THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23430, 21 August 1939, Page 13

THE LEAGUE CODE

CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY FINAL SERIES OF GAMES NORTH SHORE RUNNER-UP Tho senior grade championship of the Auckland Rugby League was concluded at Oarlaw Park on Saturday, when the contest for second place in the championship was won by North Shore, which narrowly defeated Pnpakura in the curtain-raiser. The championship bad already been won by Mount Albert.

In the principal game, Newton proved too strong for Manukau, and won comfortably, after an evenly-con-tested first half. Manukau gave a disappointing display and never at any stage settled down to play its accustomed good football..ln the only other senior grade match, Mount Albert defeated City in a well-contested game on No. 2 ground. The ground conditions showed a vast improvement from previous Saturdays, and the play was generally bright. The results were as follows: — Newton, 15; Manukau. 2. North Shore, 7; Papaktira, 6. Mount Albert, 18; City, 9. The following table shows the final positions of the teams: — Points Ch. P. W. L. D. F. A. Pts. Mt. Albert . Hi 13 2 1 28-t 105 27 North Shore 1G 10 5 1 100 153 21 Newton .. 10 9 0 1 188 120 10 Ponsonby . 15 7 7 1 170 204 15 Manukau . 10 7 8 1 210 2-t-l. 15 Richmond . 35 7 8 City .. 1(3 5 8 3 137 188 14 Marist .. 10 0 10 Papakura .16 2 12 2 132 250 0

NEWTON TOO STRONG DEFEAT OF MANUKAU Better combined play by Newton was s a feature of its convincing victory over Manukau, the latter team playing much below its usual form. In the first half Manukau did most of the attacking, but the faulty handling of the backs cost several possible tries. Wiberg lacked initiative at halfback, and Mahima, the usual half, was moved from five-eighths in the second half. However, the Newton backs, mainly owing to the smart play of the Brimble brothers round the scrum, had much the better of the second half, and generally outclassed the opposition. There was too much individual play by' the* Manukau backs. At fullback for Newton, Dcmpsey fielded the ball very cleanly, but he lacked initiative on attack. It was very interesting to compare the tactics of Dcmpsey arid Ncpia. the respective fullbacks. Both players kicked altogether too often, where a smart run would have opened up scoring movements. In no game seen this season has there been so many return kicks from which little advantage was ever gained. Sander, at centre, played a fine game, although he missed several passes in promising passing bouts. McKenzie played a sound game at five-eighths, and is greatly improved on attack. Stephens showed plenty of dash on the wing but lacked opportunities. W. .Brimble, at halfback, and E. Brimble, five-eighths, stood out as the best players on the ground, smart, well directed passes being a feature of their play. Among the forwards, Proctor Biacklaws and Taylor played good games. At centre-threequarter for Manukau, Gregory, a new player to the code, did a lot of useful work. He made several nice openings and revealed a good burst of speed. Mahima played better when moved to halfback. Ncpia, was not so prominent as usual, although his defence was very sound. After an absence of one year, S. Watene. a former New Zealand captain, assisted Manukau and played well in the forwards. ITapi. Maguire and Shelton were also prominent. Manukau started off well, and Watene initiated a nice passing bout- and Mahima gained useful ground. Anderson missed a penalty kic,k, and Gregory, a new player was prominent in a good dash well past halfway. Fast play followed an interception by E. Brimble. and McKenzie passed too soon to Stephens, who had a clear run in. Newton backs got plenty of chances and Sander raised hopes in a fine dash which was stopped only by a splendid tackle by Nepia. TTowcvcr. -a good solo effort by Taylor gave Newton its first try. which W. Brimble converted. Soon after the recommencement of play Newton was definitely superior, and a weak return by Ncpia was fielded by Dcmpsey, who raced away and passed to McKenzie. for the latter (o score. A few minutes later Newton forwards, with Proctor and Taylor prominent. rushed play to the Manukau line, where Biacklaws snapped up and scored. Play was very ragored. and there was little combination. Sander was a frequent offender for dropping passes, and il

cost a try when E. Brimblc, and next Stephens, raced the centre into a perfect scoring position. Xewton forwards dominated the play in the concluding stages. For Newton tries were scored by Taylor. McKonzie and Blackhws. W. Brimblc converted two tries and Anderson kicked a penalty goal. For Manukau Ncpia kicked a penalty goal. / - Mr. S. Billman was referee.

J COMBINATION LACKING VICTORY FOR NORTH SHORE There was not a great deal of difference between the North Shore and Papakura teams and victory for the former by a single point was well deserved. The losers, however, put up a splendid showing, and with a little luck may have won decisively. Territorially Papakura had the better of the game, and it was only in the last 10 minutes that the Dcvonport forwards gained the upper hand. Few of the players in either side reached any great heights, and generally there was little combination. 'The North Shore forwards, however, excelled in the loose, and Souter, Fields and Mackintosh were • the pick. Fields played a particularly good game, and his form of late has been consistently good. Cheater, on the wing, showed a lot of dash, and Pitt and Chatham at five-eighths, played good games. The Papakura backs were a better combination, and Cosscy and Hosken played, good games. The former was particularly good on attack, and made several nice openings, which, with better support, may have resulted in tries being scored. Behind the scrum, Crocker used plenty of variety in his methods, and defended well. Among; the Papakura forwards. Gray, a former Sydney player, showed promise, and participated in several passing bouts. Fogarty was a tower of strength among the forwards.

For North Shore, Fields scored the only try, which was converted by Coutts, who also kicked a penalty goal. For Papakura Smith and Hosken scored tries.

AN EASY WIN MOUNT ALBERT NOT PRESSED Mount Albert was not seriously troubled to secure victory over City on No. 2 ground by IS points to 1). The ground had improved since the previous week and was in fair order, enabling the players to handle tlm bali with some certainty, many sparkling passing movements on both side being wit-, nessed. Most of the scoring was done in the first half, in which Mount Albert held a marked advantage in all departments and changed over with a lead of 15 points to T. Both backs and forwards threw the ball about at every opportunity and were always dangerous when in possession. City improved considerably as play progressed and in the second snell secured a fair share of the ball, frequently forcing Mount Albert back on defence. However, both sides indulged in too much aimless kicking and Oftiy was inclined to become ragged at times. Passing among the backs resulted in Donnelly scoring in the first few minutes of play and Donaldson converted from near the side-line. Hard rucking by the Mount Albert forwards ended in Hansen picking up the ball to' touch down for a try, which Donaldson again converted with a good kick. City then took a hand on attack and in a passing bout Hughes cut in neatly to send Smith across for a try. Each side was successful with Benalty shots in turn, Magee for City and lonaldson for Mount Albert, Magee repeating the effort shortly afterwards. Fielding a clearing kick by Whittle, Hardgrave bent four men and was only brought down a yard from the goal-line. Walker secured possession from the ruck and dived into the forwards, Hansen touching down for his second try, which made the scores: Mount Albert. 15; Citv, 7. City obtained possession more often in the second spell and adopted the passinsr game of its opponents with fair results. The forwards also rucked harder and held the opposition better, but most of (he movements lacked the polish and finish shown by Mount Albert. It appeared that the champions were content with their lead. "Whittle, Smith and Oould were prominent in a passing movement, which carried play into their opponents' twenty-five, where Silva was successful with a penalty goal. A series of looso rushes by the Mount Albert forwnrds kept City hard pressed and Walker fielded a clearing kick to send Gunning away from the twenty-five. Running strongly, the big forward scored wide out, and although City came hack with a strong attack, there was no further score MacLachlan was safe at fullback for the winners, kicking and running strongly. Marshall was prominent at centre, and Hardgrave made several good runs on the wing. The inside backs. Donaldson. Schultz and Walker, all played well behind a winning (lack. Gunning, Tristram nnd Hansen were the pick of n solid set of forwnrds. Whittle plaved a good game at fullback for City, making play for the threenuarters whenever the chance offered. The outstanding back was Silva, who showed up well at five-eighths both on attack nnd defence, and Raesbec.k, halfback, while Hughes gave solid support. Thompson. Jackson and Magee played prominent parts in the forward movements. For Mount Albert tries wero scored by Donnelly, Hansen (2) and Gunning. Donaldson converted two tries nnd also kicked a pennllv goal. Smith scored a try for City and Magee kicked two penalty goals and Silva one. Mr. G. Kelly was referee.

RESULTS IN LOWER GRADES Senior B Grade.—Ellerslic, 24, Green Lane. 0; Olahuhu. 38, Northcotc. o. Third Grade.—Glenora 31, Avondalc, •!: Mount Albert, 12, Ellerslic, 3; Otahuliu, l.'J. Cit.v, 3; R.V.. 15, City B. 0. Fourth Grade.—Mount, Albert. 32, New"isirket, 0; City 51, Mauukau, 0; Ponsonby, 31, North Shore, 2; Otahuhu, 5, Papakura, !>.

Fifth Grade. —Avondale, 8, Point Chevalier, 3; Newmarket, 85, Glenora, 0; Richmond 11. Marist. 5. Sixth Grade. —Ellerslie, S, Richmond, 5; City, 10, Otahuhu, 3. Seventh Grade.—Richmond, 5, Ponsonby, ./- SCHOOLBOY GAMES Senior Grade.—Otaliuhu, 27, North Shore. 3; Richmond 0, Newton, 3. Intermediate Grade.—Richmond, 10, Newton, 0; Ponsonby, II), Mount. Albert, 0; St. Patrick's, 3, Green Lane B, 0; Ellerslie. 4-1, Manukau. 0. Seven-a-side Games. —Manukau 0, Newton, 3; Papakura, 0, North Shore, 0. MATCHES IN CHRISTCHURCH [by TELEGRAPH riIKSS association] CHRISTCHURCH, Sunday League football matches played yesterday resulted as follows:—Addington, 22, Hornby, (i; Sydenham, 13, Waimairi, 3; Linwood, 0, Riccarton, 0.