THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23637, 22 April 1940, Page 14

THE LEAGUE CODE

CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES MOUNT ALBERT CHECKED SUCCESS OF NORTH SHORE' With the teams fully prepared after two series of preliminary matches, the opening of the Auckland Rugby League's senior championship proved highly successful, the matches, which attracted an attendance of between six and seven thousand spectators, providing fast and clever football. An indication that the premiership is likely to bo closely contested was given in the sur-prise-defeat of Mouiit Albert, last year's champions, by North Shore in the principal game on Nol 1 ground. Another - fine contest was providod by ;the main Hxture on No. 2 ground, Newton having a narrow win over Marist. Richmond' proved much too strong for Papakura in the enrly game on. No. 2 ground, winning by the large margin of 56 points to 2, while in the curtainraiser on No. 1 ground Manukau triumphed over City. Following were the results:— Nortlj Shore, 16; .Mount Albert, 10. Newton, 13; Marist, 10. Richmond, 56; Papakura, 2. Manukau, 11; City, 2. FINE FORWARD PLAY . - THIRTEEN POINTS -TO. SMITH

A -fait-breaking and-', vigorous set of forwards who, were continually proiiiinent In the loose with clever dribbling' and"smart handling iwayod the .balance in North Shore's favour in the match against Mount Albert. The Utter's backs, harassed throughout by the opposing vanguard, found difficulty , in settling down, and it was only for a snort period in the second half that the Mount Albert »ide managed to assert itself. A feature of" tho game was the excellent kicking of J. Smith, who scored 13 of his side's 10 points. In addition to scoring a try, Smith converted one trv and kicked four penalty goals. Tho earlv stages saw the teams sparring for an opening and the defences standing firm in the face of solid forward rushes. A brilliant penalty kick from just insido half-way by Smith gave North Shore an early advantage, which vt clung to tenaciously, and later improved on to lead by seven points to nil at half-time. A fine forward battle developed in tho second half, while the backs of both teams also showod more initiative and better handling. North Shore ran its score to 16, .while Mount Albert, after two tries and a penalty goal, strove desperately to tako the dead, but the .champions were held out by quick smothering and splendid tackling, Cl"a\i handling by both fullbacks, Scott, of North Shore, and Cowley. Mount Albert, got thoir sides out of difficulties on several occasions, while both kicked With length and judgment. Smith was a dominant figure in tho backs, his good positional play foiling Mount Albert's nttempts at penetration when the latter resorted to short kicking. Chatham and Bvown Handled well at five-eighths and tackled soundly. Among the North Shore forwards Soutor stood out for bright work both in the tight and the opon, and ho was well supported by Fields, McTntosh and Graham. Ban ham. in spite of being closely shadowed bv th* opposition, livened up the Mount Albert attack repeatedly, while Clements gave excellent «nrvice from tho scrum and on occasions broke through the North Shore defence on his own. The forwards all played well, with Shadbolt, Tristram,x Gunning and Leatherbarrow most prominent. _ *. Trie* ■ were scored for North Shore by Smith and Cheater. Smith converted one try and kicked four penalty goals. The try-scorers for Mount Albert were Leatherbarrow and Tristram. Banham converted one and kicked a . penalty . goal. Mr. K. Mclvor was referee.

NEWTON PREVAILS ' ;* '■ SUPERIOR COMBINATION With superior combination and bettor finish to its rear division attacks, Newton proved too strong for Marist, which played its best football in the last ten minutes. The Marist five-eighths in the first half received many opportunities, but they were far too slow in getting the ball away. A noticeable improvement was made in the second half, when McWilliams,, who replaced Midgley, came into first five-eighths and sharpened up the attack. The Newton backs, however, were a -moro happy combination, for which a lot of credit is due to Olliver, whose work at halfback paved the way for several tries. The forwards were well matched, and, if- anything, the Newton pack was better in the loose. Ginders played a sterling game, and was always on the ball in the loose.' Taylor and Fraser also played well, and tho Newton pack should hold Its own after a few more games. At ♦fullbJH-k Dempse.v did not exert himself a groat deal and was twice caught in possession, Marist going close to scoring on both occasions. Both tho wings. Richards, a recent convort. and Stephens,' who has had English club experience, played fine games. Stephens' trv we* a very good effort. Th« Marist backs dropped many passes and were generally slow to check Newton's. offensives. t'hlmann stood flat-footed at five-eighths, but thawed improvement on the wing. Chalmers and McWilliams did some good work in the «>\-ond half. Grotte. Breed and Finlayson wore the pick of tho forwards. Glover plnvnd a sound game at fullback. For Newton tries were scored by Stephens, McKonrie and Taylor. Anderson converted one trv ard Sanders kicked a field goal. For Marist,': McWilliams and Breed scored tries and Cnalmers and J. Anderson each kicked a penalty goal. Mr. S. Billman was referee.

MANUKAU TOO STRONG MAHIMA PLAYS BRILLIANTLY There was not a great deal of combination seen lo the game between Manukau and City, and the solo efTorts of the Maori players won tho day. Two fine tries by Mahima, and an exciting dash down the touch line by Brodrick were features of the game. City had numerous chances, but its backs handled poorly. There was also too much running across the ground and the five-eighths stood too d«*p in the field. •' • The Manukau forwards, ably led by Itirinui. Infused plenty, of dash into their play and were superior to the City vanguard. The City pack, however, is likely to develop into a dashing set. The forwards played better in the last lf> minutes than at any stage of the game. Much of Manukau's success came from the heady play of Mahima at halfback. His ability to change direction and use either side of the scrum gave the five-eighths some easy runs. On one occasion. Mahima fooled the dcfenco with a perfect dummy and many times he. beat the defence by pasting infield to Ririnui, who was .breaking from the scrum. Brodrick showed all his former dash on the wing. Tawhai. five-eighths,

and Butler,on the" wing, played good games. Ririnui was the outstanding forward and was well, supported by Skilton. Hapi and H Among tho City backs, Ralsbdck at halfback, sent out excellent passes from the scrum and tackled well. Simpson, five-eighths, and Gould on the wing were the pick of the othor backs. H. Mataira, Findlater, Jackson and Thompson showed up in tho forwards. ■ For Manukau, Mahima scored two tries and Brodrick one. Martin converted one try. For City, Simpson kicked a penalty goal. Mr. 0. Chalmers was referee.

PAPAKURA OUTCLASSED FINE DISPLAY BY RICHMOND Showing high-class form, Richmond outclassed Papakura in a high-scoring .tramo in which the winners were superior in all departments. Although the opposition was weak, the Richmond backs and forwards threw the ball about in srreat style and the team s work was most impressive. There was no selfish play, and each attack was smartly executed. The hacking up of the forwards was a feature of the game. Richmond scored 12. tries and Bramley added 20 points with good goal kicking. * , , , The Papakura forwards battled on gamely, but the backs were far below the standard required. However, Papakura was opposed to the finest set of backs in the i competition. Tliev all showed up in a splendid light. V. Solomon beat the defence time find again by clever play. Graham was also elusive on attack and promises to dcveloji into a fine five-eighths. Mills is a greatly-improved wing and his-play was impressive. Ihc_fonvards all played fine football, and it is difficult to individualise. Mitchell. Hadley and Devinq wero always prominent, whilo Metcalfe, Davis and Williams showed anticipation in the loose. Papakura was strongest in the forwards, where Millikcn, Hogan. and Haynes played well against, strong opposition. Cossey. Osborne and Hoskon were the best of the backs. For Richmond tries were scored by Solomon (3). Mills (2), Metcalfe (2V and Graham, Bramley, Devine,. Mitchell and Hadley. Bramley converted eight tries and kicked two penalty goals. For Papakura, Cossey kicked a penalty , goal.> y'y. . Mr. J.-Hawkeswas referee. v RESULTS 'AT CHRISTCHURCH [BY . TELEGRAPH PRESS ASSOCIATION] CHRISTCHURCH, Sunday League football matches played yesterday resulted as follows: —Hornby, 8, Riccarton, 0: Sydenhnm, 21, Rakaia, 13; Addington, 22. Linwood, 2.