THE FOOTBALL SEASON,

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11987, 9 June 1902, Page 3

THE FOOTBALL SEASON,

«- 1— FIFTH SERIES OP DISTRICT CUP MATCHES. WINS FOR CITY, PONSONBY, AND GRAFTON. The district Cup competitions tinder the auspices of the Auckland Rugby Union were continued on Saturday afternoon at Alexandra Park. Epsom, when the fifth series of matches in the various grades were played off. The weather was fine, and, allowing* for the strong counter-attraction provided by the Auckland Racing Club at Ellerslie, the attendance was satisfactory. In the seniorgrade fixtures City, Ponsonby, and Grafton won from Newton, Suburbs, and Parnell, the victories in all three instances being decisive. Appended are the details of the various matches played: — ANOTHER VICTORY FOR CITY. . EASY WIN OVER NEWTON. (City 12, Newton 0.) City met Newton on No. 1 ground. Mi'. P. Mackie was referee, and controlled the game in his usual efficient style. In summarising the game, there is little to be said, save that the first spell was fairly even, though with a slight advantage to City, who appeared to play with more dash than their opponents. Newton showed flashes of form, and attacked in really good style on one or two occasions, but their effort'-, wore not consistent, and were nullified on several occasions by injudicious play near their opponents' line. The second spall was entirely one-sided, and consisted of a series of rushes en the part of City, who from the outset sustained the attack and kept the play pretty well confined to the red-and-whites' territory. Newton backs defended well, otherwise the score agiainst them would have been much bigger. City won the toss, and decided to defend the western goal. Newton opened on the attack, and a few minutes after the kick-off sent the ball over the line, City forcing. The red-and-whites replied with a strong rush, capped by a dangerous-looking passing run by the threequarters; which was only terminated 10yds from (heir opponents' line. From the throw-in City relieved, mainly through the instrumentality of Asher, and then invaded the Newton 25, where the forwards of both sides put in some hard work. Play continued between the 25 and half in this part of the ground for several minutes, till a long Newton kick sent the oval across the line, and' Donovan forced. The kick-off was followed by a City rush, W. Tyler eventually securing and making a fine run right into Newton, ground, where the advantage was, however, lost, as he had no one handy to whom he could pass. A few moments later City had another chance, a -mart forward rush taking the ball right up to Newton's line, where Pillenger (threoc|uarter) saved just in the nick of time with a short run and a lucky kick. The relief, however, was only momentary, as the City vanguard continued to press, ami Asher, snapping up tho ball, made an opening with one of his feinting runs, and enabled Lindsay to get over close by the uprights. Donovan took the kick, but failed to convert:: City 3, Newton 0. Piny hung at centre for a long time, till a strong Newton rush, with Wilson in the van, saw the scene of action in City's 25, where Donovan just managed to save by kicking out. City quickly regained the lost ground, and were soon penning Newton on the latter's own line, close to which several line-outs occurred, and finally a most opportune free kick came to the rescue of the red-and-whites, who then sallied down the field and look the game to the other end of the ground. The ball went, over and City were forced. When play was resumed City were quickly back in their opponents' territory, where several loose scrambles followed. Newton l allied, and when half-time sounded they had kicked out right at the corner. Upon resuming, City placed Newton on the defensive, and the red and-blaek forwards coming away with a rush the ball was kicked hard to the Newton fullback, who sent it out in his own 25. Loose play after the throw-in threatened the Newton line, but their forward- relieved by a smart dribble. Tie' relief was merely temporary, as City returned to the attack, and from a scramble near the line Movrin picked up and dashed over, scoring City's second try. W. Tyler took the shot at goal, but failed to convert: City 6. Newton 0. The kick-off was marked by City, who sent the ball out on Newton's side of half-way. The throw-in was smartly taken by Young, who kicked out at Newton's 25 flag.' Loose play followed the throw-in, and " Jumbo" Pillenger gained ground for his side by a dodgy run. Newton were penalised for offside play, and City transferred play to then- opponents' 25, where Newton was awarded a free kick and sent the ball out at centre. From the throw-in Newton worked the ball down to City's 25, where Pilienger picked up and made a dash, but failed to pass. A scrum ensued, and the red-andblack forwards came right away with the ball to the Newton fullback, who kicked out near Newton's 25 flag. From the throwin a passing rim by City looked dangerous, but Asher failed to take the ball, and a scrum resulted. Newton forwards, with A. Wilson in the van, carao away with the ball, but kicked too hard, and City sent it out near the- corner flag. Newton obtained possession from the throw-in and kicked hard to Donovan, who potted at goal, and Newton forced. Kicks were exchanged, and City marked, sending the leather out at Newton's 25. From the throw-in a scrum was formed on the 25 line, and Rowe, beating the City wings, took the ball up the field and sent it out at half-way. City forwards came away with a rush from the line-out, which was well stopped by Brash, who kicked out on Newton's side of half-way. From loose play near the red-and-whites' 25 City wore awarded a free kick, and Tyler had a shot at goal, kicking p. poster. Kicks were exchanged, and Asher sent the leather out in Newton's 25. City rushed the ball over the line from the throw-in, but Pillenger, nipping in smartly, forced. Tight play in Newton territory followed the kick-off, until City broke through with v forward rush. Scott picked up near the line, and, dashing over, scored City's third try. Tyler again took the kick at goal, but faded to add to the score.: City 9, Newton 0. From this out play was confined to Newton territory, the latter only once relieving the puessure. and taking the ball to City's 25. The red-and-blaeks soon brought the leather back to Newton territory, and from a forward rush Morrin scored City's fourth try, which Tyler failed to convert: City ]?.. Newton 0. Newton kicked off. and City immediately rushed the ball over the line, and Newton forced. From the kickoff play was taken to half-way, where Rowe kicked out, and the whistle blew, the game ending: City 12, Newton 0.

NOTES. Donovan, at fullback for City, had not much work, but accomplished his share satisfactorily, albeit a trifle slow in returning. Pillenger, at fullback for Newton, was overburdened, but played a sound game, taking the ball well and generally finding the line with his kicks. Jn tackling also he made no mistakes, and came out of a trying ordeal creditably. Of the City threequarters, As.her stood out most prominently, being here, there, and everywhere, but generally in the right place at the right time. The other threequarters played fair games and handled the ball well. Stevens gained ground often by judicious line kicks. The Newton threequarters defended well, find were kept busy in this department. Jumbo" Pillenger's play was an improvement on his last week's "exhibition, but he must learn to pass oftener. The City five-eighths and Cowan for Newton both played creditable games, the latter player showing more dash than the other Newton backs. Young, at halfback for City, got the ball away cleanly and gained ground for his side by clever screw kicks. Rowe, the Newton half, had not many chances of getting the ball away, but was very sound in defence, and stopped several ugly rushes'. The City forwards played a dashing game, and outclassed the opposing vanguard. All grafted well, Tyler and Scott showing prominently among a willing lot. The Newton vanguard are a heavy, likelylooking lot, but evidently lack combination. At times they showed flashes of form and played with dash, but lack of condition told a tale at the finish, and City had matters pretty much their own way. A. Wilson was to the fore in all the Newton rushes, and grafted hard in the scrum. PARNELL AGAIN DEFEATED. (Grafton 25, Parnell 0.) The No. 4 ground was occupied by Grafton and Parnell, who played an uninteresting, and for ilie must part one-sided, game, resulting in the decisive defeat, of Parnell by 25 points, the losers failing to score. Mr. Surman had charge of the whistle, and his decisions were not always received with satisfaction. To followers of the game, the referee certainly appeared to err more than once. Grafton won the toss, and elected to defend the western end, baring the sun at their backs. From the kick-off the maroons had their opponents on the defensive for several minutes, when their back division, getting a good passing run on, they came near' scoring, Grafton forcing. Again the attack was renewed, but offside play gave the black-and-white!; a penalty kick, which relieved the pressure. A little later, from loose play. King, the Grafton fullback, scut tie- leather travelling. Dick McGregor secured and passed to " Scobie" McKenzie, Thomson taking a neat pass from him and getting over near the corner rather easily. Brady took the kick, making a pood attempt, but failed to add to the score: Grafton 3, Parnell 0. Shortly after the kick-off Thomson potted a beauty from a good position, but the referee disallowed the goal, presumably not having seen the kick, for the ball had passed fairly between, the uprights. Parnell, who were playing with nearly half-a-team of juniors, made an effort, but the Grafton backs from an opening made by Kiernan, got a. dangerous rush on. Robinson, the last man to take the pass, being thrown out on. the line. Play was. very slow and uninteresting for a time, neither side showing much dash. McKenzie had a shot at. goal from a. penalty kick, but failed. The same player presently mado an opening, and Thomson, backing him up well, took the ball at the right time, ran in, find scored in a good position. Kicrnan's attempt to convert was a poor one: Grafton 6, Parnell 0. Again Dick McGregor made an opening, but Robinson mulled the take. Kiernan then secured, passed to Thomson, who fed Taylor, the latter passing to McKenzie, who was thrown out near the corner, but not before he had transferred tin l leather to Thomson, who had smartly followed up, and who dashed over and scored his third try. McKenzie was entrusted with the kick, but failed: Grafton 9, Parnell 0. Give-and-take play followed, and the ball was in neutral territory at halftime. Scon after the opening of the second spell Dick McGregor broke through the opposition and passed to McKenzie, who potted a neat goal: Grafton 13, Parnell 0. Taylor, the Parnell fullback, saved an ugly rush a little later. Play waxed hot in the maroons' territory, their defence perceptibly weakening, though the black-and-whitcs did not exert themselves over much, playing rather loosely. Chevis made one or two attempts to break away for Parnell, but the whistle called him back. In the next few minutes the maroons forced three times, the Grafton threequarters making repeated attacks. Brady had a shot from a. penalty kick, which went near. Parnell rallied a little, but the black-and-whites responded, Dick McGregor securing from a. line-out and passing to Neville, who passed neatly to McKenzie, the latter breaking clean througth the opposition and getting over at the corner. Thomson failed to convert: Grafton 16, Parnell 0. The Grafton forwards soon after took a hand, and, rushing the attack, MacCormick scored another try. King also ■ failing to convert: Grafton 19, Parnell 0. Then ensued a lot of scrum work in front of the maroons' goal, -Rod'McGregor finally intercepting a pass and getting over. This time Taylor took (he kick, but did not add to the score: Grafton 22, Parnell 0. Parnell's efforts were half-hearted, their opponents not giving them an inch, and the maroons, after forcing again, were demoralised. Near the call of time Thomson broke away and streaked down the line, getting over at the corner, so near that some of tin? onlookers thought he fell on the flag. The referee allowed a try. which Dick McGregor failed to convert: Grafton 25, Parnell 0. The whistle went a few minutes later. NOTES. The match does not call for much comment. It was a foregone conclusion from the start, for, though Parnell's opening play was plucky, they had not the material necessary to withstand the black-and-whites. They played only eight seniors, considering which fact their .game in the first spell was meritorious. For the losers, Taylor did good service at fullback. The ' threequarters, Foster, McDonald, and Shera, also worked hard, but did not often show up. Twinimc played a useful game at fiveeighths, and McCarthy was prominent more than once at halfback. Of the forward-. Hancock made (he bravest show, but his pack never got on to an equality with him. Chevis and Taylor, on the wings, played alertly, but got very few chances. For Grafton, King, the fullback, had very little to do, but was there when called upon. Four threequarters were played, and the combination was a strong one. barring an or;, casional weakness on the right wing, where Robinson played. The other wing threequarter, Thomson, played a splendid game throughout, his tries being cleverly got. McKenzie and Dick McGregor put in a lot of solid work as tbroeqtiarter centres, tin two being the strong point in the team. Taylor was active at five-eighths, whilst Kiernan mad. 1 few mistakes at halfback. Of the pack, Hod McGregor, Brady, MacCormick, and Neville were the oftenest prominent, though Stead and Shand were useful, the wings (Hitchcock and Hill) also doing their share. There was a good deal of careless play cm the part of the Grafton team, due, perhaps, to the rather humble estimate they had of their opponents' powers. A little more combination and energy will have to be studied when they 'meet doughtier players. SUBURBS DEFEATED BY PONSONBY. (Ponsonby 14, Suburbs 0.) On No. ?. ground Ponsonby met Suburb--. Mr. Blakey acted as referee. Ponsonby opened out. quickly on the attack, and the spell was not far advanced before Doran got over the line. Francis failed to convert: Ponsonby 3, Suburbs 0. Before half-time was sounded another try was added as the result of a bit of work between McColl and Riley. Francis converted: I'onsonby 8, Suburbs 0. Early in tie. second spell Doran scored from a rush, in which McColl was prominent Ponsonby 11, Suburbs 0. Soon afterwards the bluc-and-blacks had a shot at goal, but no score resulted. McColl attempted a pot from a likely position, but the ball went wide. Suburbs forced. This was followed by a smart dash by the Suburbs threequarters, which ended close to Ponsonby's line, where the game hung for a lew minutes, but Ponsonby were not lone in getting back to their old position in Suburbs' territory, where play remained most of the spell. " In the last few minutes of the gam" McColl dropped over the line. The try was not converted, and the game ended: I'onsonby 14, Suburbs 0. NOTES. The game was most uninteresting throughout. ft practically resolved itself into a series of forward rushes and scrambles, and then' was little, if any, good «assing. i he winning forwards outclassed their opponents, but the combination on either side was creditable. McColl and Doran were very prominent on the Ponsonby side, and the oaeks played a fair game. Suburbs' backs were not too brilliant, but. were playing behind a lieaten team. SECOND FIFTEENS. I'onsonby 11. beat Suburbs 11. by 12 points to nil. The Grafton 11.-Parnell 11. match went to Grafton by default. City 11. beat Newton 11. by 3 points to nil.

THIRD FIFTEENS. Parnell HI. " B" team beat North Shore 111. by 3 points to nil. Parnell 111. "A" team beat Ponsonby 111. " IV team by 8 points to nil. The City 111. v. Newton HI. game went to City by default. PUBLIC SCHOOLS' CHAMPIONSHIPS. '" a" SECTION". Wellesley-street tied with Nelson-street, each side scoring 3 points. Beresford-street beat Mount Eden by 27 points to nil. Grafton beat Newton East by 6 points to nil. Onelutnga beat Napier-street by 38 points to nil. The Parnell-Richmond Road match went to Parnell by default. ,s I'onsonby v. Devonport went to Devonport by default: '" 3" SECTION*. Epsom beat Chapel-street by 6 points to 3. Remuera, Bayfield, and Newmarket won their matches by default against Beresfordstreet, Ponsonby, and Ellerslie respectively. PAEROA UNION MATCHES. [BY TELEttKAi'H. -OWN t i ihKISPIIM .-KN'T. ] Paekoa, Saturday. The matches under tie; auspices of the Paeroa Rugby Union were continued to-day, when West met Suburbs. There was a very fair attendance, and the ground was in very good order. The game was a very close one. being very stubbornly contested. The play 1 was not very brilliant, though at times Suburb-.' backs got un some very good passing runs. Tile defence on both sides was very good, and no score resulted, the game ending in a draw. For Suburbs, Robinson. Goose ' man, Smith (backs), Thorburn and Rukutaia (forward-) were the pick, while Manning, Chamberlain, Flynu (backs) Nicholas and Johnson (forwards) played best for West. Mr. W. Moore was referee. The second match, under the Schools' Union, was also played, Paeroa meeting Kara hake at Mackaytown. Paeroa. had an easy win by 37 points to nil. WAIHI UNION MATCHES. IIY TKLE'iKAI'H.— COB.KKSI'ONI>F.XT.] Waihi, Saturday. The Waihi football cup matches were continued to-day. West won from Waikino bv default. The West 11.-Suburbs If. game was drawn. The match was keenly contested, and there was no store on either side. In the match Waikino If. v. City 11. the former won by three points to nil. THAMES FOOTBALL. ["FROM OUR OWN" rOItRKSI'O.NUF.XT. ] Thames, Saturday. In view of the approaching representative matches the Management Committee of the local union decided to postpone the senior cup fixture and arrange a practice match between A and B teams. The public, no doubt, anticipating an uninteresting display, did not patronise the grounds as well as usual. The teams- were:— \: Full, Jackson ; threequarters. McLean, Morgan, and Kingham: half, Houghton; wings, Hansen and A. Cameron; forwards, McDnff, S. Baker, Molloy. G. Smith, Mulh'ns. McPike. B: Full, A. Newdick ; threequarters, Dnnlop, Dufty, and Farrelly; five-eighths, Waite; half. Price ; wings. Cooper and .T. Cameron; forwards. Autridge, Dnnlop, McDonald, MeKee, B. Smith. P. Baker. The game was generally of an uneventful nature, few of the players showing anything like "rep." form In the A team, Houghton, as half, made a few good openings, initiating passing runs bv Morgan. McLean, and Kingham. In the B team. Price, at half, plaved well, but the backs were weak as a whole, but their forwards equalised matters. McDnff. Mulh'ns, and McPike shone most conspicuously among the A forwards, while Autridge, McDonald, and B*ker were of great assistance to the B division. Towards the end of the game, from a scrum near A's line, B team made a scrambling rush, over the line. Cooper scoring a try which Dnftv converted. The A team now livened up and made play a little interesting-, when Price started a passing run from a throw-in: this was followed by a forward rush, and Dufty coming through ouieklv scored a try for B's. He took the kick himself, but failed to increase the score. The Tame ended in favour of B team by eiebt points to nil. Mr. G. Paul acted as referee. Mr. .Tno. McGregor, selector, was present, with a view to selecting a t"am to meet, Waihi on the 28th inst, or Karamrahnke at an earlier date. In the first junior contest True Blue scored a victory over Native Rose by 12 points to nil. New scored two tries, one of winch was converted bv Ri'ekit, who also kicked a penalty goal. Mr. F. Lodner acted as referee. Tn the second initio-* match. Native Rose defeated True Blue 11. by three points fa try scored bv McGinn) to nil. Mr. J. MeTntyre had charge of the game. SOUTHERN CUP COMPETITIONS. [BY TELKGEAPIf. —PRESS i.Rs'orrATfON.l Wellington, Saturday. In to-day's football matches Melrose (10! beat Oriental (8). Wellington (1?.) beat Old Boys (8), Athletic won by default from Pet one. CHRISTOnURCH, Saturday. Tn the senior football competitions to-day (played in perfect weather) Linwood beat Christchurch by seven points to nil, Albion boat Old Boys by 14 to 8. Sydenham beat Merivale by 6to 3. The points for the championship now stand: Linwood, 8: Christchurch. 6; Sydenham. Ii; Albion 4- Merivale, 1£; Old Boys, nil. Du.veuin-, Saturdav. In to-day's senior football matches Kaikorai defeated Zingari by 3 points to nil, Alhambrn beat University by 12 to 3, and Southern beat Dunedin by 6 to 3.