LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19051, 23 June 1925, Page 6

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

THE GAMES REVIEWED. DEVONPORT - MARIST CONTEST. WINNERS' REVERSAL OF FORM. League football followers gathered in large numbers at Carlaw Park 011 Saturday, tho principal attraction being tho possibility of seeing Devon port in a playing mood. This proved to be the case, and the North Shore players completely reversed the form shown by tihein against Richmond tho previous week. The attendance indicated the public interest in the League game. A better day could not have been wished for and tho turf was in excelllent condition. The game was a great contest and Devonport's display was very impressive. Just after tho interval tho winners rose to tho occasion and played brilliantly, revealing some very fine football. In the open Devonport's forwards were better than Marist. Tho latter were, however, the better scrummagers. Marist failed to produce the form displayed in previous matches. There was a noticeable absence of team work among the backs. Too itmch individual effort brought about their idofeat. In spite of the vigour and excellence of tho defence, Marist should have scored at least two more tries. First Kirwan and then Brisbane kicked instead of passing to a support who had raced up 011 both occasions. Tho victory for Devonport will revive the prcstigo of tho players from North Shoro. Good material exists in the team, and on Saturday's form they should bo tl hard side to beaft in the future. The Devonport Players. B. Laing was undoubtedly Devonport's best back. Ho played his best game for some time. Laing s football generally is slugc;ish, but this time it was of a very high standard. He showed speed in defence and attack. Greig at centre played ably. Ho made several fine openings and showed a fine turn of speed. Cleaver was Laing s partner at five-eighths, and he, too, showed good form. Cleaver was mainly responsible for the fine try that Haddon eventually recorded. At halfback Webb did not show up as veil as usual. Ho was too slow in sending the ball to his supporters In fairness to Webb, however, it might bo mentioned that the Marist forwards were given a lot of latitude in breaking from the scrum. Godick and Butland did well on the wings, using their pace to good advantage. Scott at fullback made tew mistakes and his play was generally S °Dovonport's forwards were great workers in the open. Their backing up was a treat to witness, and their tacknn 0 was very deadly. Dixon, with his fine burst of' speed, was perhaps-tho best. Dixon has shown considerable improvement of late and with judicious coaching should develop into a fine forward. O'Brien was almost as good as Dixon. He showed up best with the ball at toe and worked verv hard in the scrums. Douglas was a great worker, and was always-on the ball. Haddon played well, but was given a lot of latitude in offside plav. Marists' Weakness. The weakness in the Marist team is too much kicking by the backs. Aery often good attacking movements wero spoiled by one of their number kicking instead ot sending out £t pass. Marists* best back was Gregorywhose cool judgment got his side out of many difficult positions. Gregory made some wonderful saves and gained well-merited applause. , , , ~ Kirwan was perhaps the best of the other backs. He, however, was well watched by tho opposing five-eighths. Brisbane was responsible for making soine good openings that were spoiled by kicking too frequently. Gallagher was tho best of the wings, showing great determination. His try was the result of haid Ghent, at halfback, was handicapped by not getting the ball soon enough. His defence was however very sound. Kirkland was played at five-eighths, but was not a success in that position. Athletic's; Heaviest Defeat. Playing fine football, City gave Athletic a day" out chasing their speedy backs. The score 57 to 10, is the biggest ever recorded against A.thletic. The losers have been very unlucky this season. Owing to injuries to several of their best players it has been found a difficult matter to place a good team in the field. Their star back, .Dufty, has been standing down and against City ho had the misfortune to get another knock. L. Brown was in a good scoring mood, registering four tries for his side. Brown played for the first time this season oil the wing. Davidson, playing in his old position at centre thrcequarters, was responsible for many good openings. He and Brown played well together, and on the form shown two better wing-three-quarters could not be chosen in a New Zealand representative side. They have the great pace essential in League football. Paki was good at five-eighths, but played better when moved to the wing. R. Crewther took Mitchell's place behind the scrum and did very well. City's "forwards gave their best exhibition of passing for some time. Very seldom was the ball kicked, the six forwards playing as backs. Bass and Hawkes were the outstanding players, while Mackie, Townsend and McDonald were prominent in all movements. Athletic's forwards cannot bo blamed for the heavy defeat. In fact the forwards played tho City team. Avery was outstanding by reason of his fast following up. Mason and Herring were tireless in their efforts to stop the opposing side from scoring. Wilson-Hall was the only Athletic back to show good form. His play throughout was excellent. Eicbmond v. Ponsonby. An excellent exhibition of the League code was given in the game between Ponsonby and Richmond. In fact the form shown would have given a great deal of pleasure to patrons at Carlaw Park, had tho game been staged on that ground. It was only the individual efforts' of several Ponsonby players that brought about Richmond's defeat. Richmond, indeed, have worked into a combination that must be taken very seriously. Ponsonby's best back was Riley, who, owing to injuries, had been absent since the second gamo played in the first round. Riley made some clever openings and his reappearance will strengthen Ponsonby's attack. The wings, Littlewood and Delgrosso, had a quiet afternoon. Tho defence stopped these two players. As is usually the case, Hanlon, at fullback, and Hvland, behind the scrum, were Richmond's best players. Thorburn, however, showed much improvement and is a threequarter of considerable promise. Richmond's iront division can boast no stars, but in every game played this season their combined forward play has been excellent. Their following up against Ponsonby was a treat to witness. Northcote and Ellerslie. In the game between Northcote and Ellerslie, the former team nearly recorded a win against the B grade leaders. Northcote have shown considerable improvement of late arid with any luck should have been nearer the top of the table. Among the backs Greening and Speight were the best for Northcote. The former played very ably and Wilkins showed great dash on lihe wing and is a verypromising back. McLoughlin and Watson were the best of the forwards. For the winners Shand, Williams and Johnson played well. Shand is a fine goal-kicker and placed a beautiful goal from nearly half-way. Many of the players on both sides displayed little knowledge of the finer points of tho gamo and the referee was very busy with his whistle. The "play the ball" rule was not quite understood, | and the breaches for scrum work wero I altogether too frequent.