THE LEAGUE CODE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20911, 29 June 1931, Page 11

THE LEAGUE CODE.

CHAMPIONSHIP HONOURS. DEVONPORT BACKS IMPROVE. SEAGAR'S OUTSTANDING GAME. The success of both Marist and Devonport on Saturday loaves these tearaa still equal in the lead for championship honours. The heavy grounds and greasy ball caused the players much trouble, but son) } bright passing was witnessed at times in the principal contest between Devonporl, and City. The Devonport backs showed considerable improvement on the form displayed the previous Saturday against Marist, Their defence and positional play was much better and City found it difficult to break through. City received plenty of the ball from the scrums and should have turned their opportunities to better advantage. Ihe chief fault was that Savage, at first fiveeighths, was too slow off the mark and took his passes standing. This gave his outside men no chance as the defence was on top of them before they could move. Consequently any efforts by the City backs were more or less of an individual nature. A good part of the game was confined . to the forwards, and although the City vanguard was a little superior in the tight play, it more than met its match in the loose. Ruby played an outstanding all-round game for the winners, and received good support from Maseiield, Simpson and E. Scott. Hawkes and Hunt, two new recruits, both justified their inclusion. Considering Devonport was without the services of A. Scott and Casey the forwards did particularly well to hold the heavier City vanguard. Outstanding Backs. Two of Devonport's outstanding backs were Seagar and Simons. The latter gave a fine display at fullback, covering up all his errors in his game on ihe previous _ Saturday. Seagar was always in the picture, his splendid kicking repeatedly sav-; ing his side, while his great defence made him stand out prominently. He was also well in the play on attack and' once made a fine opening, from which L. Scott scored. . Outside Alderton, at half, and the thi'jequarters who received few chances, the City backs were off form. S. Watene, at fullback, made several mistakes, and on • the day Simons was easily his superior. The forwards were a fairly even set with M. Watene and Pascoe perhaps the most outstanding. The game between Marist and Richmond was not interesting on the whole, and was hampered by infringements, while frequent injuries considerably slowed up the play. Individual efforts were the feature "of the match but honours went to the Richmond pack, which nullified any concerted efforts of the Marist backs. Bachelor was a tower of strength on the Marist wing, his fast, incisive runs casing many dangerous situations. Meehan was again in form and showed himself a fine strategist en attack and. defence, while his kicking was of a high standard. List and Brisbane were- always prominent, and Hassan played a steady game behind thescrum. For Richmond, Fairman and Dunne showed speed in getting off the mark in fast penetrating runs, and S. Prentice, who replaced Mincbam, combined! well with Pell at centre threequarter. Both fullbacks played practically faultless games. In the forwards much hard work was put in by both sides, and the packs were on even terms through the game. Lawless was fast in the loose and played well, while the remainder of the Richmond scrum gave good support. In the Marist pack Clarke, Webberley, Johnson and Carter were prominent in all departments of play. Individual Efforts. The match between Newton and Ellerslie was a poor exhibition of the code. Neither side showed any combination and individual efforts won the game for i Newton. The winners had possession more often and had a better knowledge of what to do on attack. Ellerslie received plenty of opportunities in the first half, but weak handling lost tries. Credit is due to Newton's forwards, all of whom battled hard under trying conditions. The ground was covered with mud, but the forwards kept the ball at their A feet. Time and again the Newton van- '■ guard swept over the opposition and only good defence checked each attack. EUerslie's play lacked variety. The backs were frequently caught standing and passed wildly. St.. George ably led the Newton forwards. Ho was a tireless worker, particularly in the loose, and he gave the backs excellent support. Middleton and Francis were also prominent. The former excelled in dribbling. Kirkup also played a good game. Dempsey made few mistakes at fullback. Pope was Newton's best back. The five-eighths made several nice openings and passed with good judgment. Eddieston made an impressive showing on the wing. Hill played a heady game on attack. Webb and Hickey were the, only Ellerslie backs to play np to form. Boswell played well in patches. Kelly, at fullback was weak. Hobbs and Chapman were the pick of the forwards.