THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23631, 15 April 1940, Page 11

THE LEAGUE CODE

might exhibitions : . ' • . T~ ,f preliminary fixtures -y&i. ■ r ■ ■ 1 MANUKAU extends mt. albert A JbisrVi standnril of play was again witnessed-at Carlaiv Park on Saturday, when -a second .series of preliminary matches was played under the control of the Auckland Ruebv League. The were in splendid order* in spite of hcavv rain in tlio morning. The principal srnmc at Curiaw Park between Mount Albcrt\fast year - s champions, and Mannkau prnvidfd a large crowd with B thrillinsr exhibition. The scorinsr was even throughout, and fhe Maori team, always popular with the spectators, made a irreaf effort to defeat its formidable rivals. At time.'i some splendid combined movements wcr c witnessed, and th£ try by J. Gunning, after five Mount Albert backs had handled, capped a ver > v r " ,r movement. Mannkau also played well, but its backs larked the finish I of the Mount Albert rearguard. A feature of the frame was the solid tackling: of both teams. ' Mount Albert made several alterations in ■ -^ s * team .in the second half, and apparently has plenty of stood players to choose from. Throughout the game Mount Albert's backs concentrated on teamwork and allowed the forwards to carry most of the play. Both isets of forwards, however, were well matched and the outstanding player was undoubtedly P. Ririnui, whose dashing play impressed the/crowd. Half-way through the second spell 5 : 3?irinui thrilled the crowd with n fine solo effort and he just failed to score when lowered • lv Tottey a few inches from Mount Albert's coal line. Gunning was little inferior to Ririnui, being prominent in the loose. Shadbolt and Tristram also played good football, and R. Flower, an Australian, impressed both as a forward in the first spell and as centre-threequarter in the second half. P. Tottey, the New South Wales rcpresenta•tiv'e played a heady game at centre and was alwa.vs the pivot /of the attack. He is certainlv 'a very elusive player. Banham. at five-eighths is quickly ceding into form and both on attack and defence he did spleir"' didly. Clements, a promoted player, was impressive behind the scrum and gave his backs numerous opportunities, Mclnnarney is an improved player and only has to be more certain of his handling to prove a successful / five-cichths. Cowley, a Junior, showed plenty of pace on the wins. The outstanding Mannkau bark was Chase, -while Martin, at fullback, played a sterling came. Butler, on the wing, did some good ■work, as did Tawhai at five-eighths. Mahima. •the halfback, is not yet in form. Besides Hirinui. Rei. Shilton and Hapi were prominent among the forwards. Mount Albert won by 15 points to 12. Tor Mount Albert tries were scored by Clement",* Shadbolt and Gunning. Banham .conrerted two tries and kicked a penalty goal. For Manukau. Shilton and Tawhai scored a try each. Chase cortvcrting one and kicking "two penalty goals. Mri .1. Donovan was referee. North Shore, which made its first appearance. impressed by defeating Newton in a rather ragged game. The Newton backs showed good form on occasions, particularly in the second half, but there was a lack of finish to most of their' attacks. North Shore had the lietter teamwork. North Shore fielded B. Donaldson, the Mount Albert five-eighths, and C. Petersen, the Ponsonby forward. Both players are seek- , tng transfers to North Shore, and. if successful, will be a decided acquisition. North ! Shore was captained /by V. J. Scott, the successful cricketer. Among the North Shore players to impress vrere B. Evans, a Sydney wing-threcqnarter. find Graham, a forward from the Wairarapa district. A spectacular try by Petersen, who raced the full length of the ground, was a feature of Ihe second ; // half. Both teams were evenly malched. and with a few more games should play a prominent part in the championship. North Shore won by r> points to 2. For « North Shore, Petersen scored a try, which Donaldson converted, and V. Scott kicked two penalty goals. For Newton, Anderson kicked a penalty goal. , -v Mr. J. Cottingham was referee. City easily defeated Ponsonby, which fielded * number of players from the lower grades. Jackson. Findlater and Mataira were the pick of the City forwards, all of whom appear to be very fit. Donovan. Smith and Estall played well among the backs. | . City won by *2l points to nil. For City tries were scored by Smith. Donovan, Mataira. Gould and Findlater. Smith converted two tries and kicked a penalty goal. Mr: J. O'Shannessey was referee. Superior combination by Marist prevailed over Papaknra, although, the game was always closely contested. The Papaknra forwards played with plenty of dash, but the backs were much" "inferior" to";' set. The", Marist backs showed:plenty- of speed in passing bont's, and the set will only need to get the ball regularly front the forwards to become a strong combination. Among the Marist backs Matthews, Chalmers and J. Ahearn showed promising form, and Breed, Finlayson and Barchard played sound games among the forwards. Milliken was the outstanding forward on the ground and ably led the Tapakura pack. Hogan also played a good game. . ' ' ' Marist won by 23 points to 12. For Marist tries were'""scored .by , McLeod (2). Breed, Finlavson and Matthews. Chalmers converted three tries and Crocker one. For Papakura, Hogan and Milliken scored a try each. McInnes kicked two penalty goals and Agnew one. - ' • ' f Mr. E. Longville was referee. ■ v COUNCIL'S ACTIVITIES PAST- SEASON REVIEWED

"Regret that the outbreak of war necessitated the abrupt termination of what promised to be a particularly successful tour of England and France by a team fully representative of Xew Zealand Rugby* League itrength, is expressed in the report to be presented next Thursday to the annual meeting of delegates of the Kew Zealand council. A private company was formed to finance the tour, states the report, and the council invested £SOO. Considerilble - other expenditure was incurred in. the despatch of the team to England, but this loss is to be borno by the council, t ■■/->■■• The team played only two matches, both .of which were won. St. Helen's was beaten by-10 points to. :J,. and Dewshurv by 22 points to 10. The gate receipts in the games were £270 and £l7B respectively. Pleasure is. felt at the action of the English Hugby •League in. extending to the managers, Messrs. J. A. Itedwood and R. Doble, an invitation to continue the abandoned tour as ,§oon as international conditions permit. Appreciation is also expressed of the generosity of those supporters who subscribed to the fnnds of Kiwi Tours., Limited.. The proposed exchange of visits this senson with Australia has been abandoned, and every effort is to be made to meet the obligations of the present conditions. . . The council places on record its appreciation of the good work of Mr. C. D. McCrrndy (Canterbury) and the Jtev. Panapa (Maoris), delegates who resigned owing to reasons. . , Dealing with the financial position the report states it can be readily understood that the termination of the English tour depleted the funds so wisely built tin over a period of years. The accumulated fund has dmimished by £228 J7s' nd to X 1755 ft? sd. and the cash in bankXhas declined from £l2" 1 2s 7d to £lll 17s 10(1. A careful policy will need to be exercised in the future, as bo source of revenue is available while the War lasts. During the year the code lost by death two of its oldest supporters. Dr. H. i. .1. Thacker and Mr. J. Ihikntnia. The late Dr. Thacker was a past president.