LEAGUE FOOTBALL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19373, 7 July 1926, Page 16

LEAGUE FOOTBALL

THJE TEAM FOR ENGLAND. CANDIDATES FOR SELECTION. TRIAL MATCHES REVIEWED. Tlie inter-Island match at Carlaw Park on Saturday proved beyond doubt that there are New Zealand forwards playing the League game, who, with more tuition in the finer points of team-work, ! would be good enough to be included in ] any international side. The vigour of i their attack and the grimness of their j defence were features of the match, and j must liavo thrilled all admirers of the : big man whoso physical fitness carries ! him through such a game as that on ■ Saturday. | On the generally soft grounds of North ! England the six men selected to wear the f black jersey are sure to give a good | account of -themselves and, if several i brilliant inside backs can be unearthed in I the trial games now being played, the | best 13 players from New Zealand will i form a high-class side, j Whether more backs than forwards. [ will bo included in the team is a matter for the selectors to decide, bat the opinion has been expressed by an inter- | national footballer who has played in ! England that 11 forwards and 15 backs

' would make a better balanced team than ; would an equal number in both divisions.

1 Dearth of Big Backs. j ' In all the trial games played it will be ; generally admitted that the average ; back, in fact, every good back, is not a ' big man. Whether size should be considered before ability is questionable. Pace in the rear division is essential on attack, and while good defence counts; for a lot, the back who shows "football! . brains," be he big or small, is the type of player who wins games. Eleven for- • wards such as those already seen in ! action would be quite capable of surI viving the hard games that are only to. I be expected. I At this stage a review of the form i shown in the trials to date is interesting. , Speculation is rife as to the merits of those players who took part in thei inter-Island match. Th.e names of the 26 players will not be announced finally until after next Saturday's match, but the following players have shown excellent form, and are possibles:— l Forwards. —Henry, Wright,' Peterson, ' Mouat, Mason, Singe, Townsend, Avery,, j Thomas (Otago), O'Brien (Pevonport). jJ-uf Backs.—Dufty,< Wilson-Hall, Cole, j Davidson, Vbrrath, Hickey, Delgrosso. Dufty, Cole and Davidson.

As fullback on Saturday, C. Dufty, was seen at his best in a great display. In the face of the attabk of the heavy South Island forwards he was always cool, and oil many occasions made play for his backs. Cole was again brilliant at fiveeighths, and Davidson at. centre proved himself to be a clever player with outstanding pace. These three players, in each trial match, have been in a class of their own, and their form must have impressed the selectors. Although playing in strange company,, W. Desmond, the Wellington threequarter, gave a good display. Desmond! has played in club games this season on the West Coast, in Canterbury and in Wellington. His coifstant travelling hail not given him a fair opportunity to acquire condition. He >is reported to be a, very capable track runner.

J. Kirwan was one of the soundest backs on the ground on Saturday, and! played his best game this season; Kirwan was very sure in defence and got down to the opposing forwards in great style. Southern Backs Disappointing.

J. Clarke, who was equal to any of the North Island forwards, was a great worker in the loose and . never let up against the solid, opposition. The Newton forward has yet. to gain experience but ho has youth and fitness in his favour and should he gain a place in the touring team, it can be safely said that he would return a polished forward. Hutt has now been given two trials but so far has failed to produce the promise expected of him. His club-mate, rayne, has better claims for a trial in one' of the good teams. The South Island ■ backs were disappointing and were completely outplayed, but it would be unfair to condemn them as they were opposed to backs who have played several times together and know each other's play. The visitors were" un. fortunate in losing the services of P. O'Connor early in the game. Great things were expected of O'Connor, as in the matches played in the South he showed remarkable speed:.and the ability to sidestep without diminishing his pace. Selection of Hookers.

W. Vorrath, the Southern five-eighths, impressed most and, although only, a firstseason League player, he gave glimpses of, excellent form, while some of his work was brilliant. Since leaving Auckland Wilson-Hall has worked a wonderful iin-" provemeiit in his play. Coming round the scrum, he is particularly elusive. The selectors have, as yet, given no guide as to the possible hookers for the tour, but it is noteworthy that Townsend, the local forward, has gained the ball more than any opposing hooker. In his test with Tallentire he won the ma-

jority of scrums. In this afternoon's trial match Townsend will again be opposed to Tallentire, but in the second .spell Geison, of South Auckland, is to be given an opportunity and will relieve the Southern player. It was expected that Carroll would oppose Townsend, but the Wellington forward has been assigned to the front row. Three Apparent Certainties.

By reason of their return home it is reasonable to assume that the 'crack South Island forwards, F. Henry, L. Peterson and J. Wright, have sufficiently impressed the selectors and so have been left out of the remaining trial games. These players wore in great form on Saturday and well deserve a place in the New Zealand team. The code is fortunate in having such a fine forward and leader as Mouat. On Saturday Mouat was the outstanding player on the ground, not so much because of 'his general play, but on account of his capabilities as a captain. All the afternoon he directed the work of his team and his leadership was very inspiring. It would occasion. no surprise if Mouat led the New Zealand team abroad. GREAT CAREER ENDED. LEAGUE FORWARD INJURED. Frank Burge, the idol of League followers in Australia since he was barely out of his 'teens, recently broke a small bone in his leg in a match at the Sydney Cricket Ground. This injury is considered to have ended his football career. Burge is a man who,-although a veteran in the football world—lie started to play in firstgrade football at the early age of 14— has not yet reached 30 years, v Purge's " come-back " was no pathetic attempt, for- he showed .almost the same dash and hurled himself through the air in the same spectacular flying tackles as of old, but the great breakaway forward has had a run of misfortune lately. Enticed out of his retirement to give much required assistance to his old club, Glebe, Burge was chosen to captain the New South Wales representatives against Queensland, but on the eve of the match his .mother died and he was unable to share in his State's victory. When he did play in the third test, New South Wales was beaten. Then came his recent mishap. He was making a' gallant attempt to put his side in the lead and attempted to leap over the opposing fullback's tackle. Instead he crashed to the ground and was carried off with a broken leg.