THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23370, 12 June 1939, Page 14

THE LEAGUE CODE

CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES START OF SECOND ROUND SURPRISE FOR MOUNT ALBERT Well-contested games on muddy grounds characterised the first series of matches in the second round of the Auckland llugbv League's senior grade competition, which has now reached an interesting stage. The surprise of the series was the splendid game played by Papakura against Mount Albert, the grade leaders. Papakura played dashing football in the first half and established a good lead. In exciting play during tho concluding stages, Mount Albert saved the day by drawing with its lessexperienced opponents. A good game was witnessed ill the main fixture at C'arlaw Park, where Richmond narrowly defeated City, which was unlucky not to score on several occasions. Richmond had more finish to its attacking movements and deserved the honours. Good hack play accounted for the success of Manukau against Ponsonby,' which made a bold bid to retain a narrow lead secured in the first half. Manukau, however, scored two splendid tries in the second half. Newton narrowly defeated Marist on No. 2 ground in a well-contested game. In spite of heavy rain, the main ground at Carlaw Park was in fairly good order, although the ball was greasy. The attendance under the conditions was good. • The results of the senior games were as follows: —- Richmond, 8; City, 0. Papakura, 13; Mount Albert, 13. Newton, 5; Marist, 2. Manukau, 10; Ponsonby, 6. AN EVEN ENCOUNTER RICHMOND BACKS PREVAIL In a fast and well-contested game Richmond proved a little too good for City, which was not favoured with the best of fortune. The winners scored two tries, both well deserved, front good play by the backs, supported by the forwards. City seemed unlucky to have a decision given against Ratn, who appeared to score after a good run through the opposition. The referee ruled that Rata failed to contact the hall, hand and tho ground at the same instant. Richmond, however, was just as unfortunate, when Solomon made a clever run to within a few yards of the City line. The greasy ball slipped as he was about to pass to McLeod. who had a clear run over. Only a penalty goal in favour of Richmond separated the teams at half-time. City lost Jackson, one of its best forwards, aud he was replaced by Ha pi. The second half was full of incident, and soon after the kick-off Watkins worked the blind side and; clever anticipation by Solomon, caught the City backs out of position. City's forwards rose to tlie occasion splendidly and drove lficnmond back. For 10 minutes the vanguard tried unsuccessfully to cross the goal line. It was bad tactics on the part of Hutchinson not to take the up-and-under kick from a penaltv. Six such chances were given to City, but each time a hurried kick was taken. At this stage of the game the City forwards completely dominated the game, and more use should have been made of them. It was the more finished play of the Richmond backs that beat City. , Satherley won the ball from the scrum frequently and his hooking was cleaner than that of Airev, a former Canterbury representative. Round the scrum, the Richmond inside j backs. Watkins. Solomon and Graham, were more reliable than those opposite them. Simpson, tho City five-eighths, adopted good tactics in grubber kicking, but there was not enough speed among the forwards to prevent the return kick. It was from one of these kicks that Rata nearly scored. The Richmond forwards are not playing nearly so well as in the earlier games. There is a lack of combination. which previously was a feature of the team's displays. Tt was on rare occasions that the forwards raced into passing movements with tho backs. For Richmond, the outstanding player was Mills, who played a fine game on the wing. He showed plenty of determination and anticipation above the ordinary. On this form he has strong claims for a_ trial- in one of the representative fixtures. Kronfeld, on the other wing, made a good impression in his first senior game. He has plenty of speed. Solomon was a thorn in the side of the opposition, and frequently turned defence into attack by headv play. Watkins also played well behind 1 the pack, and made the most of his opportunities. Graham, at second fivc-eiyhlh.«. also plaved a good game. Tittleton hung on a little too'lone, but otherwise played a sound game, as did Brnmley at fullback. Mitchell was easily the best of the forwards and was w-elt snpported by Davis, McLeod and Devine, who. however, is not playing as well as earlier in the season. .. , _.. Wh'ttle played a sterling game for City at fullback, and his fine tackling was a feature of the game. Simpson was the best, or the barks and was prominent on attack. Gould, on the wins, shows a lot of promise. Rata at centre also played a good game. Among a' hard-working set of forwards; Mataira was the pick, while Thompson, Hapi and Donald played good games. For Richmond tries were scored by Solomon and Mills, while Bramley kicked a penalty goal. Mr. J. Hawkes was referee. PAPAKURA UNLUCKY LEADERS FULLY EXTENDED [moil OUR OWN COKR-ESrONDENT] . PAPAKURA, Sunday Supporters of the League code In Papakura were treated to a fine exhibition yesterday. when Papakura met Mount Albert, the leading team in the senior competition, the game resulting in a draw, 13-all. lapakura played great football In the first spell, which ended 13 points to nil in Its favour. The second spell was hard fought all the wav i»nd two quick tries by Mount Albert brought them close to Papakura « score. The equalising try was scored a few minutes from time. Papakura was unlucky to be beaten, as it niado most of the play throughout and went close to scoring in the second spell. Cossev was the outstanding player on the field, his tackling being deadly, while he always had an eye for an opening. 1-roin the kick-off Papakura quickly got under way, the forwards breaking fast from the scrum and allowing the Mount Albert inside backs little scope. The Papakura forwards, with Milliken and Fogarty profnineiit, gradually worked their way to Mount Albert's line, where from a nice forward movement the ball went from Milliken to Dobbvn, who scored wide out. Mclnncs missed the kick. With Papakura attacking in Mount Albert's twenty-live Crocker sent, to C'ossey, who burst I past Banham and connected with Fogarty, I the latter scoring between the posts. Mclnnes converted.

Papakurn slill kept up the attack. Its forwards playing all over Mount Albert'*. six. Onlv good defensive work .by Marshall and Me La cli lan kept Pa pa k lira from scoring. Gunning nnd Cameron were playing well for Mount Albert which was miincky, when, with the .way open to the line, Hardgrave knocked on and a certain try was lost. From a scrum Cosscv stab-kicked ahead. Mclnnes raced in, collected on the bounce and swerved past McLachlan to score a fine try. He also converted.

Mount Albert began the second half at a fast pace and had Papaknra defending desperately. but Greer. Papaknra's fullback, rose to the occasion, and drove his opponents back time nfter time with well-placed line kicks. Mount Albert was teaming better now and when Bunham kicked to a gap Hoskln failed to hold the ball, nnd Herring collected to go over between the posts. Donaldson converted. Immediately afterward Donaldson kicked a penalty goal. From a passing rush Donaldson burst through and Marshall went over at the corner. Donaldson missed the

kick. From a scrum on Mount Alberts line a nice passing rush was started by Donaldson and Mclnnruey scored llio equalising trv. Donaldson failed with the kick. Papakura's forwards pave a sterling exhibition and were superior to the Mount Albert set. Fogarty, the captain, showed great speed from the scrum, while Milliken, Smith and Bobbyn were always reliable. The best back was Cossey; with Greer and McInnes as good supports. For Mount Albert Cunning and Cameron were the best of a beaten pack, with Walker, Donaldson, who was brilliant on occasions. nn<l McLnrhlau the best backs. Mount Albert had a slight advantage in the back division. NEWTON BEATS MARIST FORWARDS HOLD ADVANTAGE Newton defeated Marist on No. 1 ground in a very patchy game, typical of uninteresting, wet weather foot hall, and the final score of five points to two was a true indication of the slight superiority of Ihe winning pack, Newton's backs, also, showed rather more cohesion than their opponents, who were without the services of Haslam and Midgley, but neither side made much effort at constructive football, and kick-nnd-follow was the general rule. These tactics gave the • respective fullbacks the hulk of the defensive work, and both acquitted themselves well under the adverse conditions of a very greasy ground and ball. The few passing efforts witnessed during the came were slow and directed straight across the ground, presenting little difficulty to the defence, while handling of the heavy ball was always uncertain. Marist's inside hacks were weak, and Haslam's absence was obvious, both on attack and defence. J here was not much to choose between the two sets of forwards in the set scrums, hut in tlio loose rushes, which the ground conditions favoured, Newton kept together better and held the upper hand, except when Marist made a Inte effort to snatch victory. It was then that their forwards infused more dash into their play and went close to equalising the scores in the last few minutes of play. A series of scrambling forward rushes and counter-rushes marked the opening half-hour of play, and there were occasional bouts of kicking between the opposing backs, with Newton holding fho territorial advantage. It was not until within five minutes of the end of the spell that Taylor snapped up the hnl in one of Newton's drives for the line and fell across for a try, which Anderson improved with a fine goal to give his side a lead of five points. Play in the second half was similar to that of the first spell, except that Marist. showed better understanding, both among' the forwards and backs. The oulv score, however, was a good penalty goal by Anderson, of Marist, who played at centrethreequarter in place of Haslam. Anderson lost a great chance to equalise, the scores when lie intercepted with a clear run ahead, onlv to fumble and throw the ball forward. Deinpsey caused a few anxious moments for Xcwton,' when lie speculated twice in the face of the Marist forwards. However, on one occasion, the ball was kicked too far by Finlavson and went over the dead-ball line, with Matthews waiting to pounce on it for a fry. On the oilier occasion the Brunble brothers came to the rescue with clever defence. Deinpsey, at fullback for Newton, was as safe as usual except for the two occasions on which lie was guilty of speculating. His welldirected kicking and team-work with the other backs were invaluable to his side. Stevens, on the left wing, nut in a few smart runs, but Kendall, right wing, was too slow. Sander, at centre, ran and and alwavs tried to open up play. McKenzie. at five-eighths, was also too slow and indulged in too much kicking. The Brimblo brothers were a good combination behind the scrum and defended well., Taylor, Beatlie and the Proctor brothers were always prominent in the forwards. Glover played a fine game at fullback for Marist. and it was not his fault that his repeated efforts to set the backs going on attack were ineffective. His kicking gained valuable ground for the forwards. Ilalsey and Matthews,' tin; wing-threequarters. suffered through the absence of Haslam and lacked chances. Anderson, at centre, played the opportunist's game and usually preferred to kick instead of passing. Hughes was weak at five-eighths, but R. Orottc, at halfback, and Donovan stood up well to a gruelling task on defence. made several abortive dashes on his own without support. Barehard, Weavers and Logan showed up well in the forwards. Mr. 0. Chalmers was referee. FORWARDS DOMINANT SUCCESS OF MANUKAU Good play by the Manukau forwards was the deciding factor in its narrow victory over Ponsonby in the curtain-raiser. Manukau was weakened by the absence of Hemi. Xepia. Mahinia and Brodrick. Ponsonby was without McManus, and early in the game lost Riley, whose place at centro was taken by the forward. Petersen. The rearrangement of the Manukau backs did not materially weaken the team on attack. Pauapa, who usually plays at five-eighths, made a success or the halfback position, while Wiberg. in place of Nepia at fullback, played splendidly. Early in the game Ponsonby played like a winning team, and its backs threw the ball about in great style. Good passing bouts and clever handling by the backs caught Manukau unawares, and on several occasions the greasy ball cost Ponsonby tries. The first half was decidedly in favour of Ponsonby, although only one try was scored. Manukau took some time to settle down, but half-way through the. second spell its forwards played dashing football. The ball was kept on the ground, and the Mamikaii forwards revelled in these tactics. Ponsonby's backs got plenty of chances, but the handling was not as certain lis in the first half. Young should have exploited the short punt more frequently, so that the'" backs could use their undoubted speed. It was really a game of lost chances ns far as Ponsonby was concerned. Flanagan won the ball from almost every scrum, hut the backs failed on the heavy ground. Seeing that Manukau had to play a defensive game for the greater part, there was a Jot of merit in its second half performance. For Munukau, Chase at second five-eighths was the best back on the ground and paved tho way for both tries. Behind the scrum. Panapa got through a lot of useful work and should do well in this position. Brougbton put in some good runs at centre. At fullback. Wiberg fielded well and kicked with good judgment. Marsh was the best of the forwards and plaved a dashing game. Ririniu, Gault and McLeod also played good games. Kay was seen to advantago on attack for Ponsonby, using his speed to improvo the position, but his tackling was not above criticism. Petersen, a forward, filled he wingthreequartcr position with credit, and was; unlucky twice not to score. Dormer played a fine game behind tho pack, being well supported bv Young at five-eighths. Hell did a lot of useful work among the forwyds. nnd Morgan was outstanding in the loose. Mlddleton also played a good game. T For Manukau. tries were scored by McLeod and Marsh Chase converted one and kliken a penalty goal. For Ponsonby Young and Dormor scored tries. Mr. S. Billman was referee. LOWER GRADE RESULTS Senior Reserve Grade. —Mount Albert, 21, Papakura, 11; Richmond. '2O, City, 3; L onKonb.v. IU, Manukau, 3; karist, 24, Newton. "'Senior Grade B. —Otahuhu, 8, Point Chevalier, 0; Ellcrslie, 13, Northcote, <■.. Third Grade. —City, •■>, Mount Albert, 3, Otahuhu, 23. Papakura: 0; Northcote, I_, Ci v B 3- Marist, 8, Eilerslle, O: Ponsonby, 31 . Point Chevalier, 0; '2. olenor.r.U. Fourth Grade. —Mount Albert. 2i, -Norm cote, '2; Ponsonby, 3, Papakura, '2; Manukau, 8 li V., <•: North Shore, 8, Newmarket, 0, Otahuhu, 10. Green Lane. 2. Fifth Grade. —hllcrslie. 1 « l P ak . l } ra s/ 5 ' Sixth Grade. —Richmond, 2, Shore, 2; Mount Albert, 2, Manukau, 2; Otahuhu. a ' Seven r th lC 'Gn.de.— Ponsonby. 3, Papakura, 3; Richmond, 0, City, 3. SCHOOLBOY GAMES Senior Grade.—Otahuhu. 32, Avondale. 0; Newton 31, North Shore, O; Richmond, _3. Northcote. '2. Untri.-Ws "0 Intermediate Grade.—St. I ntrick «, Manukau, <>; Newton, rt, Mount Albert, 0. Junior Grade.-St. Patrick's 0. Manukau, 0; Newmarket, 3, Point Chevalier, 3. RESULTS IN OTHER CENTRES [|IY TKI.KGBAI'H I'ItKSS ASSOCIATION*] Wellington.—The third series of matches in the second round of the, Wellington Rugby League's senior competition resulte«l George 18, Newtown, 13; Central, 11, Randwick, r>; Petone. 17, Miramar, '2. Christchuroh. —Linwood, 30, Hornby, fi; Riccarton, li, Sydenham, 3; Waimairi, », Rakaia, 5. New Plymouth.—Athletic, 13, Western Suburbs, 3; lnglewood, 47, Eastern Suburbs. 8. RESULTS IN NORTHLAND [BV TKI.KUKAI'II OWN COHIt KSI'ONOKNt] WHANG ARET, Saturdny For the first time this season League football matches in the Wbangnrei district were played in rain and on heavy fields. City was defeated by Hikurangi at TTikurangl by II points to 2. For the home team F. Pickerell scored three tries, one of which was converted by C. Hamilton, while F. Bradley kicked a penalty goal for City. The forwards of both sides wero fairly evenly matched, but the Hikurnngi backs made more of their opportunities. In the other senior game at Whangarel, Kensington beat Kamo United by 8 points to 5. For Kensington, E. Child and Michaeljohn scored, and Child gained tho other two points from a penally goal. Murray scored for Kamo, tho try boing converted by L. King.

WIN FOR NEW SOUTH WALES (Received June 31, f>.s p.m.) SYDNEY, Jtmft 11 In an intcr-Stata Rugby League match played yesterday, New South Wales defeated Queensland, by .Vi points to 15. The former led by i2l points to 5 at half-time.