FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16008, 28 August 1915, Page 10

FOOTBALL.

THE LEAGUE GAME. REPRESENTATIVE MATCH. 1 THAMES V. AUCKLAND. The Auckland Rugby League's representative team will be engaged against the chosen thirteen of Thames at Victoria Park this afternoon. The -visiting team. which will arrive by steamer about, mid-day. includes some players of note, and it is quite probable that the local team will need to play right up to form to win. Anions the, visitors will be J. Dufty. the famous goal-kicker. M. Hayward and H. Havward. New Zealand representative players. The Auckland team includes £>• McGregor. New Zealand representative Rugby threequarter. " Opai " Asher. New Zealand representative league threeauarter. and S. Walters. J. Bennett, and B. 'Mitchell, forwards. In addition to j the mat a goal-kicking competition be-j tween Dufty and Winder, of Thames, ana j Paul and Farrelly, oi Auckland, will be ! held. Patrons of the league are requested j to note that admission to the Thames v. i Auckland representative match is sixpence, and not one shilling, as wrongly inserted in i the advertisement. The teams are as follows ; — ! THAMES. Fullback: J. Dufty. Threequarters : E. Ricket. J. Winder, J. Tookey. Five-eighths: V. Ryan. M Maddison. Halfback: M. Hay-ivard. Forwards: H. Hayward. A. Lomas. F. Wilton. L. Stewart-, G. Ryan. R. Smith. . Emergencies: Forwards. A. Page. W. Wallace: backs, R. Dovell. F- Hayward. j AUCKLAND. ! Fullback: McClymont. Threequarters: D. McGregor. Jones. Asher. 1 Five-eighths: J. Cross. H. Wynyard. j Halfback: Walsh. Forwards: S. Walters. J. Bennett, M. Stannaway. B. Mitchell. Rodgers. Collins. Emergencies: Backs. Boylan and Clark: forward. McWhlrfer. NOTES AND COMMENTS. The Stmnyside teams will wear black bands on their arms to-day out of respect to the memory of Sergeant-Major Charles Sinton. who has been reported killed at the Dardanelles. The club's third and fourth grade teams are leading for the championship.

The Sydenham Club has secured the Canterbury League football championship for the third year in succession, and. as in previous seasons, the result has been obtained by systematic training, a freedom of passing, and the full confidence that each inemDer shows in his colleagues. It has been trie quick in-field passing and -straight, running by the centre backs that has enabled the South Suburbs to win through, and, though they met with one defeat, it was due to not being at full strength, and the players all seemed to have an off-day- The best, exliibition witnessed from the side was in their first game with North Suburbs, which ended in a draw. It was a fine game- A great deal of the success is due to W. King, captain. and W. Bussell. and the combined work of the forwards. In Messrs. C. H. BPoore. secretary, and D. Buchanan, selector, the club has two officials whose ambition has been for success, and by the organised assistance of all this has been accomplished The call of Empire has taken some of the members, but there were ample reinforcements available for the needs of the club.

THE RUGBY GAME. NOTES AND,*. COMMENTS. The second meeting of the Wellington and Auckland teams this season will take place at Athletic Park. Wellington, this afternoon. There was considerable discussion after the match played at. Auckland on August 14 as to whether the result—a- win. to Wellington by 9 points to s—was a fair criterion of the abilities of the teams. On that day the conditions wore very bad. and as Wellington played with the wind for 20 minutes with a dry ball, and Auckland the whole of a spell with a wet ball on a. slippery ground, much argument arose as to the probable outcome of the game had rain not fallen. To-day's match should to a. certain extent settle the argument. The Auckland team will bo minus the services of G. Sellars. probably the best hooker in the Dominion at the present. time, and Wellington will be strengthened by players who could not travel. Even allowing for these contingencies, to-day's match should provide an interesting contest, the result of which will no doubt be eagerly awaited at this end. The senior cadet, secondary school, and public school matches will be continued toay. That famous Otago footballer of other days. Mr. H J. Braddon. who was the hero of a never-to-be-forgotten match between Otago and Auckland, is at the head of a movement in Sydney to form a'battalion of 1000 sportsmen. Another leading Rugby light in the movement is Mr. W. W. Hill, the secretary of the ISew South Wales Rugby Union. The many friends of Captain W. J. Hardham. V.C.. Wellington' representative forward, who was wounded at the Dardanelles, will be pleased to hear that he Jias quite recovered from his wounds and was back again in the firing-line.

THE ASSOCIATION GAME. NOTES AND COMMENTS. The semi-final# of the Falcon Cup are set down for decision to-day, but it is unfortunate the 'wo Brotherhood teams ax© drawn together. The match at Bays-water between • Brotherhood A and B should be rail of lnteiest. Iho junior team is right Kolo j -j Si an " . is a T «ry evenly balanced side. The senior team will rely on the same side which accounted for North Shore on Saturday. The other game will be decided at Devonport. where' Everton JL m'n Tabernacle A. The Tabernacle team will play its usual side, but although Tn£ n^ h ? d by ■ the letter A this is not ■tabernacles senior team. In the circumstances Everton is regarded as fairly cer I?" 1 , the final Tabernacle will have tne assistance of McAneny, who used to Play for Adult School, before he adopted the L«agu Gj game, but as that code his Tabernacle. 6 3 * signcd on for f JiuJ h 4 ® third ,ion Adelphian has defaulted to Richmond on account of 00 many I enlistments. This will ensure Richmond S hlrS 0 3ll F^ ild Rcae £ in « second Ti,« 13 P l ° lnta & ,^ am « in hand. The Tabernacle Club's Falcon Cup team has been considerably altered, and is now Walb°ran WS ' Edmistone, gs,»; vvaipran, iilomfield, Forbes, Swales Girling, Boyue, Walier, Stewart. SlS's 3? 1 ? rendered Operative Si,™ unable to r!ay. * atUßber ° £ memWs Footballers' Battalion at Home in probably by now fit to proceed to the more serious business which prompted its formation An account to. hand recently states — .l' no , mistaking the amount of | work the men have now to do. On three nights » week there is evening drill, and on < Thursday midnight the colonel had the buyers sound the fire alarm to see how quickly they could turn out. The football season may be cloned under F.A. rules, but as Colonel Foil wick— second-in-command —has presented the battalion with two dozen footballs, every field in the neighbourhood of the camp is still m use nightly. On a recent ' fining the officers gave the men on impromptu concert, and Lieutenant Dudley Evans (the Fulham director) made a great name for himself as a tale-teller. On another evening there was a concert in the sergeant's mess, to which people from the neighbouring villages were invited." The traditional exclusiveness of the British officer is not very apparent in the battalion " A fellow feeling makes us wondrous kind/' and. no doubt., the line of demarcation which, prior to the outbreak of war, was so rigidly adhered to in our army, is now practically a myth. Class barrier is now subordinate to a sympathetic prescience of what is before them, and a desire to ameliorate and soften the hardships which each will have to endure. This war will bo the means of introducing a democratic spirit in our army which time will not obliterate, and " across the way " in Franco, one can safely assert that scores of officers are joining in their men's pleasures as the opportunities occur.

At tho annual meeting of the Newcastle United Football Club, cup-holder, the chairman, Mr. J. Graham, said ths playing of football nt-it season depended on tho mooting of the Football Association and the L-euguo, but if there wag not a great change in the war (here was very little prospect of the en 111 going on. Several itoms on the balancesheet were questioned. but satisfactorily explained. It was stated that twelve players had joined the colours, and ten were working on munitions. The retiring directors, Messrs. Cameron, J. Graham. I!. McKenzie, and J. Oliver, werei ro-eiect"d. The account of the club showed a loss of £2050 on the year's working.