UNDER LEAGUE RULES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18501, 11 September 1923, Page 4

UNDER LEAGUE RULES

NOTES AND COMMENTS, ROOPE ROOSTER SEMI-FINALS Some excellent football was witnessed in the ! : semi-finals »- of ' the Roopo Rooster competition:: at i Carlaw Park, on " Saturday. In the City-Devonport -match both sides threw; the ball about freely, ■but the pace of the : City ' backs;" enabled them to ; stave off their opponents' : attacks. Many times the Devonport attempts to get moving •in combination were frustrated by the quick moving inside backs of City getting in to spoil the passing chain. Laing was well marked by Wetherall Vand,;'.. his many attempts f. to s break through and make openings were foiled, and he appeared; to be too anxious to make a breach .in; the defence before parting with the'- ball, but his tactics: in this respect were not as objectionable as some of ■ the spectators seemed to think. ;It was only after; he had repeatedly seen his supports fail to get through with the ball that he attemptod to :go through on his ; own. * Ho occasionally succeeded, but was compelled to cut away from his supports and was tackled with the ball. It must be remembered that ;he was opposed to exceptional speed. (-,,.'. -'.V The City players ■ sparkled •in tho second spell ; as > they always do when i the opposition lags. Forwards and backs showed great speed and fine handling ability, and their pace had the opposition non-plussed. All the City backs played well, but W. Davidson with a doubtful leg appeared to be saving himself in the first half. He went fullback in tho 'second spell, but his " leg went with him. He was carried off the held toward the end of the game. The City] forwards showed excellent form. Ihe out- j standing man in all-round work perhaps i was McDonald, though Thomas, .Hawkes, ] Mackio and Casey were all handling the ball well and showing; great dash. Keid operated as hooker for the team. It is ] cratifving to see ■ that Hawkes has re-1 gained his form. He played a fine game.-; Thomas surprised the spectators by showing a turn of speed that few thought he j possessed. Devonport Players' Merits. ] It is rather difficult to assess the merit of tho Devonport backs on the.exhibition they provided. Taylor gave a fairly good display at fullback. The threequaxters were fast, and Godick showed fine dash until Re had to retire injustt 1 - ?? backs; threw the ball about freely, but the passes were not snappy enough, and the opposing backs had time to get in and tackle before tho , ball could be got away. Garrett played well at naif back, except for an occasional wild pass to Laing. *« e forwards strove valiantly, but lacked the combination" of their opponents. Douglas, O'Brien and Scott were prominent in much good work. -*\ , '.''',, ■ Some footballers know where to stop. In the City-Devonport match on .Saturday City turned defence into attack with dramatic suddenness. A. City back broke through the defence, and at .. half-way transferred to G. Davidson, who had a 10yd. start and a clear field ma very few strides. .In a moment there was only one runner on tho field, the ' Devonport men being content to watch in resigned desperation the City greyhound trot on and score under the posts. An amusing feature of the incident was that Davidson, evidently non-plussed at tho cessation of hostile action, turned round to see if the referee had blown his whistle for an infringement. The referee happened <x> bo the only other man attempting to run ■; at the time. It was a matter of duty with

him. "y%. ■■ , ■' a Improved City Forwards. The City pack, which was rather lacking in weight at the beginning of the season, has developed into a fino combination. Thomas, whoso weight has been a fine asset to the side, is playing with great dash and pace, 'and is handling the ball really well. Hawkes, who has had rather . bad luck this season, is back at the top of his form, and the other members of ; the old pack are up \ to;' concert pitch. .The-inclusion of Casey and Mc- ■ Donald has immensely strengthened the forwards in ruggedness and dash. McDonald, who has appeared three times for City this season, is i regarded as a certainty for representative honours. ".'■ The development of inside backs is the: problem that confronts every club, and promising material is seized upon as manna from Heaven. Judging from his display on Saturday Crewther, who . has been playing fullback for City, shows promise of doing much better • closer to the scrum. He has a sound knowledge of the League code and a very elusive side-step, and hates to give the ball to his opponents. If he can develop a quick dash and give his. passes as he aid on Saturday, he may become a great five-eighths. . Footwork is not often seen as a scoring feature in the League game. A try scored for the City by Hawkes oh' Saturday is worthy of mention for that reason. Hawkes broke away with the ball sat foot from his own side of half-way, and going at racing pace took the ball through the opposition. Three opponents sprinted back and headed: him, but the City forward, y without bustling, : took the ball along, and with a nice centring kick sent it over the line to score a well-deserved try. It was a clever piece of play, and Hawke's pace enabled him to keep control of the ball nicely.; ■:.-'• . G. Davidson -demonstrated on Saturday that he has not lost the knack of goal kicking. A few seasons ago ho did a good deal of place-kicking, and if he specialises in that department should becomo brilliant. *;• : V. ■ ■■•■-:• '- ■- r- -

- The proper sporting spirit was shown by the City captain on Saturday when Godick, of Devonport, was taken off the field injured in the second spell of the game between City and Devonport. The rules of the game do not provide -for the replacing of injured players during the second half of the game, but the City captain, on his own iriitativa, immediately made the offer to allow a Devonport substitute to replace Godick. The offer was accepted, and Butland filled the vacancy. / Ponsonby's Sweeping Victory. /:

As a result of ; their sweeping victory over Marist Old Boys the Ponsonby players have demonstrated that the only thing lacking in the team this season has been a little extra .combination; and attacking force .among the backs. ;\ The side that took the field on Saturday would always be formidable; Their opponents were unfortunate in losing the services of W. Stormpht in the second spell, but this 'did not ; materially alter ; the -result; of; the game.

Much interest is being evinced in the final of the Rpope. Rooster competition, which' will be played on Saturday between Ponsonby and City. Both teams ran up .cricket scores in the semi-finals/ and. as both sides specialise in the open passing game the; contest is sure- to be played at, racing speed. ;/■. It should be a great game ;to watch, and a fine , preparation for meeting South Sydney. Ponsonby won the "Rooster" last season. '

The team chosen to represent Auckland against the Hamilton League representatives is a fairly good one. It is sound rather than brilliant, and 'if it does not win should keep the opposition from notching any great total of points. Regarded as an attacking force much will depend on the doings of B. Laing at fiveeighths. If he sends the ball out to his supports instead of" trying to .break through, the defence ; before letting it go there should be plenty doing in the threequarter line. Dufty and Yardley are both playing ; very soundly this I season, and Brisbane is a very promising centre.'The forwards are -a fine lot and if -given the opportunity will co-operate well with the backs. •, ,; ; ;.-■;' • -■ ■ \ -,•■ : : : :-' :^-''r^-'^:

% The team that will endeavour to wrest from South Auckland the Northern Union Challenge Cup on Saturday.-;presumably will not be much different from that which will oppose Hamilton to-morrow at Carlaw Park, ;.;:■■-:.:■ In the ; cireumst the display of the Auckland representatives will be watched with interest. ' The scontest for the challenge ,Cup; at Hamilton will bo fought out at the same '< time : ; as ;the final for the Roope Rooster competition. The majority of Auckland's most brilliant performers will; be engaged in the latter contest. ■-.•:• ',■ ■;. The side i; selected to •>. oppose South Auckland, however,: is ; a fairly strong ; ; combination. 1?^; ' ■ "