ATHLETIC SPORTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18393, 8 May 1923, Page 5

ATHLETIC SPORTS.

FOOTBALL.

-UNDER LEAGUE RULES.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The club competitions of the Auckland Rugby Football League were opened on Saturday under rather adverse weather conditions. It augurs well for. the prospects of the game that several thousand spectators attended at Carlaw Park to witness the two matches played at the chief convincing ground of the league. The improvements to the park were much admired and the extra accommodation provided by the terraces no doubt will ba much appreciated before the close of the season. With the success that has attended the league's efforts in connection with Carlaw Park" there should result a further attempt to secure suitable playing grounds that will be urgently required for the extension of the game. The contest between those old rivals, Ponsonby and Newton, which was fought out on No. 1 ground at Carlaw Park, was always fast and interesting. Ponsonby showed superior dash, particularly among the forwards, in the first spell and led by the useful margin of ,8 points at half time, the scores then being 10 points to 2. Newton monopolised the scoring in the first half of the second spell and the points were even shortly before the call of time; On the run of the play a draw or a win for Newton appeared to be the roost likely outcome of a strenuous struggle. There occurred one of those happenings which make one of the most attractive features of the game. A solid Newton attack was turned into defence when McNeil snapped up the ball in the loose and broke away. Delgrosso joined in and with characteristic ■ dash sped for the line, drawing the defence. McNeil had moved up again in support and only had to accept Delgrosso's return pass to score. It was a line piece of play and deserved a score, but on the general run of the play Newton were rather unlucky to lose. A draw would have more closely indicated the merits of the game. Under the conditions of a wet turf and a greasy ball, both sides did extremely well though mistakes in passing were frequently made.

Ponsonby and Newton Players.

For the winners E. McGregor, at fullback, did very well. He is on the light side but his tackling is very sound and he made no mistakes in that department. Among the thrcequartera Delgrosso showed his accustomed dash and was well rewarded. In Kelly the club has secured a useful back who may be expected to do better than he did on Saturday. . The same remark applies to Williams, McClure and Cole. Pitman at halfback did very well with limited opportunities. The ball seldom came to tho Ponsonby half from the scrum, but he generally made good use of it when the opportunity came. The Ponsonby forwards are a sound lot and they set a very fast ; pace, particularly in the first spell. In the second half , their following : up could have been better. They all worked well, however, McNeil, Henderson and Cook being particularly prominent. For Newton Gregory nt fullback played a useful game and. made no inexcusable mistakes. He does excellent work for his club. Of the threequarters Brown was the most prominent and has only to maintain his form to again earn representative honours. Cloke did some excellent work and may be pardoned for missing some passes at a crucial stage of the game, Ho is a fine player at his best. Whittington on the right wing gave promise of doing useful ' service for his club. ' Quintall at five-eighths did a great amount of good work. He should develop into a fine player. Poison was the most prominent back on the field, which' was largely due to the fact that the ball came consistently to him from the scrum. .He operated very capably and has started* the season well. The Newton- forwards are an even lot and played up like Trojans in the second spell. It is difficult to individualise among them but Stack, Somers and James frequently caught the eye in good work. 'v'. , ; /

Richmond's Plucky Effort.

Marist Old Boys opened the season well by defeating Richmond and the latter did well to score 15 points against their seasoned opponents. Marist -had the advantage in weight, the forwards in particular being a solid combination. They should prove formidable opponents for any team in the competition this season. Richmond's turn is coming. For the winners Gallagher and Foss showed good form among the backs. The forwards were very even with perhaps Turner the most prominent. For Richmond Hanlon at fullback saved his side repeatedly, his handling of the hall being exceptionally good. Campney, J. McLean and Hyland were responsible for some clever work that would have been more effective on a dry ground. Butler and McKenzie showed up well in a hard-working pack. The game between Athletic .and Devonport at North Shore was well patronised and a fine game was witnessed. Athletic scored four tries to nil, but the game was much more evenly contested than the scores would indicate. For the winners Yavdley, McGregor, Kirkland and Nicholson were prominent- among the backs. Of the forwards Dufty, Avery and Miller showed to advantage, the last-mentioned infusing much- of his old-time dash into his play. Kirkland is a last year's fourth grade player from Otahuhu- who shows much promise. Timmins and Wilson Hall from Waikato should also do good service for their new club.

The Devon port players lost good scoring opportunities through over-eagerness and should have notched points on more than one occasion. They would do well to study the methods of their captain. He is apparently never in a hurry, but his actions are always effective. Of the individual players on the side Hand, Laing, Scott and Smith were prominent among the backs. O'Brien and »St. George were very busy among the forwards.

The City Team.

The City team' had a bye on Saturday, but last year's champions will be seen in action nest Saturday. It is stated that there will be additional weight in the City pack this season. This should pro vide the, stiffening that was required in the team toward the end of last season. The backs will again be a very speedy combination capable of demonstrating thai the best form of defence is attack.

Judging from the play on the opening day the struggle for championship honours among the senior teams is going to be -1 strenuous one. The first games of the season revealed no marked sunerioritv in any of the clubs. Unless the City players produce their very best form throughout the season the position in the competition from week to week should be very exciting. Players at Waihi.

The following letter has been received from a Waihi resident who writes under the nom de plume of Leagueite :— " Will you kindly allow me space in your columns to contradict a statement made bv the delegates of the Waihi Rugby Union referring to the League game in Waihi having been tried and failed and that no playor that took part in anv of those parries was registered with the Thames Valley Rugby Union. I was surprised to read such a statement a? such must have been made to shield the Waihi L'nion from that srana era body the New Zealand Rugby Union for rot sending these names down as League players which should have been done lastyear. Every player who took part in those games was a bona fide player of the Waihi Rugby Union. Last year when the Leasrue was being played the players were told that they were professionals and that they could not again play —by. but * to-day the Waihi Rumy Union is taking them back with open arms This proves that the Rugby Union will take ' back any player who plays League as none of these player.* were reinstated by the New Zealand Busby Unions and are playing Rugby again" this year under the Waihi Rugby Union."

THE ASSOCIATION GAME.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

In 'Association football, -where skilful footwork is an essential to good play, a wet day usually lowers the standard, and thins the ranks of the spectators. . But last Saturday proved an exception,' for at all the senior matches good crowds attended and were rewarded by some sparkling football. At Victoria Park much comment was heard among the spectators on the fact that they were compelled to stand on the wet turf to watch the " Soccer " match, while the ground in front of the stand was not being used. Some were inclined to blame the management committee, but inquiries reveal that the fault does not lie in that direction. The City Council grants the use of No. 1 ground to Rugby, League, and Association in turn, and although the Association Executive would like the use of it every Saturday, it must respect this ruling. The Y.M.C.A.-Ponsonby match, played on the Devonport Domain, was the greatest surprise of the day. Victory lay with Y.M.C.A. by 3 goals to 0, and this on top of their heavy defeat by Northcote last week seems hard to explain, for on paper the Ponsonby eleven is second to none in the competition. It is probably the old story of a team thinking that the result was a foregone conclusion, for judging by. their display in the first half, the Ponsonby players did appear to take their opponents lightly. After Y.M.C.A.'s first two goals Ponsonby certainly woke up, but although they were attacking most of the second half they could not add the finishing touches.. Y.M.O.A.'S Strong Defence. ' Honours of the day must go to the Y.M.C.A. defence. Miller, in goal, was right at the top of his form, and dealt with all kinds of shots in a finished manner. Skipwith and Coltman, with their prompt clearances in the fullback line gave their forwards every chance in attack. All the halfbacks played sound games, with Clanachan perhaps the outstanding figure. He repeatedly broke up the Ponsonby attack, his untiring efforts being a great asset to his side. Of the forwards Woods at centre, and the outside right, played splendidly. Both are on the light side," but lack of weight is more than counter-balanced by speed and nippy play. Stevens worked hard as centre forward and was throughout a source of annoyance to the opposing dafence. Not one of the Ponsonby team played up to form, and all will do well to take Saturday's lesson to heart. The »game between Philomel and Harbour Board was robbed of a good deal of interest on account of both teams being disorganised through casualties to regular players, but it was well worth watching. Philomel is still feeling badly the absence of Corbett. but it is announced that the star centre half will bo available for the rest of the season, and will take the field next Saturday. Harbour Board showed to better advantage than in their game on the previous Saturday. German was the outstanding performer, playing an excellent game at centre half. He should do well as - the season advances. Of the other players, Watkins and Coveney both did remarkably well. Lewis played a great game for Philomel, his bursts of speed on the wing and tricky footwork being a treat .to witness. ; ; k

Horthcote Forwards' Pine Form.

Northcote forwards are proving themselves great scorers this season, having already scored 21 goals in three matches. Saturday saw them in great form against Brotherhood, when they won by five clear goals. Knott and ■ Tremain are playing exceptionally well together, the latter apparently regaining his form of a few seasons back. Knott ha& been wonderfully consistent so far, and is distinctly unfortunate in not securing a placa as inside left in the team for Australia. Thompson, centre half, a new man, plays clever, cool football and is a decided acquisition to the team. The wing halves were not up to senior form on Saturday, giving many opportunities to the opposing forwards. Cadness was unfortunate in having to retire with an injured knee. Corrin, at left fullback, played a solid and useful game, his tackling and placing being of a very high order indeed. Craxton, as usual, was very safe in goal. Altogether, Northcote have a fine 'side, combining well and indulging in fast, clean movements.

Brotherhood put up. a great fight and were rather unfortunate to get such * a sound beating. . They hare a fine player Shields, at centre half, while McDonald, outside right, was easily the pick of the forward line. Ferguson, who kept goal for some time, also played a sterling game. It was regrettable that they could not put a full team in the field on Saturday, and it is to be hoped that they will pull together from now on. as the material is there for the building up of a clever side, which will trouble the opposition later on.

The Question ol Appeals.

North Shore's victory over Thistle by the odd goal in five was well deserved on the day's play. The game should be a lesson to Thistle to play to the whistle. When the fullbacks and goalkeeper stopped to appeal for offside against Malone on Saturday, they practically gave North Shore the goal which brought victory to the visiting team. In passing one is constrained to remark that Thistle are not the only offenders in this respect. There is far too much appealing done by certain of the senior clubs and their supsorters on the side . line. To say the oast, it is not sporting and may do much to turn public feeling against a game which shows promise of becoming very popular in this city. It should always be remembered that the referee is in a far better position to see the finer points than anybody else; also that he gives his services voluntarily and is indispensable to the progress of the game. Thistle's play lacked the combination which was such an outstanding feature on the previous Saturday. The absence of Mills was keenly felt, necessitating Brittain dropping back to left full and disorganising the half line, in which Bennett was the only player of merit. Brittain and Thomas were the mainstays of the defence, their play leaving nothing to be desired. In the forwards Anderson and Stewart were not up to form. Williams did some brilliant work on the right, with the inside man Dodds. Both scored clever goals. Keane was overanxious and was, robbed of many excellent passes from Dodds through standing too far up field. All the North Shore forwards played well. C. Dacre was continually on the ball, while Malone, a promoted junior, acquitted himself excellently. Goldwater missed a lot of openings in the first half from Woolley's passes through not being in position. The veteran outside left is playing as well as ever, scoring a clever goal. Buchanan, at centre half, was a tower of strength, while Davidson shaped well considering ho is new to senior football. Haycock,*handicapped by a badly injured knee, was prominent at times. Simpson and Craig played good football \ in the back line, the latter being quite as ! good as L. Dacre, whsoe position he has ! taken. Hntter, in goal, was hardly up | to senior form. I

With so many players from England 1 and Scotland in the ranks of senior "Roc- < cer," it is pleasing to notice that three j of the Aucklanders chosen to lour Aus- [ tralia are New Zealand born. They are j C. Dacre, R. Braithwaite and R. In- j nes.

PROPOSED PLAYING AHEA. '•! 1 COMMITTEE TO REPORT. j j A meeting of followers of the Ass.oeia- ( tiou game was held at the Chamber of j Commerce last evening. Mr. J. Campbell, j a life member, was elected to the chair, j The subject under discussion was the I necessity of the Association having its \ own ground. Mr. Menzies. chairman of ! the Grounds Committee, gave a descrip- j tion of the locality of the proposed j ground, which is at- Grafton Gully, with an easy access from Queen Street. It j was decided to appoint a special com- I mittee to go into the question. and the j following were appointed:— Messrs. Dixon, j Goldstein, Marks. Rstson, Braitbwaite, j Lav.son, Bowie, Moaatt, Williams, Men- ; zies. Harper, Han kin, and Ritchie. j The committee is to report to a meet- • ing to bo held nest week.