THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23148, 21 September 1938, Page 26

THE LEAGUE CODE

SYDNEY TEAM'S VISIT MATCHES AT CARLAW PARK KEEN INTEREST AROUSED The visit of the Eastern Suburbs team is creating considerable interest in Rugby League circles and the first match the tourists play next Saturday against Marist, winner of the Auckland championship, will be keenly followed. Both teams are training bard and a ■splendid exhibition of the code can bt» anticipated if ground and weather conditions are favourable. Eastern Suburbs will meet Manukau to-day week, when the latter can be expected to make a good showing, and the final match next Saturday week will be against Richmond, winner of the Roope Rooster knock-out competition. Judging on the present form of the teams Richmond appears to bo the side which will trouble Eastern Suburbs the most as it has developed good team work during the past few weeks. 'The following account by a Sydney writer of the final for the Sydney cham-

pionship is interesting at the presen time:—

" Canterbury-Bankstown, youngest of the eight clubs, most fittingly won the premiership, when it defeated Eastern Suburbs by 19 points to 6, before 20,000 people at the Sydney Cricket Ground, It was a rare galne, wit"h the crowd held from start to finish.

" A harder forward battle, and yet a cleaner one could not be imagined. Eastern Suburbs' four internationals— I?. Stehr, J. Poarce, H. Pierce and A. Norval—played at the top of their form, and yet were on the beaten side. There's attribute to the solid scrummaging and superb tackling of the CanterburyBankstown six, headed by the consistent, persistent, and courageous Henrv Porter.

"Eastern Suburbs possessed great forward strength, although it missed M. Nixon from the front row—the victim of a fractured arm in the South Sydney match. It had to rearrange the biudrs through the scrum-half, L. Pidjtup, being on the injured list. Can-terbury-Bankstown was without two regular backs in the stalwart centre, A. Mitchell (ill), and E. Anderson, fiveeighths (injured). A. Brady, the captain and centre-threequarter, made a return after weeks of absence with an injured knee. " Canterbury - Bankstown forwards were the main factor in the win. The six were the unchanged set of most of t!he other matches, led by H. Porter. They were a trifle more successful in getting possession in the first half and still a little more so in the second half. In the rucks, however, Eastern Suburbs, were terrific battlers. Time and again J. Pearce and R. Stehr, putting forth tremendous power and effort, were grassed by nnkle tackles. In all-round forward play Canterbury-Bankstown equalled the Easterners, added to which they were faster tb the man and outlasted them in the final stretches. The second half was well advanced before Canterbury accomplished its first try and got the,lead."

ROOPE ROOSTER FINAL SUCCESS OF RICHMOND In winning the Roope Rooster knock-out competition of the Auckland Rugby League, Richmond gave one of the finest exhibitions of the code seen at Carlaw Park this season and it would probably on the day have beaten any team in the senior grade. No thirteen in the championship combines so well as Richmond, and the speedy manner in which the forwards supported the backs in passing bouts was a feature of the game. Even City's best methods of cover defence failed to stem the attack which rose to a high standard half-way through the second spell. The forwards were right on their game and started passing bouts from every position in the field, when there were usually three or four forwards to handle the ball. Behind the scrum, Watkins changed his play admirably, and often had McLeod, Devine and Broadhead racing in support. There are few better handlers in the code than this trio, and it will be interesting to compare their play with that of the best Eastern Suburbs forwards. Bickerton, at five-eighths, showed a return to his best form, after a season of indifferent football. He changed direction several times during the game and gave the forwards two tries. It is pleasing to see Potter doing so well at five-eignths, as he is undoubtedly a most promising player. City did not display the form of the previous week, but made a solid showing. The forwards, however, met the Richmond pack at its best. It was unfortunate that Banham, the playercoach, was not as lit as usual after having to stand down owing to an injury.