THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22451, 22 June 1936, Page 14

THE LEAGUE CODE

SENIOR COMPETITION SECOND ROUND COMMENCED PRINCIPAL MATCH DRAWN The first series of matches in tho second round of the senior championship of the Auckland Rugby League was played on Saturday under good conditions when some fast and interesting football was "witnessed. The principal match between Devonport and Manukau resiiltod in a draw after a hard-fought contest, each side scorine five points. There were many strenuous forward exchanges and the tempers of tho players at times became frayed. On one occasion during the first spell, the referee called the two captains together and issued a warning. Ponsopby, tho leading team, suffered defeat at the hands of .Richmond after a disappointing game. Mount Albert took the honours from Newton in the -chief game on the No. 2 ground, while Marist surprised by accounting for City in" the curtain-raiser. The former New Zealand and Auckland fullback; C. Dufty, made a reappearance with the City team. Devonport, Ponsonby and Mount Albert are now leading in the championship with 10 points each. Manukau and Richmond each have nine points. Results of senior matches are as follows: — Devonport, 5; Manukau, 5. Richmond, 15; Ponsonby, 6. Marist, 16; City, 5 Mount Albert, 11; Newton, 8. HARD-FOUGHT MATCH COMBINATION LACKING After one of the hardest fought games at Carlaw Park this season the contest between Devonport and Manukau resulted in a draw. There was little between the teams, but Devonport was a little unlucky in not) taking the honours. For the last 15 minutes Devonport was without the services of Kerr, fullback, who received a leg injury and had to retire. _ Both teams missed opportunities, especially Manukau, which threw away some great chances owing to lack ot combination. The Manukau forwards played splendidly in th© loos© and gave the defence a torrid time. However, over-eagerness on the part of the vanguard lost valuable ground, offside play and other breaches of the rules resulting in many penalties. Devonport was the better side as a combination- and only sound defence saved the day for Manukau. The latter was hadly handicapped through failure to hook the ball in the scrums. On the few occasions the Manukau backs did get possession tliey did not impress as a combination although some of the players were good individually. The Devonport defence stood up splendidly to a severe test. The early exchanges were 'fast and open. Devonport's try coming from a nice movement. Seagar intercepted cleverly in a Manukau back attack and veered toward L. Scott on the wing. Although the latter was tackl'ed by Mason from behind Crooks came round fast on the outside to go over at the corner. Manukau went very close to scoring when Mason made a fine opening and Watene, who had rushed up from fullback, was lowered inches from his objective. Kerr added two more points for Devonport when he goaled from a penalty in an easy position and Devonport led at half-time by five points to nil. Early in the second spell Bxoughton made a fine opening for Manukau, but spoiled it through giving a poor pass to Hollis. Trevathan opened Manukau's socre with a good penalty goal and near time Watene followed through his own short kick to score a well-deserved try. For Devonport Kerr, fullback, played practically a, flawless game. His handling and kicking were excellent, while his Bound defence repeatedly saved his side. L. Scott and Hall did not have many opportunities on the wing. Seagar was the best of the backs, his heady play both on attack and deft»nce being of great value to the forwards. E. Scott did a lot of hard defensive work and Crooks was prominent on attack. Cowan played a good game at halfback, opening up the play well and defending in fine style. By keeping together better than usual/the Devonport forwards often broke through. Sowter, Donald, Hunt and Simpson were all prominent. Milicich was far too inclined to play offside. 'Watene, although a little slow in bis movements, played » sound ram* at fullback for Manukau. The wingers, Mason and Hollis, showed ability at side-stepping, but neither had many chances. Brady is a good type of centre, while Trevathan, second fiveeighths. played a heady game in a line which badly lacked combination. Newton and Mahima. halfback, mishandled too often, while the latter was not fast enough in getting the ball away. Of a fine set of forwards Pickrang stood out as the best forward on the ground, his all-round play being one of the features of the game. He received splendid support from Proctor, Gault, Kawe and Whye. Mr. P. Rogers was referee. WIN FOR RICHMOND PONSONBY DISAPPOINTS Richmond gained a well-deserved win over Ponsonby in the curtain-raiser to the chief ' match after a disappointing game. Ponsonby -never once looked the side which defeated Devonport on the previous Saturday. There was a decided weakness in the tackling of the five-eighths and Richmond wan quick to turn this fault to advantPonsonby was handicapped by losing the ball in tho majority of the scrums, but when in possession the backs did not handle well. Richmond played on top of the Ponsonby backs and the rearguard could not counter these tacti;s. The Richmond backs wero seen in some nice movementii and the forwards quickly turned mistakes by the opposition into attacks. The Bcore at half-time was 3-all. Ponsonby was first to score when Halloran made a good opening for W. Stockley. Powell wob responsible for Richmond's first try after Bickerton had made a good opennig. Richmond bad the belter of the second speil in which it added 12 points to Ponsonby's three. Greenwood, fullback for Richmond, was not called upon for much work. G. Tittleton and Wilkio, the wingers, showed plentr of dash, while Mincham and W. Tittleton worked well together and played outstanding/ games. Bickerton made some splendid openings, while Powell did good work both on attack and defence. Tetley was the outstanding forward and was always on the ball. J. Safherley, Telford nnd Broadliead were the best of the others. The Ponsonby fullback, Paton, was too deliberate and did not handle cleanly at times,. Payne was the better of the wings, while Kay did not have the opportunities to show his ability on attack. Riley's tackling was weak a>nd Richmond broke through the Ponsonby line repeatedly at the five-eighths. Halloran was the best back and he again played a good all-round game. Morgan. Blood, Carter and Davis worked hard among - the forwards. For Richmond Powell. Tetley and Broadhead scored tries. Mincham converted two and kicked a penalty goal. For Ponsonby W. Stockley and Payne scorpd tries. The latter was carried off the field just prior to time "with an injury to his side. Mr. M. Wetherill was referee. BETTER FORWARDS DEFEAT OF NEWTON _Mount Albert defeated Newton on the Nc(. 2 ground by a narrow margin in an uninteresting game. Play was confined mostly, to tho forwards and in this department Mount Albert was superior. 'There was very little back play and the greasy boll proved difficult to handle. The Newton backs were perhaps the better combination and only selfish play by Sissons checked two certain tries. Mount Albert attacked early in the game and J. Schultz made a nice opening for Halsey. who gnined useful ground and sent Morrisey over. Morrisey was aguin prominent a few minutes later and cleverly cut in to make a try easy for Pawson. Mount Albert nnd a six points' margin at half-time, but inere was not a great deal of difference oetween the teams. Newton made a better Ia i second half and scored two tb.l e " erTed tries; The best movement of who «• nice run by Brimble. passed to Williams, and Sissons gained •

good ground before passing to Brady, whose fast Tun for the corner flag was a feature of the try. Several times Dempsey. from fullback, raced up to tho threcquarters and started passing bouts, but the Mount Albert forwards covered quickly and excelled in good tackling. The heavy ground favoured the Mount Albert forwards, which was the superior set all round. Cranch. fullbock for Mount Albert, was a little uncertain in his movements, although he kicked with good judgment. Until ho retired with an injury Halsey. on the wing, was the best of the tlirecqimrters. Mornsey played a fine game at centre threequarter. His clever running often gained useful ground. Pawson, the former Waikato fiveeighths, played a good game, as did J. Schultz. Watkins did a lot of useful work at halfback Petersen nnd Shadholt were tho best of tho forwards, the latter giving a good display in tho loose. Herring and Bickerton were also prominent. Dempsey, at fullback for Newton, was the outstanding player. His fielding was highclass and many times ho started passing bouts from defensive Sissons spoiled a good gatno by holding on too long. Williams and Smith, promoted juniors, were impressive. Young played well with limited opportunities on the wine. Hutt and Nathan were the pick of tho forwards. For Mount Albert Morissey, Pawson and Herring scored tries. Herring converted one try. For Newton Bvady and Brimble scored tries and Sisßons kicked ft penalty goal. Mr. W. Simpson was referee. MARIST IMPROVES REAPPEARANCE OF DUFTY After several poor displays, Marist showed good form and defeated City comfortably in a well-contested game. The reappearance of C. Dufty. the former New Zealand fullback, with City was followed with interest. In spite of his lengthy absence from the game Dufty played well. His excellent, line-kicking showed that ho has lost very little of his well-known art. Marist soon had City defending. It won tho ball from almost every scrum and from a passing bout H'aslam mado a beautiful opening and Loader scored. Good passing and excellent support by Anderson and Keane was a feature of the movement. In the next movement the City backs played fine football and McLaughlin made a nice, opening for Porteous to run between the posts, but the pass was ruled forward. Although Marist had a lead of 8 points to 2 City had the better of the game in the firpt half. Early in the second spell Anderson was prominent in a sweeping attack and City was outplayed. Much of Marist's success can be attributed to successful hooking and tho City backs rarely had a chanco from set scrums. City gave a disappointing display after its' form in the last two games. For Marist Glover played a fine game at fullback and repeatedly saved his team with excellent kicking. He often started passing bouts from defensive positions. Loader played well on the wing and was elusive; on attack. Haslam played his best game since coming over from the Rugby game and was prominent in most of the scoring movements. Aro also played well behind the Bcrum. His excellent passing gave the fiveeighths numerous opportunities. Anderson was the outstanding forward, while Keane, Carter and Matson gave excellent support. With tho exception of mistakes on defence, Dufty proved a sound fullback. On two occasions he went close to scoring by determined runs down the side-line. McLaughlin, on the wing, was the best of the City threequarters. Brown was not so prominent as usual. He Buffered a shoulder injury early in the game. Tawhai, at five-eighths. was impressive on occasions. Clark, Herring and McCarthy wero the best of the City forwards. For Marist Loader (2), Anderson and Breed scored tries. Anderson converted two tries. For City Spiro scored a try and Dufty kicked a penalty goal. Mr. R. Otto was referee. LOWER GRADE RESULTS Senior Reserve Grade.—Richmond. 21, Ponsonby, 0; Devonport, 8. Manukau, 0. Senior B Grade.—Papakura, 15, Green Lane, 5. Third Grade.—Manukau, _ 53, Mount Albert, 3; Newton B, 17, Point Chevalier B, 10; City, 9, Richmond, 9; Newton A, 13, Ellerslie. 11. Fourth Grade.—Richmond, 23, Point Chevalier, 0; City, 16, Marist, 0; Ellerslie, 9, Ponsonby 0. Fifth Grade.—Richmond, 8, Papakura, 2; Glen Ora, 27, Newton, 3. Sixth Grade.—Green Lane, 11, Avondale, 2. Seventh Grade.—Richmond. 16, Glen Ora, 2; Papakura won from Ellerslie by default. Primary Schools.—Senior grade: Richmond, 11, Devonport, 3; Mount Albert, 3, Ponsonby, 2. Intermediate Grade.—Green Lane, 9, Marist, 0; Otahuhu, 15, Avondale, 10; Richmond. 33, Northcote, 0; Mount Albert, 8, Ellerslie, 0. Junior Grade.—Richmond A, 6, Otahuhu, 0; Ellerslie, 6, Newton, 3; Ponsonby won from Green Lane by default. GAMES IN COUNTRY CENTRES [from herald correspondents] Taupirl.—South Auckland senior competitition: Taupiri, 7, Huntly, 3; Ngaruawahia. 18, Pukemiro. 6. Juniors: Huntly, 28, Taupiri. 0. Huntly.—Seniors: Taupiri, 7, Huntly, 3; Ngaruawahia. 18. Pukemiro. 6. Juniors: Huntly. 29. Taupiri, 0. Third grade: Ngaruawahia, 3, Huntly, 0. COMPETITION AT TAUPIRI [from our own correspondent] TAUPIRI, Sunday The following players have been selected to play in a Rugby League match at Taupiri on Tuesday for a cup presented by Mr. J. Wells for annual competition among the Ngaruawahia, Inglewood and Taupiri Clubs:—lnglewood: Cottier, Sur-ey, Wells, MoßobertH, Hunt, Ward, Arnold, Buckley. Jorgensen, Patterson, Phillips. Yeates and Zimmerman. Taupiri: Miller, T. Shaw. Taylor, Mildenhall, R. Shaw, Jackways, George. Hilton, MdLean, Fraser, Keli, Geake and J. Shaw. Emergencies: Farrell and W. Hodge ENGLISH TOURING TEAM NORTH QUEENSLAND BEATEN HODGSON'S FINE KICKING (Received June 21, 5.5 p.m.) BRISBANE, June 20 The English Rugby League team defeated North Queensland at Townsville to day by 39 points to 3. The scorers were:— England.—Tries: Brogden two, Rismai\ two. Field, Morley and Jenkins one each Goals: Hodgson nine. North Queensland.—Try: Lnng. The spectators numbered 8000 and tho gate receipts totalled £'Boo. Hodgson kicked magnificently and is now nearing his ccr. tury for the tour. TEST TRIAL MATCH QUEENSLAND DEFEATED (Received June 21, 5.5 p.m.) BRISBANE, June 21 In a Rugby League test trial mutch played ot Brisbane yesterday New South Wales defeated Queensland by 1C points to 14 after leading 11—6 at half-time. REPRESENTATIVE GAMES MAORI TEAM SELECTED The following team has been selected by Mr. E. K. Asher to represent the Maoris against. Auckland at Carlaw Park to-mor-rowi—J. Tawhai (City), L. Brown (City), captain, Bickerton (Richmond), Mason (Manukau), Rata (City). E. Brimble (New ton), Mahina (Manukau), A. Nathan (Newton). Johnson (City), L. Kawe (Manukau), F. Pickrang (Manukau), P. Minnix (Waiuku),), S. Wateriu (Manukau). Reserves.—-Backs: W. Brimble (Newton), Broughtnn (Manukau). Forward: Proctor (Manukau) The following Auckland teams have been selected for matches to-morrow:— Against the Maoris.-—Dempsey, L. Scott, W. Tittleton. Mincham. Riley, Kny, Powell, Simpson. Flanagan, llutt, Anderson, Morgan, Tetley (captain). Against Wellington.—Paton, Hall, Has lam. Morrisey, Trevatbnn. Stockley (captain), Halloran, Telford, Satherley, Donald, Keane, Gault, Peterson. Reserves.—Backs: Cowan, Jones. For wards: Quirke, Scott, Sowter, Herring. MATCHES IN THE SOUTH [by telegraph—press association] Wellington.—St. George, 38, Hutt, 23; Petone, 26, Central, 22. Clirlstchurch A trial match between Possibles and Probables was won by the latter by 89 points to 29.