THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23388, 3 July 1939, Page 14

THE LEAGUE CODE

NORTH SHOIIE AGAIN / 'MANUKAU TEAM DEFEATED c:m' SURPRISES NEWTON bright and exciting football, in spite of adverse weather and ground conditions, was witnessed by a largo crowd at. Carlaw Park on Saturday, when tho Auckland Hugby League's senior championship competition was continued. North Shore, leader for the championship, maintained its run of successes-with a comfortable win front lUanuknu, and Mount Albert kept its position in second place with a victory over- Richmond. Tho only real surprise of the day was the somewhat lucky Fucress of City over New ton. In spite of tl:e h.pavy ground and the fact that steady rain early in the afternoon made the ball very difficult to handle "there were many sparkling passing movements in both games on No. 1 ground, but the conditions on No. 2 ground wore all in favour of the forwards. who dominated play. North Shore proved too solid all round for Manukau in the principal match of tho day, but the score is not a true indication of the run of play, as gave a very spirited display. throwing the heavy ball about ■with abandon' and making desperate efforts irf the second spell to pierce the winner - !- strong defence. North Shore's determined tarkhng was a feature of the later stages of the game. .Mount [Albert, is another well-balanced side, and superior all-round play accounted for its defeat of Richmond, although the luck was not with the latter team. ;n ewton kept City mainly on the defence, but lost tin 1 load in the second Epell.and repeated, desperate attacks failed to wipe out the one-point deficit. IVlarist was strengthened by the inclusion at centre of Hudson, a former ronsanbj} Rugby Union player and ex■\Yollingtoiv representative, and just managed to subdue Papaknra after a dour forward <-tniggle. Results' of the senior matches were as follows: — North Shore, 19; Manukau, 5. Mount Albert. 11; Richmond, 6. City. 6; Newton. 5. Marist, 7; Papaknra, 5. FINE FORWARD PLAY G. NEPIA'S STRONG DEFENCE The earlv exchanges in the game between JTorth Shore and Manukau were evenly contested and piny had born in procrress for some" considerable time before V. Scott opened the scoring "with a penalty goal. Tlemi retaliated with a fine goal for Manukau and, although both sets of forwards were working strenuously, with Manukau forwards and backs throwing the ball about at every opportunity, it was not until near half-time that Jone'i supported bv Fields, took the ball through at" toe for the latter to score. V. Scott converted and Xorth Shore led by 7 points to , , The Xorih Shore forwards had been raining the defence determinedly, but found NepU a. stumbling block, the veteran showing all his old guile and generalship and claiming a distinct advantage in duels of rangii-kicking with Smith, the opposing fullback. Manukau had the advantage of getting the ball from the set scrums, but Ma hi ma. the halfback, was allowed a lot cI latitude bv the referee. The retirement of Brimble.. five-eighths, upset the arrangement of the Manukau backs, Wiberg coming on as left wing-threequarter. Earlv in the second spell a penalty against "Manukau for a scrum infringement enabled V. Scott to put Xorth Shore further ahead, and then Jones followed a clever centre-kick bv Chatham to take the ball right through at his toe-for a well-deserved try. Scott again madi! no wistake with the kick. It was now Manukau's;turn after several strong attacks. Nepia and' Broderick took the hall right downfield with inter-passing and Mahima worked the blind side from a scrum to enable "Wiberg to score. Hemi made some clever moves, but was stopped by Cheator with resolute tackles. The scene changed when_ Smith started a passing bout, in which V. Scott. Sterling and Mackintosh participated, the last-named bein;? brought down near the Manukau line. Sterling followed a cross-kick, only to slip and miss an almost certain try. However, Jones again -went through in a dribbling rush and E. Scott fell on the ball for a try. ■which Smith converted. Manukau continued ■to throw the ball about and Hemi cut through neatly, just missing a try. The defence proved too sound and the game ended with the scores:—North Shore. 10; Manukau. At fullback for Xorth Shore, Smith was not. at .his best in the first spell, his kicking being erratic:and suffering in comparison with Nepta's efforts. However, he improved in the second half, and gave a linn display. V. Scott was sound .it rentn* and his kicking was a preat asset. Cheator and Chatham, the wingthreequarlers, did .ill that was required of them, the former's splendid tackling being a feature .of his plav. Brown and Pitt, at five-eighths, were solid without beins brilliant, Brown being prominent for good defence and tackling. Sterling played a creat came at halfback, standine up to the heavy Mariukau forwards and getting the ball away well whenever the chncc offered. He also made several npat. openings on his own nnd kept well up with the play. Of the forwards Jones •was very prominent, particularly in tile second half, and others to catch the eye in a very solid pack wer E. Scott, Fields. Mackintosh and Hapeta. X'.epia was his old self at fullback for Manukau and repeatedly saved his side. Hemi. «t centra, was the most dangerous of the threequarters, but at times was badly foolod by the opposition when waiting to intercept: Mahimn, at halfback, was the only other back to show up. although his tactics : of trying to do ton much on his own nulli- I fipd a lot of the success obtained by the for- | wards in the scrums. Brodrick and t'irinui : wer* outstanding in the forwards, but found ! their weight and pace of little advantage ( against resolute tackling. For Xorth Shore tries were scored by j Fields. Jones and E. Scott, two beintr converted by V. Scott and one by Smith. V. 'Scott also kicked two penalty goals. For Manukau IVilberg scored a try and Hemi kicked a penalty goal. Mr. E. Otto was referee.

. CLOSE SCORING GAME I NEWTON BEATEN BY ONE POINT City's narrow win by G points to over JCewton / not only put an end to the latter team's •unbroken series of victories, but also shattered its chances in the championship. Xewton. however, was decidedly unlucky, for 'it played better football, and was continually on the attack. For the final V> minutes the 'backs, handling the greasy ball remarkably well, made desperate assaults on the City line, but they were repulsed by solid defence. Once in the lead City was contented to adopt a defensive role, and made no effort to improve its one-point advantage. Early iri the game Sander, the Xewton centre-threequarter. found a weakness in the defence, and he made repeated thrusts which penetrated deep into City's territory. Twentyfive minutes of play elapsed, however, before he/was rewarded with a try. after a burst for the corner. The half-time score, s—n, in Newton's favour, was a better indication of the run of play than the final result. / At, the commencement of I lie second spell City forwards, led by Mataira, made a brief rally, which was sufficient to give Hughes en opportunity of scoring the winning try. City was without the services of Donald, one of its best forwards, who was injured last week, and he was badly missed. On top of this, Thompson was carried off with a knee injury, leaving City with a depleted pack. Movement? by the City backs were few, Jnvariably breaking down at the first fiveeighths. Madigan, a newcomer, who showed little understanding with Hughes at halfback. His defence, however, stood up to Newton's onslaughts in the concluding stages, and both he and Silva were chiefly responsible in maintaining City's slender lead. The Xewton pack was led by Black laws, who was well supported by Taylor and R, Proctor. Quirke hooked the ball'consisteullv enabling W. Brimble to set his backs in motion with crisp, well-directed passes. Dempsey, at fullback, played a sl.vlish game, and rarely mafjle a mistake, in spite of the unfavourable conditions. Gould and Hughes scored for C'lt.v, and Anderson converted Sander's try for Newton. I Air. S. Blllman was referee.

MOUNT ALBERT TOO STRONG VICTORY OVER RICHMOND Mount Albert held the advantage, both cack .inn forward, over Kiclimoiifl. hut the latter was not favoured by the luck in the run of play. Mount Albert was unfortunate to lose MficLuchla n, fullback, enrlv in the srame. Hansen rlroppinsr out of the scrum to .replace him, while Marshall went from centreTh!reequarter to the back of. the scrum. Mr. Innarney coinintj on as centre. This rearrangement did not affect the winners' play a -Treat deal, and Hansen proved a reliable custodian. Solomon played another outstanding game in the Richmond backs. Play wag hricht and open, in spite of the prevailing conditions, and Mount Albert's forwards showed to advantage, early, but it jvns from a -mistake by Richmond that the

first score was registered. Solomon sent out n. pass which was missed, and Hardgravo snapped the ball up, ran strongly and passed iiiiield to Donaldson, who scored at Ilio corner. Solomon retaliated with a brilliant ful-low-throtnjh of a uruliber kick, to secure (ossrssiru, and send Mills round behind the posts for a fine try. Braitiley's kick hit a post nnd rebounded. The remainder of the spell was evenly contested. In the second half, a series of forward attacks was held up ri>,'ht on the Richmond line, until Walker, who was playing splendidly at halfback for Moimt Albert, di.dtrcd his way right throutrli the defence for a "l>tilliant try. flardgravc consolidated Mount Albert';; position with a try as the result of follow-invr a grubber kick throuuh. Richmond came hack with a passing bout, and Mills cut in cleverly from the right wins to beat the defence and -core under the ; osls. Brantley again missed an easy kick. I,'ichaiond continued to attack, until Donaldson saved with a strong run. and the final score was:— Mount Albert, It; Richmond, <>■ For the winners, Walker, halfback, was outstanding, and it is a pity he is lacking in size and weight, lie revealed a very tricky sidestep when on attack, and improved on the advantage secured by his forwards. Banham, at five-eiiihtlis. exploited the short stabkick to advantage, and Donaldson was always ready to seize an opportunity, 'l'bo latter was also prominent on defence, llardgrave and Donnelly went well at wing-three-quarters, particularly the former. Cameron played a great uanie in the forwards, and he was ably supported by Gunning. Leatherbarrow and Shadbolt. Hansen fillrd the role nf fullback with credit. Brantley was safe at fullback for Richmond, but was off-colour at goal-kicking. Tittleton and Potter had limited chances on attack, but defended well. Mills and Kronfeld, on the wings, both played (rood

games. Webb, at halfback, was overshadowed by the opposition, and was not suited by tho conditions. Solomon. five-eight lis, was outstanding, and improves with every came. Of the forwards. McLeod, Mitchell. Ilndley and Davis were the pick McLeod frequently got through in the rucks, but lacked support. For Mount Albert. Donaldson., Walker and Hardgravc scored tries. Herring converting one. For Richmond. Mills scored two tries. Mr. G. Kelly was referee.

MARIST DEFEATS PAPAKURA

FINE DISPLAY BY MILLIKEN After an oven but unexciting frame, played on a sodden ground, Marist managed to beat l'apakura by 7 points to 5. From the outset the game resolved into a struggle between the forwards, with the keen Papakurii pack maintaining a slight superiority throughout. Their over-eagerness, however, cost them two penalties and gave Marist a four-point lead at the interval. The outstanding feature «Sf the game was a fine exhibition of wet-weather football by the I'apakura captain, Milliken. who showed a continuance of his fine form of the previous week, lie initiated his side's bustling tactics by making long sprints, which he finished off with well-judged punts, allowing his forwards to race up on to the Marist backs, the latter having difficulty in handling the wet ball.

Fogarty and Dobbyn. for I'apakura, were a hard-working pair, the hitter's try being well deserved after fast following up. Greer, at fullback, played coolly and kicked with precision. His attempt at a field goal was a good effort, the ball striking the crossbar. The remainder of I'apaknra's backs rarely distinguished themselves. Cossey and Me I lines being the best of a mediocre set. Marist fielded Hudson —formerly of the Ponsonby Rugby club —who played at centrethreequa'rter. Few opportunities came to him. but once lie broke away, only to lose a certain try by electing to carry on himself, when supported by Midsley. and with only the opposing fullback to pass. At halfback K. (irotte played a plucky and resourceful game in the trying conditions. Bo?h the wings. Midgley and Halsry, were fast ami determined runners, who took a good deal of stopping. The former was responsible for a fine try in the corner, while the latter set up a "lOyds dribbling rush which should have ended in a try, hut Anderson, when attempting to complete the movement, kicked tho ball dead. Anderson gave a glimpse of his goal-kicking ability, which proved so invaluable to Marist last season, and. in addition, played soundly in other departments. His best support came from Barclinrd and Erickson.

Marist's points were made up by two penalties by Anderson and an unconverted try by Midgley. Dobbyn scored Pa pa k ura's try. which was converted by Mclnnes. Mr. J. Jones was referee. RESULTS IN LOWER GRADES Senior Reserve Grade.— Richmond, IS. Mount Albert. 7: Xorth Shore. 11, Manukau, 10; City, <!, Newton, o; Marist, Papaknra. Senior B Grade.—Point Chevalier. S. R.V.. Third Grade.—Otahnhu, 7, Mount Albert. •1; Marist, S. Newton. 4. Fourth Grade.—Richmond. 12. Mount Albert, •>; Manukau, 5, Xorthcote, ."i; Otahnhu. beat R.Y. by default; Xorth Shore. 5. Green Lane. Fifth Grade. —Richmond heat Glenora by default; Xe\vmarket. P. Avondale, <>. Sixth Grade. —City. 10, Mount Albert, 2; Otahuhu. 10. Manukau. 0. Seventh Orade. —7'oint Chevalier, 2. City. 0; Papaknra, !•">, Xorthcote, Hi; Richmond. S. Ponsonby, 3. MATCH AT WHANGAREI [from our own cokrespondent] Vv'HAXGARF.I, Sunday Only one senior match was played under the control of the Northland League yesterday when City beat Kensington. f»—:S. The match between Kamo United and Portland was postponed. For City, V. Payne scored, nnd Beadley converted. The latter also kicked two penalty goals. Shorthand scored a try for Kensington.