THE LEAUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23334, 1 May 1939, Page 14

THE LEAUE CODE

Senior championship MANUKAII'S EASY VICTORY PAPAKURA" DEFEATS MARIST Wet weather conditions again prevailed for matches under tho control of the Auckland Rugby League on Saturday. Four senior contests were staged at Carlaw Park, where, in spite of the conditions, some fast and interesting football was witnessed. The grounds were in good order, but the slippery "ball proved a handicap to many players and there were some keen forward tussles. The grandsta.nd at Carlaw Park | "was, filled early, but there was only n sprinkling of spectators around the ground. • ■ In the principal attraction the better team play ..and experience of Manukau carried trie day agciinst North Shore, "the latter's defence weakening in the second spell. Manukau won by a surprisingly wide ih..rgin. Mount Albert proved too strong all round for Richmond in.. -the curtain-raiser, although only one try was scored in the match. City and Newton had an even contest in the chief game on theni\o. - ground, honours going to the former. jpapakura scored its first win of the season in the curtain-raiser at the expense of Marist, which was weakened owing to some of its leading players Buffering from influenza. The results of Saturday's fiemor matches were as follows: — ManUkau, 23; North Shore, 7. Mount Albert, 9; Richmond, 0. -City, 8; Newton, ii. Papakura, 12; Marist, 7. Mount Albert anc'l City are now equal in the lead for th«i championship, but the latter has played one more game than its opponents and suffered a defeat. The following; table showa the present positions oi: the teams:-— 1 « ' ~ Points Ch

SPLENDID TEAM WORK DEFENCE' WEAKENS Splendid team wor'.c at times and generally better positional play and combination gave Manukau an ejisy.victory in- the end .against North Shore; The Brit spell *as evenly contested and the score of .rail at half-time- was a go od indication of the ' merits of the "teams. Manukau. however, had always shown more .initiative and was not ' afraid to open up the play from any position. • - During this spell th 8 North fehore defence •was vary sound and neveral ; promiiing: Manukau movements were frustrated by good tacK- -. ling. Manakau had i monopoly of the ball f; from the scrums, but j when chances did come . -the-way of the ZSortbt Shore bucks they did not- impress as an effective combined force. The early "stages <i the second spell ..were even, but it could bi) seen thav.it was only a matter of ;time before the weight of the Manukau pack told against the lighter INortu Shore vanguard. Abcut halfway through; the, - spell the Manukau forwards assorted their superiority ill fine style-and with the backs giving excellent supp>rt some good tries were scored. The North § bore defence, < which had stood the test, well up to this s.ag'S lilted.. . in the face of these attacks and a weakness - in tho five-eighths* line allowed Manukau to • break througn on two occasions. Manukau displayed fine form • and , with a dry ball XJ should be a difficult side to defeat. For the winners' NSpia at fullback was very wjlid. His'fine defence and strong kicking -with either foot wen invaluable to iho,side -while at times he iitarted attacking moves cleverly. Broughton and Awhitu showed plenty of dash ion the wmg:!. and at times second five-eighths. did goodl all • round work. His fccking repeakdljr turned Throughout the match he was i thorn in, the side of the opposition and did sre.lt *°rk both on attack and defence. .Fie > seored , two ' •brilliant tries as a result of clever anticipation and good understanding with Wiberg, ■the balfba'ck. Chase has a most effectne sidestep and swerve which nonplussed the opposiiion on more than one occasion. lanapa filed the first five-eighths position with ■credit, although, h 8 was ii''.Tiried to be caughl in possession too tnuch. Wlbe,g played a fine all-round game at halfbixk. He fed Ibis backs with veil-directed passes and changed his tactics | cleverly. Hit. try * good individual effort in which he quickly * ei The tterii la good form in tfi P Bro f . rick was outstanding in.thu loose. wtnls One blemish was when he stopped BroaricK U and then allowed.the Manukau. forwer to ■KrejiV awav and score, v.. -ocoti lacsea Xnces but played a eood ind.v.dwl at centre. Sterling yas in fine form at hair back and defended in valiant jstvle. His try - ?„nited from a chver solo effort after be to their task well Condon, H. £ane ana Jones were the niojt prominent. _ Pnr Manukau tries were I scored by T. 'MOMMI kicked a penalty gtal. Mr. 0. Chalmers was referee.

FORWARDS SUPERIOR

• DEFEAT OF RICHMOND

The Richmond forwards had to lower their colours to the Mount Albert pack, which was superior in all-rouod play. Better comb.nation and" understanding by the Mount Albert inside backs were also a feature in it he team s iirtrtrv. Ofi'V one try in stored in the •match, this cominir ms the result of a brilliant opening madi! by Banharn in the first spell. During this-.half Mount Albert registered two penalty goals and led at the interval by seven ,po nts to nil. The only score in the second soell was a penalty goal lo - Mount Albert. whi<h generally had tho bet er of the exchanges. The Richmond, backs failed ' to function at any stage, while tho forwards did not plan so well together m usuat. McLachla.a .was in .good, form, at fullback for Mount Albert, his defence beinz very sound, while be kicked with good judgment. Eardgrave and Mclnnarney, on the wings, <: played -well individually, but did not have: ' many chances. Banham played an outstanding game at first five-eighths. Ho did some clever work on attack and, defended well. He received good inpoort from Donaldson out-. B'de him, >the pair having an eirective understanding. Both appeared content, to rest on thß lead in the second spell and generally used ' kicking tactic? in the second half on gaining • possession. i\At halfback Walker stood out for a fine exhibition. He varied, his tactics to v; advantage and was prominent on attack, while alw&.YB being handy on defence. Tho Mount Albert forwards played well as a. set. Hansen, Camw&v.' and Shadbqlt were • prominent throughout. Richmond never appeared a happy combination.rand mnch of-the-forwards' good work wa3 nullified by weakness in the backs. Bramley was below his usual form at fullback and 'lacked judgment in hi,? kicking. Tittleton was practically a defender a'J day and h"e did some fine work in this department at centre. McLeod, Mitchell, and Dcvine were the best forwards. For Mount Albert .Walker scored a try and Donaldson kicked three penalty goals. Mr. A. Kinniard was referee. CLOSE CONTEST ;••'f■ ■ . ' . CITY AND NEWTON There was not a great deal of difference between City and Newton and the letter ~ was a little unlucky not to win. Newton had easily the better of the last SO" minutes and wept close to scoring on stiveral occasions. The City forwards, however, pluycd excellent ; football and wtxa always dunmous in the looie. A& a combination the Newton backs we/e the superior set. They appear likely to develop into a good attacking force. W. Brimble missed two fairly ejisy troals, otherwise the score would have been closer. Soon after the kick-off Sander, centretlireeqnarter for Newton, made n splendid •i run. and Greer was lucky to save. The City fullback was suffering from an injured leg

and after limping about for 30 minutes was > replaced by Silva. Mataira and Jackson beaded a dashing forward attack and Dcmpcey was cftught in possession. The City forwards maintained the pressure and looked like scoring, but Brassey, on Iho wing, got off-side. £. Brimblo made a fine opening in a passing bout and Kendall gained useful /•.-'ground before^passing to Sander, who just missed a 'difficult transfer and Newton was unlucky not to score- This movement completely overwhelmed City. After half an hour*# play City tool; the lend as the result ci a good try by Hapi and l<sd by five points to nil at half-time.

From thiD kick-off Hapi made a good run and Jackson went dose to scoring. Several times Dempsey saved Newton with his safe Belding ami! long kicks; drove City back to midfield. The Brimbli; brothers were associated in a dangwoua passing bout, which was checked wlibn D. McKcnzie dropped a pass, and a possible try vras lost. Kindly scored a try for Citjf and just before time W. Mnmblc brolke away and Sander scored for Newton. For City, Silva, at fullback, gave a good exhibition lind compared very favourably with Dempsey, whose defence was a thorn in tne side' of thu opposition. Rata played a good game at five-eighth:., but Whittle, at centre, was not impressive. Both the wings, Brasses and Gould, played good games with limited opportunities. Hapi was the outstanding forward and received excellent support from Mataira, Jackson and Donald. nrimW „ Behind the Newton , pack W. Bnmb e played a fine gamo and was always dangerous on attack. E. Brimble was a so good and Kendall played well. Sander, at centre, was the best back on the ground, being outstanding on attack. Lawson and Taylor were the pick of the forwards, while Blacklaws and Quirke played good games. - For Citv, Hapi and Kindly scored tries and Rata kicked a penalty goal. For Sander scored a try and W. Bnmblo kicked a penalty goal. Mr. 8. Billman was referee.

WIN FOR PAPAKURA MARIST' WEAKENED Owing to players suffering from influenza Marist was considerably weakened in its game asainst Papakura, which, however, had to fight hard to retain tho advantage. The Papakura forwards played good football and three tries by Evans were a feature of the game. The Papakura forwards, headed by Evans and Milliken. rushed play early to the Marist line, where. Herkt went close to scoring. From a forward movement Smith opened the score for Papakura, but a few minutes later, Halsey was rewarded for fast following up. Just before half-time, the Papakura forwards gained thi* upper hand and pressed back the Marist defence. Heavy rain spoiled play in the early stages of the second half, and Papakura again dominated the game. Cossey and Crocker broke away and Evans charged down a kick to place Papakura in the lead. Marist was by no means a beatun team and Erickson and Finlayson carried the ball to the Papakura line. However, clever dribbling by Herkt and Milliken saved the situation. Twice in succession Evans/ who was tho outstanding forward, scored for Papakura. For nearly 15 minutes Marist defended well and kept Papakura from ,"coring. Tho conditions favoured forward play and ♦be form of Evans was very impressive. He was in almost every movement and besides handling well, tackled with a lot of determination. He will only need to retain this standard to have a fine chance of gaining a trial in the representative matches in July. Both Milliken and Herkt plaved good games, although the former stood out in the loose too much. Wells also played a solid game. Cooke, at fullback, was the best of the Papakura backs, while McKay, on the wing, and Crocker, halfback, also played good games. For Marist, Stanaway, at fullback, did not make many mistakes. Halsey was prominent in good following up and was the best back on. the ground. Behind the scrum, Donovan also played a good game. W. Grotte. Ericksen and Finlayson were the pick of the forwards. > For -Papakura, Evans scored three tries and Smith one. For Marist Halsey Bcored the only try and "W. Grotte kicked two penalty goals. Mr. IL Tate iras referoe.. OTHER GRADE RESULTS Senior -Reserve Grade.—North Shore. 15. Manukau, 5; Richmond, 17, Mount Albort, 0; Marist, S, Papakura. 3; City won from Newton by da fault.

Senior B G rade.—Ellerslie, 15. - Point Chevalier, 0. Third Grade.—Ellerslie, 13. Mannkan. 0: Richmond. 12, North Shiro, 3; Avondale won from Point Chevalier by default; Marist. 3. Papakutra, 0. Fourth Grade.~Ci.ty. 6, Newton, 2: Richmond, S!!5, Norihcote, 0; Manukau, 11. Newmarket, 8; Ponsonby, 5. R.V., 0. Fifth Grade. —Mount Albert, 12, Otahuhu, 2; Marist, 7, Ellerslie, 3; * Richmond, 20, Glenora, 0; Avonrt&le, 3. Newmarket, 0. Sixth Grade.--City. 3. Ellerslie, 0; Richmond, 13. Mount Albert, 6. _ . Seventh Grade. —Richmond, 27. Point Chevalier, 0; Papnkura, 0, City, 0.

GAMES IN! OTHER CENTRES

[BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION']

Wellington.—Central, 12. St. George. 0: Mirams.r, 20, Newtown, 3; Petone, 24. Randwick, 5t2

Chrimichurch. —Waimairi. 25, Hornby. 2s Sydenham, 18, Linwood. 9; Addipgton. 2©. Riccarton, 11. .

. p. W. L. D. F. A, Pis. lit. Albert ;• 8 3 • — — 44 I'D 6 City .. 4 3 1 ■ ■ —. 50 30 6 Isorth Shore 3 a 1 — 40 31 4 Ponsonby. •. 'S 2 1 — 47 54 315 30 4 4 2 ilanukau .. 8 Richmond . 3 2 1 1 ,-2 — 65 15 IMarist .. > Papaknra . 4 1 1 2 3 23 29 21. 7K 42 2 2 Newton .. 4 — 4 — 25 """"