THE FOOTBALL SEASON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12601, 27 June 1904, Page 3

THE FOOTBALL SEASON.

DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHESCONTINUED. WINS FOR NEWTON ANT) GRAFTON. CITY AND PONSONBY PLAY A DRAWN GAME. Thk second round of the Auckland Rugby Union district cup competitions was commenced on Saturday afternoon, when the attendance at. Alexandra Park was one of the largest seen on the Epsom convincing ground this season. The principal attraction there was the City-Ponsonby match, which resulted in a draw, each team scoring a try, the Ponsonby score being obtained a minute or two before the call of time amidst a. scene of the wildest enthusiasm. the crowd having encroached on the field of play owing to inability to follow the closing stages of the game from the fences around the enclosure in the semi-darkness. The Grafton-Pamell match, played on the No. 2 ground, was won by Grafton by 6 points to nil, and the third senior fixture, Newton v. North Shore, played at Devonport, went to Newton, who won by 7 points 1.0 nil. 'The results leave Newton in the lead for the cup, half-a-point to the good of City, with North Shore and Ponsonby following in that order. Appended are the details of the various matches: — CITY V. PONSONBY. A STUBBORNLY-CONTESTED GAME DRAWN. (City 3, Ponsonby 3.)

City and Ponsonby met on the No. 1 ground, Aloxandra Park—Mr. Blakey controlling the game— the toss favouring Ponsonby Hie wearers of the blue-and-black uniforms elected to defend the western goal, having the benefit of a fairly strong breeze, and the sun, when not obscured behind the clouds, at their backs. From the kick-off City assumed the aggressive, and rushing the ball into Ponsonby's quarters W. Tyler had a shot at poal from a penalty against the blue and blacks, but the leather went under the crossbar, and Ponsonby forced. An exchange of kicks among the backs followed the resumption of play, and enabled Ponsonby to roach the half-way peg, but the opposing forwards rushed the leather back to the 25 flag, where Gallaher was penalised for lying on the ball in a scrum, and Lendrum making a. poor return of the free kick awarded to the opposition his side was in trouble. Young got possession from a serum and shot the ball out smartly to his backs, but the Ponsonby defence was of the soundest, the men behind the City pack being grassed in fine style. Aided by a free kick, Ponsonby, cleared their lines, and Renwick boosting the ball up the field Lendrum followed up fast, smothering Cladding's return and carrying play into City ground. A lucky "speculator" by one of the blue and blacks as the ball came out from the side of the scrum added several yards, and snapping the leather up from loose work just inside the City 25 Lendrurn dashed for the lino. Dodging his first opponent, he jumped over a second, who attempted to take him well down, and was across the coveted chalk mark, but only to lose possession and a score in endeavouring to get nearer the goal-posts, with the idea of improving the chance of a goal being kicked. The City forwards came away with ball at toe two or three minutes after the kick-off, and Kenyon slipping in an attempt to field the leather matters looked ugly for Ponsonby, but Renwick came to the rescue, and with a. passing rush, in which Carlaw partnered the Ponsonby centre threequarter, the ball was carried back to neutral ground. City forwards temporarily thrust their opponents back, but Lendrum, by means of smart following up, again placed the red and blacks on the defensive, and a free kick being awarded Francis had a shot at goal from a difficult angle. The leather failed to find the crossbar, and City relieved by forcing. A few minutes later City were again penalised, and a high kick by Gallaher enabling the Ponsonby forwards to get up, they smothered Magee's attempt to field, and were again pressing hotly. The defence was stubborn, and it was several minutes before a chance of scoring presented itself. This was brought about- by, a passing rush initiated by Taylor, who gave the leather to Carlaw, the latter after a short dash sending the ball into touch inside the City 25 flag. Doran improved with a neat bit of dribbling, and Poulson getting the ball from a scrum a score looked likely. Taylor took it. all right, but the chain of attack was broken by Renwick failing to hold the pass from his five-eighths. Carlaw was in support on his left, and it would have been a difficult matter to have prevented him from scoring had his club mate not fumbled Taylor's pass. They wore, however,_j3oon on the move again, but over-eagerness led to wild passing, and the bell sounded half-time, neither side having scored.

Although contending against the wind, Ponsonby opened the second half with a spirited attack, in which Carlaw, with a smart dash down the side-line, gained considerable ground. A couple of scrums followed, and Poulson getting the leather out cleanly to hi? backs Ren wick made a dive for the City line, but holding on a bit too long he was grassed before he could pass to Lendtum, who was moving at top, and had every prospect of scoring had the ball gone to him. The Ponsonby centre threequarter got away again, but Ash or proved a stumbling block, and with a useful kick the City man sent the leather to the half-way peg. Au exchange of kicks followed, and the Ponsonby fullback, Kenyon, making a poor return M'agee snapped it up. The field was practically clear, but after a shortrun he punted instead of passing to George on his right, and an almost certain score was lost to the red and blacks. Just after the kick-off Renwick was injured, and had to leave the field, his place being taken by M. Wood. Ponsonby forced the pace for a few minutes, but with loose forward rushes City turned the tide, and after a bit of decidedly hard luck, in which they swept the ball across the line, and only lost a score through a man slipping just as he was about to fall on the leather, the wearers of the red-and-black jerseys wore rewarded. With a lightning rush their forwards broke away from the line between the half-way and 25 flags and carried the ball over the Ponsonby line, Herring dropping on it and scoring the first try of the day. W. Tyler had the shot at, goal from a difficult angle, making a good but ineffective effort to add tho major points. Ponsonby were, however, by no means beaten, and though City were having something the best of it for some minutes, and had their opponents in one or two tight corners, the blue and blacks fought on with great gameness. Twice City tried to add to the score with penalty goals, but W. Tyler failed to find the crossbar, and then Ponsonby, turning the tables, carried on a vigorous" attack for the last few minutes, and not without result. Once Wood made a smart dash for the line, but was without support, and on another occasion, when the forwards got handling the ball, they lost a likely opening through transferring the ball in mistake to one of tho opposing players, though this was hardly to be wondered at, as it was rapidly growing so dark as to make it difficult to distinguish one from the other. But their time came. Well inside the City 25 Francis snapped the ball up, and with an overhead pass.gave it to Carlaw, who was across the line like r flash. Tho bell sounded immediately after the kick for goal, in which Francis failed, the game thus ending in a draw. Ten minutes before the close Taylor, the Ponsonby five-eighths, was hurt, and O. Riley went on in his place, playing for the Inst live minutes. NOTES. The game was a keenly and stubbornlycontested one between two well-matched teams, though oh the whole the football was not of a particularly high order, as botli sides made mistakes and lost good chances of scoring. With the wind in their favour, Ponsonby had something the best of the first spell, but when this ended without the blue and blacks hoisting a score the odds looked in favour of City winning owing to the advantage of weight in the forward division. Taking the second spell as a whole. City were more frequently oh the aggressive than their opponents, but the lighter forwards of the Ponsonby team fought out the issue with great gameness, and aided by sound defence on the part of the Daeks the team left the field with the honours easy. Their score in the last minute or two was fully merited, as it was the outcome of a. determined and well-sustained attack at a stage when many teams would have thrown up the sponge. Clearly, the Ponsonby boys are never beaten until called upon by 'the timekeeper to leave the field of play. At the same time it cannot be said that their back play was as attractive as usual from an attacking point ot view, and for this Renwick appeared to be mainly responsible, as be failed to handle the ball with his customary accuracy. Every man. however, has his day off. Lendrum a»d Carlaw both played with dash in the attack, and with Renwick got in a lot of solid defensive work, though the first-named lost, his aide a score through tryius to sot- round

behind the posts after crossing the City line. It is always nice to be able to ground the ball between tiio upright* and thus make matters easy for the goal-kicker to add the major points, but players should not take unnecessary risks. Taylor (five-eighths) made one or two good openings for his backs, and Poulson shaped very well behind the scrum, though on one or two occasions his kicking was weak. Kenyon, at fullback for Ponsonby, has played better games, his fielding of the ball showing room for improvement at times, while on more than one occasion he was slow in getting the leather away. Thomas, who occupied a corresponding position in the City team, made fewer mistakes, while in the threequartcr line George showed to most advantage, carrying his full share of the work, both offensive and defensive. Asher did not get the ball too often, and was marked by a solid tackier in Carlaw, though it must be said that he got in a lot of valuable defensive play. His only fault in tins connection was a tendency to tackle his men too high, and had he kept his place towards the end of the game, instead of running round and paying attention to the Pousonby scrum half, he might have prevented Carlaw from crossing the line. Magee and Young, at five-eighths and halfback respectively, did a lot of rush-stopping and tackled soundly. The forwards on both sides worked with a will, Gallaher (Ponsonby) and Nicholson (City) being about the pick, though it was not always certain that the latter was working too hard in the pack. '"Morry" Wood, who went on in Renwick's place in the Ponsonby threequartcr back line during the second spell, was responsible for one or two characteristic dashes in attack, and passed cleanly and at the right moment, but was apparently above himself in condition and short of a run. His reappearance was loudly applauded, and should he continue to play he will no doubt prove a valuable acquisition to the Auckland representative team this year. NEWTON Y. NORTH SHORE. COMFORTABLE VICTORY FOR NEWTON. (Newton ?, North Shore 0.) The defeat which North Shore suffered at the hands of Newton at North Shore on Saturday was no doubt deserved, when the relative merits of the teams, as evidenced in their play, are considered. From the jump it. could bo seen that the home team were going to have a tough time of it, and a tough time of it they had. The visitors, knowing that the Shore van was considerably weakened, owing to the non-inclusion of Yeoland and one or two others through ill-health and other contingencies, made the game essentially a forward one, and it was through this that they won. The visitors' forwards were the heavier and more powerful, and showed plenty of combination and dash. in the pack their formation was splendid—in fact, so much so, that the home division on many occasions failed to stand up to them. Then, in the matter of dribbling, they outclassed their opponents there, too. In the rearguard the Shore men failed again and again to take the ball, and had it not been for the sterling services of Gerrard and Mays, it goes without saying that the homo team would have suffered a severer defeat. That was the form displayed in the first spell. In the second the Shore men rallied considerably, and made a determined attempt to turn their defeat into a victory. It was all "no [ go," however, for the visitors were too strong, and play in consequence was neutral for most of the time. A good deal of " bad blood" has always existed between these teams, and it was very noticeable on Saturday. On several occasions the referee, Mr. Katterns, had to warn the offenders and threaten. Roberts, the Newton captain, got a particularly warm time at the hands of the crowd, who numbered some 1800. The game, which was played on a somewhat sloppy ground, commenced with a scrum at half-way. The Newton forwards heeled-out quickly, and their backs made the most of it, carrying the leather into Shore's territory as a result. Mays secured a mark off Eaton, and centred again. As soon as the leather was passed out Mays again got possession, and by dint of good line-kicking managed to place the leather within 25yds of Newton's line. _ A serum ensued, and here J. Heath made himself conspicuous in getting possession and dashing through the Shore division with all bis might. He did not get far before he was stopped. Murray, who next secured the leather, made a dash across the field, which terminated in a kick, play being centred in North Shore' ground again. Then the Shore men had a particularly lively time in defending their line. The visiters looked bke scoring several times, and Lewis, had he taken tub advantage of an opening before him, would no doubt have got over, but he did not. A serum syds but resulted. The oval was sent out to Murray, who was then in front of the posts, and had a good chance of speculating at goal. He made the most of it, and sent the leather over nicely: Newton 4, North Shore nil. Shore assumed the aggressive for the next few minutes, and put in one or two excellent pieces of passing. Their efforts, however, were of no avail. The Newton forwards, headed by Trevarthen and Long, came away in an overpowering and exceedingly brilliant rush, which' landed play in close proximity to the Shore line. Gordon Rowe, on gaining the leather, transferred to his brother Harold, who made a dash for it. Mays was there, however, arid as soon as his opponent fell and lost possession, forced. Soon afterwards Newton set up another attack, in which play was fast and furious. Gordon Rowe again took charge. As he was about to cross the line he commenced to look round, and so lost his opportunity. He- was immediately pounced upon, and the leather rolling over the line was again forced. The home team gradually worked the leather down the field, where it remained for some considerable time. The Newton men, however, again came away, and landed play upon the Shore 25. Roberts here picked up the oval and passed to H. Rowe, who, making the most of his speed, scored in i the comer. Long failed to convert: Newton 7, North Shore nil- As half-time approached Shore were again in difficulties, and were obliged to force. ; On the resumption of play Shore began by commencing to attack, the principal aggressors being Mays and Gerrard. The Newton men found it extremely difficult to keep them off, and they had to work in order to do so. Lewis, who was playing splendidly, eventually brought relief by a serviceable kick into touch at centre. Neither side for the next twenty minutes or so could make any headway, -play for the most part being confined, to an uninteresting melee among the forwards. Roberts secured a mark, which Long followed up with great brilliancy. On securing control the New Zealand " rep." clashed along the line, getting past all his opponents with the exception of Gerrard, who .collated him low, and picking up the discarded leather saved by kicking into touch. Gerrard's work, though excellent, was not so good as that which was to follow. The Newton forwards came away repeatedly, but as often as they did so they were stopped by Gerrard. Finally he took charge himself, and without any support whatever, carried the ball into Newton's quarters. Half-a-dozen men opposed him, but still they did not stop him from getting within a few yards of their line. As he was dribbling "there a Newton man rushed him, and kicking hard defeated a gallant attempt. Nothing further of interest eventuated, and the game ended in a win for Newton by seven points to nil.

NOTES. The display which was given by the Newton forwards was admirable to a degree. In attack and defence they wore never at a loss, and played with conspicuous dash all through. .While the van all played well, still Trevarthen and Long shone out above them all, and played games quite in keeping with their reputations. . The Newton rearguard were seldom at fault, and whenever the opportunity offered always made the most of it in quick, short passing. Murray, stationed at wing-three-quarter, rendered invaluable, service, and lever made a mistake, while Phillips, as fullback, was almost, if not quite, as good. Roberts lost his temper on several occasions, and but foi this he no doubt would have played better. The display made by the Shore forwards shows that they are not at home without Yecland at centre. Their combination on Saturday was noor, and this remark applies specially to their displays in the scrum*, where they were sadly lacking. McClusky and Wells were the best of them, being responsible for most of the work in the second sped!, where Shore shone out better. Where the rear division (with the exception of Gerrard, Mays, and Frankham) were at fault was in attempting to take the ball. They, and the fullback especially, misjudged the kicks again and again, and bo lost a lot of ground. Gerrard was undoubtedly the hero of Lis side, with Mays a good second, and Frankham a good third. Mr. Katterns controlled the whistle. GRAFTON V. PARNELL. 6, Parnell 0.) A match look place between Grafton and Phrnell on No. 2 ground, at Alexandra Park, and resulted In a win for the former team by 6 points to nil. The exhibition was an indifferent one. Grafton bad their opponents pinned down in their own base almost, exclusively throughout the game, and although the defences were only pierced twice, there wore many occasions on which they went, marvellously near achieving that much-desired oousumm.a,tion,, Xayloi and

Marshall notched tries, which were not converted, Huddiestone failing ia each instance. Grafton indulged in a good deal of pacing, principally initiated by King, and participated in by all the backs, but the defensive tactics were too effective. Neither aide overexerted themselves. SECOND FIFTEENS. North Shore v. Suburbs : North Shore won. by default. City v. Grafton : This mutch lapsed, neither team putting in a:a appealance. SECONDARY SCHOOLS' MATCHES. St. John's I. v. Grammar School: St. John's 6, Grammar School 0. Sacred Heart I. v. King's; Sacred Heart 18, King's 3. Grammar School IT. v. St. John's: Grammar School 12, St. John' 3 0. Sacred Heart 11. v. King's: Sacred Heart 16, King's 0. OLD BOYS' MATCHES. Mount Eden v. Newmarket: Mount Eden 5, Newmarket 3. Newton East v. Epsom : Newton East 5, Epsom 0. Newton West v. Mount Albert: Newton won by default. Napier-street v. (Paruell: Three points each. Parnell B v. Chapel:reet: Parnell 1?, Chapel-street 0. Beresford-street v. Nelson-street: Three points each. Richmond Roaci v. We! esley-street: Richmond Road 6, Wellesley-s 0. Ponsonby v. Bayfield: Ponsonby 8, Bayfield 0. " PONSONBY FOOTBALL CLUB'S CONCERT. An impromptu social was held by the Ponsonby Football Club at their training shed on Saturday evening, when representatives of the various clubs and the Referees' Association were present, and an enjoyable evening was spent. Several toasts were proposed and duly responded to, and the balance of the evening was rilled in with songs and recitations. A successful function was brought to a close with the singing oil " Auld Lang Syne."

ROTORUA UNION MATCHES, [by telegraph.—own correspondent.) Rot orb a, Saturday. la to-day's matches City (6) beat Waikete 5) and Kahukura (11) best Whakarewarewa (nil). The junior contest, City v. Ohinemutu, was won by City by 11 to nil. COROMANDET. UNION MATCHES [BY TELEGRAPH.-- OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Coromasdel, Saturday. „The Rugby football match, Corcmande! v. Kennedy's Bay, was played today, when a, good game resulted in a win for Kennedy's Bay by 3 points to nil. McPike (for Kennedy s Bay) scored a try. WAIHI UNION MATCHES. [BY TELEGRAPH.-- CORRESPONDENT,] \Vatui, Saturday. The third round for the union cup matches) was started to-day, when West and Suburbs: met. More than ordinary interest mi evinced in the game, because Suburbs had only to win and the cup was theirs. Thin result, however, was not consummated, 1 as West played their very best to-day, nnd though; Suburbs triad all they knew to snatch the victory, they round their opponents well on their mottle, and consequently the game was drawn, neither side being able to register a score. Tbn game was very stubbornly contested from the kick-off till the call of time, play being confined mostly to the forward divisions. In the first spell both sides forced several times, and West- had hard luck in seeing one of their forwards (Boxall) cross the line, or.ly to be brought book again owing to beiiij: tackled as he crossed. The second spell was very fast, play travelling up and down at a great rate. ] Manning on one occasion saved a certain try against. West by forcing with several Suburbs men on top of him. Mr. Moore, of Paeroa., refereed. The result puts West out of the Cup, but City still has a slight chance. The following are the relative positions of the teams:— \l wins, 3 draws; West, 1 win, 2 losses, 2 draws: City, 1 win, 2 draws, 1 loss. If City win the next two matches they win the championship, and as their team has been considerably strengthened they may yet be able 'to accomplish this. PAEROA V. PIAKO. [BY TELEGRAPH. — OWS CORRESPONDENT. Paeroa, Saturday. At Te Aroha this afternoon the first representative football match was played, the competing teams being P.ieroa and Piako. After a very interesting game Paeroa -won by 9 points to 3. For the winners Clarke and J. Silcock scored tries, Clarke also kicking a penalty goal. Piako's score was a try obtained by Lowell. The Piako forwards were the better of the two divisions, Paerca's superiority beinjr in the back play. The bast of the Paeroa players were Plynn, Brenan, and Coote (backs), and MeGuire and Rukutai (forwards), while Piako's most prominent men were Curry and Fisher (backs) and Hiokey, Lennard, and Poland (forwards). Mr. Power acted as referee.

PAEROA UNION MATCHES. [BY TELEGRAPH.OWN CORRESPONDENT.} Paeboa, Saturday. The junior match to-day between East and Suburbs was won by East by 6 points (two tries scored by S. Banna.) to* nil. Mr. Fielder had charge of the whistle. East and West are now level for the junior championship. PAEROA TEAM TO PLAY KARANGAHLAKE. [BT TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Paekoa, Saturday. Next Saturday the Paeroa and Karangahake reps, play at Paeroa. when the Paerua team will consist of Vuglar, Coote, Clarke, Ricket, Flynn, Brenan, Silcock, McGuire, Callaghan. Thorburn, Rukutai, W. Sorensen, Hartley, Pennell, and Collins. ' Emergencies, Sherson, McMahon, and Hamilton. ; THAMES UNION MATCHES. [BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Thames, Saturday. ; In view of the representative matct, Thames v. Piako, which takes place on. July 2, the local union arranged a match between A and B teams for this afternoon. The ground was slippery, and the gam©, though fast and willing, was not a first-class exposition of football. Windor and Keating, five-eighths and threequartep respectively, were absentees. In the first spell the B team bad. the advantage, the forwards hooking the • ball more frequently than the A players:, while the backs got on some good passing rushes. Dufty saved his side a lot of work by getting in long kicks into touch. The first spell ended in favour of the B ream by 3 points to nil, Dufty scoring a try, the result of a passing run by E. Price, Kingham, and Dufty. Duffy's attempt at goal was a failure. In the second spell the A team got to work, the forwards, ridge. Hayward, Plant, and G. Smith rushing the ball well into B's territory, where H. Hayward, who was at the head of one rush, worked the leather across B's line and scored. The fittempt at goal was a failure. Later on in the same S. Baker and White got on a fast dribbling rush, and they were followed closely by F. Hayward. who dropped on the ball as it crossed the line, scoring a second try. Another forward rush by the team resulted in Plant crossing the lino and scoring. Morgan's kick failed to increase the score. The B team now rallied and mad© things interesting. Molloy marked in A'r 25, and W. Dufty taking the shot kicked a goal. No further score was mad©, the game thus resulting in a win for the A team by 9 points to 7. Molloy, Sanford. and Mullins were prominent among the B forwards. Mr. F. Ladner had charge of the game. In the junior match Native Rose beat Thames by 6 points to nil. W. Thompson scoring two tries. Mr. W. Meehan acted as referee. THAMES TEAM TO PLAY PIAKC. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Thames, Saturday. The following team has, been selected to represent the Thames Rugby Union against the Piakc reps, here on Saturday next: —Fullback, Newdick; threequarters, Kingham, Morgan, and Keating; five-eighths, Winder; half. Price: wings. F. Hayward and F. ,Baker; forwards, Smith, Molloy, White, Autridge, H. Hayward, Kidd. and Plant. Kmejgencies: Sanford, Clark. Newland, and MuP.ins (forwards). MeOallum, Taylor, Dufty, James, and Houghton (backs). SOUTHERN CUP COMPETITIONS. [BY TELEGBArH. PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Wellington, Saturday. In the senior football games to-day Poneke (3) beat Oriental (nil), Old Boys (8) beat Melrose (nil), and Petone (14) beat Wellington (3). Christchuech, Saturday. The grounds were in good order and the weather fine for to-day's lootball. Albion, 8 points (a goal and a try), beat Linwood, nil; Merivale, 28 points (two goals and six tries), beat Canterbury College, 6 points (two tries); Christchurch, 31 points (three goals, a potted goal, and four tries), beat Old Boys. nil. The Albion team are now safe for the championship with nine points, Christohurcb, Linwood, and Merivale, each six points, being their nearest attendants. Dune din, Saturday. In the senior football matches, to-day, Southern beat Zingari by 4 points to nil, and thus practically won the championship. Alhambra beat Dunedin by 8 points to nil; Kaikorai beat University by 11 to &; Union beat Pirates by 5 to ail.