and Merrick, swarmed over the opposition and, 10 yards from the goal, Payne snatched up to dive across in a tackle. He completed the fivepointer, and it was 10 —nil. After Irving had received attention after cpuntering a determined dash by Beehre, H. Parkes broke away promisingly, only to have Lenne upend him again.' Bowyer used a fend effectively in a spirited side-line run, but Angelo was a sound last line of defence.

A scrum went down 20 yards out and Lenne secured, to baffle the defence with a swift cut-in and a sprint, which brought him a very neat try. Bowyer did not improve, 13 —nil. Led by J. Taylor, the Kensington forwards made a desperate attempt to ward off their superior opponents. They battled to within a few feet of their objective, only to be repelled by another exhibition of attractive passing. From a scrum' in midfield, the City rearguard braced up prettily and Bowyer chimed in, running straight and hard. He was lowered inches short. He played the ball forward and snapped it up to dive across by the

posts. The goal was easy for him, and it was now 18—nil. Kensington strove doggedly to reduce the deficiency. Their backs handled briskly, but flawless tackling proved their undoing. City went further ahead when from a scrum on the hill side, Irving broke away and sent a pass infield to Merrick, who brushed off a couple of would-be tacklers and sprinted across at the corner. Bowyer just missed, 21'—nil. The spectators saw a sample of real combination when Hollows fielded a long-range penalty shot by D. Parkes, which sailed just outside the post, and set a movement afoot from his own goal-line. Backs and forwards participated in a magnificent burst of in-and-out passing, which swept to the opposing twenty-five before a breach applied a check. City were in true scoring mood and their final try came when Merrick flashed through from a play-the-ball and pierced the defence to score his second. Bowyer failed to convert, and the game ended in a meritorious victory for City. City 24 Kensington 0 Mr Hill refereed. CLOSELY FOUGHT HIKUHANGI UNITED PREVAIL Takahiwai elected! to play against the wind in the opening spell of theii match with Hikurangi United. The locals were early attackers and T. Berghan created a fine opening, cnly to lose possession when a try was a certainty. There was some rucking near the Maoris' line, and McGhee snapped up to barge his way across. The kick failed.—Hikurangi 3. Takahiwai 0. J. Berghan featured in a pretty run, but spoilt his effort .with a forward pass. Weak tactics by Takahiwai very nearly let the red and blacks in. Then McKinlay went close with a pot at goal. Hikurangi had the Maoris with their backs to the wall, but two forces brought relief, and, at half-time, it was still 3--nil. The locals sprang into attack without delay when they resumed, and Aldred should have scored, but lost his footing with nobody to beat. After a spell of tame play, Hikurangi came into their own. and a spasm of spectacular play saw them score a fine try. C. Meyer opened up nicely, and sent , Aldred away. Meyer backed up for another pass and finally transferred to ■ E. O’Callaghan, who set full sail and covered 50 yards to materialise. Again ■ the goal missed. Six —nil. ; D. Codling was conspicuous: for a run which gained good ground and then McKinlay went off hurt, and the red and blacks were minus a man. It was , fifty-fifty till towards the end, when offside by W. Meyer allowed B. Pit- ; man to kick a nice goal, and the ; end came with the scores: — Hikurangi United 6 : Takahiwai 2 ; Mr. F. Little was referee. ]