THE LEAGUE CODE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20901, 17 June 1931, Page 14

THE LEAGUE CODE.

COMPLETION OF FIRST ROUND. DEVONPORT PLAYS MARISTBacks -lose possession. The.final scries of matches in the first r< und of tho Auckland Rugby League's s< nior competition will be played on Saturday and a great contest should result bitween Dovonport and Marist. At present Devonport is leading for championsi lip honours by two points from Marist. So far Devonport has ati unbeaten record •while Marist has suffered ono defeat at tli(* hawk of City. Tho win of City cinio as a great surprise to tho largo majority of followers of the code and • it, is tho only victory scored by the team t) date.

Devonport has played such consistently good football this season that it will be a hard team to defeat. As Devonport j ossesses a clever and fast set of backs, with forwards capablo of standing up to the tight play or a fast, open game, its prospects on form appear bright. Tho Marist team has shown improvement in recent matches although its form i s an 8,11-round combination up to last iSaturday was somewhat disappointing. Marist lis suro to make a great bid to lower tho colours of the leading team I,fid" if it 'sVctfoetjla will bo equal with Devonport for championship honours. 'Wiethe;: the day is wot or fine Rugby Leaguo enthusiasts should witness tho 'jest ga:«e of the first round next Satur■ittV* The iino form shown by Simons, the Devonport custodian, in tho match against Ponsonby must bring him moro than ever into favour with tho representative selectors Simons has shown that ho is a capablo fullback under any conditions. His well-judged kicking throughout tho season has saved his forwards much tinuecessairy work. To some extent credit must bo given to Simons for the fitness of his forwards at the end of every match. . . . .. . Ponsonby, by winning tho ball from most of the scrums in tho second spell, had some groat opportunities of turning tho tables on Devonport. The backs, however, lacked cohesion and Delgrosso was tpo inclined to kick and givo away possession—-a bad fault for an attacking sido except in very extreme cases. It was <* pity to seo tho Ponsonby ■threequarter line, Winters, Angelo and Friend, literally starved throughout tho match. All players possess speed capablo of turning a reasonable opportunity to advantage. This was clearly shown by their individual play. With a keen desire to foster tho code in Wellington tho Marist senior team proposes to go south on tho occasion of its bye in tho second round. Both players and club officials have already discussed the financial position and tltc trip seems assurod. With ono exception, the usual thirteen is available. It i:> a long time since such a big score was recorded under adverse weather conditions as that compiled by Marist against Ellerslie on Saturday. Marist played splendid football and on this form it wil.' tako a really good team to lower its colours. Tho backs in past matches have not shown their best form, but the rear division launched some wellplanned attacks against' Ellerslie. Faulty handling, however, was still noticeable. Lee, "tho Richmond fullback, who is suffering from a broken collarbone, has definitely decided not to play again this season. His loss will bo a seyero ono to Richmond. Tho mid-week competition lias drawn nominations from nine commercial houses. Matches will be played this afternoon at Carlasv Park.