CRICKET.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18827, 30 September 1924, Page 4

CRICKET.

WHANGAREI ASSOCIATION. [EX TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WBANGAKEI. Monday. Nina clubs were represented at the annual meeting of. the - Whangarei Cricket Club. The following officers were elected: :■: President, Mr. E. dL Whimp; vicepresident, Mr. A. T. Hunt, who was also .;.-: elected a -life: member. . .', It was decided to accept the nomination ' of; the' Waic lira "Club and to play home , „ and home matches with the outlying dis- :->";\: ■'"' iricts. ." . ?:..'. .'The principle of haying a solo selector ',•''-.- instead of a,-committee was made a reJ . commendation to the incoming committee^ - ' -The first practice took place on. Satur-" .-.; d.»'ji -4ucri:'.ca. ..It. <was , better .attended • • " than; in former years,. a .', ■ . , , i , , , i ' - l " * .

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP. MARISTS' GOOD WIN. A FAST, THRILLING GAME. TWO -BALANCED TEAMS. ; The '■'■■ League senior club championship for the 1924 season was decided on Saturday, under ideal conditions. (The j ground was fast, if a trifle hard. Both | teams took the : field afc full strength, and in the almost entire .absence of counter-attractions, a record attendance assembled to witness Marist and Devonport battle for '![ club premiership. No one will begrudge.; Marists' win, even though the deciding score was made just on time. ; They wore a well-bal-anced .team in fine fettle, and with-not a , shirker in their ranks. Devon port deserve the highest . credit for then;' great effort to repeat their performance of a fortnight previously. They, also, played up to a man and contributed to one of; the fastest, anost even, and thrilling games seen at Carlaw Park. Both sides tackled with deadly accuracy. Play in ; the First Half. ,

' In the first' spell Devonport showed superior combination and had their opponents in trouble frequently. However, they seemed ' unable to put the; final touches to their rushes, and on numerous occasions over-eagerness was responsible, for failure to score. A conspicuous feature of the first half was the number of breaches of the rules, for off-side in particular, a Marist player being the chief offender. Devonport led at halftime with .7 points, including two penalty goals, against a converted try by Marist. After the interval Marist were superior and added 15 points to Devonport's 10. An addition to tho winners' ranks was Kirwan, the ex-Auckland Rugby Union representative, who, although new to the code, played a good game throughout. His inclusion was the source of a good deal of comment, and it is thought by many ' that, in the circumstances, the fact "that he took part in a game with a direct bearing on the championship, was not according to tho ethics of true sportsmanship. ; ••:; •Form of the Players.

Of the individual players, Gregory, the Marist fullback, was always ■ sure, cleared convincingly, and, in addition, earned applause for accurate kicking, two of his four goals being brilliant efforts from the side-line. The threequarters acquitted themselves well, Kirwan and Malloy battling hard- Sweeney showed up in swift rushes at times. Stewart was the better of the five-eighths, Brisbane being below form, and his handling weak.. Ghent was always prominent, clearing well from behind the scrums and getting down to attacks with commendable pluck. All tho forwards played strongly, J. Stormont and O'Brien always being to the front. Gardiner and Neil! also worked hard.

. Harrison, the Devonport fullback, was very sure, made few (mistakes and, in preference to kicking, frequently put in good dashes before transferring to his supports. Harper delighted the spectators by his straight running and fast following. The other threequarters, Smith and Seagar, were conspicuous at times. Undoubtedly, B. Laing was the best player on the field. He gave a magnificent display, and was responsible, directly or indirectly, for all Devonport's scores, while on attack and defence he was equally sound. "voysey (worked hard, and Webb, the halfback, was resourceful and . versatile, working both sides of the scrum with equal facility. Douglas was the best forward. Rcope Rooster Competition. The first game in connection with the Roope Rooster knock-out. competition was played on. Saturday between Richmond and Ellerslie, the former team winning a, somewhat uninteresting game. Competition for this coveted trophy will commence in earnest on Saturday. The final position of the various teams in the senior grade competition is shown in the following table:— . •

•.'•■'. vV- , Ch. Team. P. W. L. D. Pts. Marist ».,... 16 12 3 1 25 Devonport ... ... 16 11 4 1 23 City ,. ... 15 7 5 3 17 Athletic ! ... -,..15 N 7 6. 2 16 Ponsonby (...14 8 6 0 16 Richmond .-,15 6 9 0 12 Mangero ?.-* ... 14. 5 '* 9 0 10 Newton ... 15* 5 10 0 10 Ellerslio ■ ... ... 15 3 11 1 .'■ 7