LEAGUE COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20923, 13 July 1931, Page 13

LEAGUE COMMENTS.

RICHMOND TEAM UNLUCKY. UNUSUAL NUMBER OF PENALTIES IMPROVEMENT BY ELLERSLIE. The match between Devonport and Richmond provided some good , football in stages and on the run of the play Richmond was a little unlucky to leave the field a beaten team. A draw would have been a just indication of the merits of the two teams. The match was spoiled to a large extent by the unusual number of breaches in which both teams were at fault, Richmond was frequently penalised fov scrum bleaches, 'while players on each side committed bad breaches of play-thc-ball rule. The Devonport backs had to be rearranged on account of the absence of the O'Leary brothers who, it is stated, have given the game up. O'Dontiell played at half, Rhodes at first five-eighths, and R. Smith, a reserve grade player, was given a trial at centre. His promise in this position was one of the features of the game. Smith is a tricky and clever player with a natural side-step which left tacklers frequently grabbing the air. He was inclined to go a little too far at times when in possession.

O'Donnell was not so happy in his now position as at five-eighths, but Rhodes played well, his fine tackling being a feature of his play. Seagar made some splendid openings, but spoiled an othergood display by trying to intercept too often. Simons was not up to his' usual form at fullback and was badly beaten by Prentice when the latter scored. Harding showed plenty of dash on the wing, although he could not go far against Pell, who was one of the best tacklers on the ground. L. Scott was very weak on defence and Mincham often ran past him. % Ruby Outstanding. Ruby was the outstanding forward for Devonport, his fast following up and sound tackling being of great value to the team. A. Scott was always in the picturo and received good support from the rest of the line. >

Richmond was unlucky to lose the services of Marshall, its fullback, who was playing well up to the time ho was injured. Lawless, who was the outstanding forward up to this time, went to fullback where, under the circumstances, he gave a good exhibition. Prentice, who started off in the forwards, then played at first five-eighths in which position he did good work. A tendency to run across the field on his part crowded his outside men.

Sound tackling by each set of backs prevented the ball from getting out to. the wings, who seldom handled at the end of a straight, passing rush. The backs were lacking in a complete understanding, but individually played well. Of tho forwards Telford, Lennie, R. Jones and Ritchie were the pick, their bustling tactics meeting with a good deal of success. Ellerslie showed improved form against Ponsonby in a game which was full of interest throughout. Ponsonby established a comfortable lead early and looked like winning easily. Ellerslie, however, rallied and for a time gave its opponents a busy time. In fact, 10 minutes before time the suburban thirteen appeared likely to take . the honours.

Little fault could be found with Ponsonby's display. The keen raiding of Ellerslie's forwards was a source of worry to Ponsonb.y's backs. The rear division played like champions in the opening stages and the two tries scored by Friend came from well-planned attacks. Mistakes by individuals were quickly turned to account through fast following up on tho part of the Ellerslie backs. The losers can be credited with an improved display and better teamwork should sec Ellerslie win more matches. The Ponsonby backs appeared to take matters easily after ten points had been scored. Angclo played a sound game, kicking with good judgment. Thompson made several splendid openings and was perhaps the best back. He combined nicely with Friend, whose football was outstanding. Riley and Delgrosso got through useful work both on art.tack and defence. White was a litt.lo slow behind the scrum. Skelton was always prominent in the loose, while Thompson and Hutt played well in the .forwards.

Webb Plays Well. Webb was outstanding among the Ellerslie backs, passing always with good judgment. Ilickey did well with limited opportunities and Oliff and Keesing played fine games against a more experienced opposition. The forwards all played fine football, Chapman, Hobbs, and Arthur always being prominent. At Western Springs, Marist had the hotter of a gruelling match against Newton, which put up a great fight and showed no signs of tiring in spite of the severe nature of the contest. Kicking seemed to be Newton's main weakness, and three tries were unconverted through faults in this respect. The heavier Marist pack had all the advantage in the scrums and Hassan was quick to give his backs every opportunity. The rearguard was not slow to turn these opportunities to account. Brisbane was again in form and his clean handling, together with his clever offensive tactics, frequently had the opposition guessing. List impressed with his strong runs and he also kicked forcefully. At fullback, Campbell acquitted himself well and rarely let a player past. Meehan, who gave one of the outstanding displays of the day, was always handy to turn any mistakes by the Newton team to advantage. Johnson, Campbell and Clarke all/gave fine displays. For Newton, Dempsey, the fullback, was in fine form, bis anticipation of Marist movements making him superior to his vis-a-vis. Francis played an outstanding game. Middlcton, St. George, Brimble and Pope were sound on both defence and attack.