LEAGUE COMPETITIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19009, 5 May 1925, Page 12

LEAGUE COMPETITIONS.

SATURDAY'S PLAY REVIEWED. CITY TEAM STARTS MERRILY. NOTES AND COMMENTS. Seldom lias one side shown such decided superiority so early in a game as did City in the match against Athletic on Saturday. Within 15 minutes of the commencement nf play the City team had registered lb points, while their opponents had failed to gain a single one. ! Poor tackling on the pait oi Athletic gave I j City's hacks opportunities, and never ■ i once did they throw away a chance to ! | score."' Athletic had opportunities, but too much kicking spoilt many likely movements. Athletic can place a good thirteen in the field, but alterations in the placing (if • their backs will have to be made ere the . season advances. Diu'ty should be played ; at fullback. He kicks altogether too much as a live-eighths. Of the City piayers, special mention can be made to L, Brown, who gave: a L most brilliant display. His quickness in "rasping an opening is wonderlul, and with such splendid pace Brown can claim , the righl io be the best scoring back playing League football, Mitchell, behind the sciiiin, also played finely, opening up the game and defending grimly. Mitchell is probably the most experienced ' half playing the'code, and a continuance of such fine form will place him in line. , for selection in the representative team, an hottiiiir that has never vet fallen to his lot. Wartllow's Second Game. K. Brown, at fullback, showed improved form, giving a sound display. Wardlow has now played bis second game of League football, and as the season advances he is sure io make good. Showing ploufv ot speed, Wardlow is an acquisition to the City thirteen. S. Crewther was solid, more than brilliant. He tackled well. City's six forwards can boast of a lot of pace, which stood to them when pressed so hard in the second half. H. McDonald. of New Zealand representative fame, made his first appearance this season for i the red and blacks, ami throughout the ' game, was conspicuous in last following up. McDonald's try was a beauty. N. Bass was perhaps the best of the for- I wards, his knowledge, o! back-row for- I ward play greatly assisting Mitchell in j opening up the game. lownscnd toiled j hard. Sa'ndliam is a promising boy, and j a fine goal kicker. I Athletic's best back was undoubtedly j Wilson-Hall. He made many brilliant openings, but they lacked support. An alteration in the team, by putting Haclley to assist Wilson-Hall would have greatly favoured Athletics chance. Wilson-Hall made the openings, and on almost every occasion Duffy kicked, a practice that should at once be dropped. Draffln's Promising Play. Taylor, at fullback, was only fair, his fielding being weak. J. Lang worked bard behind the scrum, but lie did not | get much of the ball. Lang carried an j injury most of the second half. Draflin is' a voung player of promise, who handles' a ball well, and runs very j cleverly. It would lie hard to give credit to any > particular player among the forwards, all j of whom worked well. Haclley was, however, most conspicuous in the open. Averv, too, shone, ;md with Madley some nice reverse passing was witnessed. Webb and Herring were a hard-working pair. Few supporters of the code expected Marjst to win so easily against. Devonport. The game was played in a none 100 friendly spirit, the. spectators being chiefly responsible for some exciting moments. Games having arty bearing on the position in the premiership should be played at Carlaw Park. Marist owe their success to the fine open plav of their forwards, who were superior throughout. Devonport can boast a fine pack, one that shines in close work, but they suffered in comparison with the visiting team. Singe was perhaps the best of the Marist front division, following up fast and spoiling many Devonport attacks. Johnson got for his side a good share of the ball. J. Stormont played a dashing game, showing much-improved form. Gregory in Good Form. Gregory was the, star player for the winners. ' He gave a very sound display. His fielding was accurate, and he never failed to open up the game. Kirwan was very solid, bearing the, brunt of the defence. Molloy and Gallagher used their pace to advantage. The former is a fine player on defence. Tho Devonport thirteen played a little below the. form expected of them. With tho exception of Webb, and, perhaps, B. Laing, the backs were very weak, showing no inclination to open up passing movements. Playing at fullback, a new position, Webb was easily (he outstanding player. Ho was frequently called upon to save some desperate attacks, and this he did really well. Vcart, O'Brien and Dixon were the best of an even pack, if. Douglas, who usually plays in the forwards, occupied the halfback position, but i he was not a success. Richmond met Ponsonby on No., 2 ground at Carlaw Park, giving their more experienced opponents a very close contest. With any luck the Richmond team might just have won. Colo and Delgrosso were the best of Ponsonbv's backs, the former especially being brilliant. Peckham, behind the scrum, worked hard and gave his backs plenty to do. Shirley and MeMahon were the best of a good even .scrum. What It. Hybrid lacks in size he makes til) for in gameness. Against Ponsonby Hyland was the best back on the ground, I scoring two tries, one of which was a particularly brilliant effort. Hanlon, at full- ! back, gave another finished display, and j so did Bass. The B Division Games. In the' B division EDershe and Northcote gained wins over Kingsland and Otaihuhii respectively. The form all round was very encouraging, but, individual efforts were more in evidence than good team work. Ellerslie, who have so far not been defeated, are showing best form. Their backs, however, kicked too often, and in flic match against Kingsland this spoiled an otherwise good exhibition of the code. Advice has been received by the Auckland Ilugby League that the transfer of A. Payne, the well-known South Auckland representative, has been now approved. Payne will play for Ponsonby. _ At a meeting of the New Zealand Council, Mr. W. Liversidgc was appointed one of the selectors. It. is to be hoped the claims of one of tho Auckland League's selectors will not be overlooked, when the second man to represent the North Island is chosen.