THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23642, 29 April 1940, Page 11

THE LEAGUE CODE

SEVERAL SURPRISES MANUKAU SIDE SUPERIOR MOUNT ALBERT OUTPLAYED Several surprises characterised the series of championship games played under the control of the Auckland Rugby League at Carlnw Park on Saturday. The champions of last year, Mount Albert, whose colours were lowered the previous week by North Shore, again tasted defeat, this time at the hands of Manukau in the principal attraction on Xo. 1 ground. Another unexpected result was provided by the curtain-raiser, Newton showing excellent form to shade Richmond. Papakura wns responsible for a surprising reversal on Xo. 2 ground in defeating Ponsonby, while North Shore accounted for Marist. The teams, having their first experience this season of handling a greasy ball, did remarkably well, and most of the games featured bright forward and buck play. There wns an attendance of about .'!000. Following were the scores:— Manukau, 23; Mount Albort, 7. Newton. 11; Richmond, 6. •North Shore. 20: Marist. 12. Papakura, 5; Ponsonby, 0. AN EASY VICTORY HEMI'S FIRST APPEARANCE Manukau carried too much strength both in the forwards and the harks for Mount Albert and gained a surprisingly easy victory by -ja points to 7. Manukau. although having a margin of onj.v three points at the interval, had done most of the attacking in the first spell. Mount Albert's forwards made a strenuous effort in the second half, but the Maori side improved on its advantage. Mount Albert's task was made more difficult through its having to play one short in the second spell, McLachlan being injured shortly after half-time. The backs and forwards of both teams handled the greasy ball exceptionally well, the Manukau men especially showing up in this respect. Although reluctant to exert himself by running his backs into position, Hemi, who was making his first appearanco of the season, gave a sound exhibition at fullback for Manukau, hie fielding and tackling being above reproach. The threequarters all-showed speed and determination, Butler being most impressive in several bright jaunts down the sideline. Tawhai and Martin were consistently good at five-eighths, handling the ball cleanly and varying their play nicely. Receiving excellent service from Mahima at halfback, they frequently had the crowd on its feet with sparkling penetration. All the forwards did their bit willingly, with Ririnui, Brodrick, Maguire and Skilton most prominent. Clements was not as impressive as usual behind the Mount Albert scrum, although his tardiness was occasionally duo to the ball not coming out cleanly. The wingmen did not get many opportunities, whilo Cranch was inclined to over-run his passes, his mistakes in handling both at centre and later at fullback proving costly. However, he chimed in neatly with Banhain on one occasion in a splendid movement, which resulted in Gunning scoring. Banham supplied thrust at times, but had little room in which to work. Gunning. Tristram, Pinches and Shadbolt got through a solid afternoon's work in tho forwards. Tries were scored for the winners by Ta»vhai (2), Butler, Te Tai and Maguire. Hemi converted two and kicked two penalties. Gunning scored a try for Mount Albert, which Banham converted. Tho latter also kicked a penalty. Mr. G. Kelly was referee.

NEWTON IMPRESSIVE FINE ALL-ROUND DISPLAY Spurred on by a highly partisan crowd Newton ran to a convincing victory over Richmond by 11 points to 6. Newton started well and Richmond, surprised at the mettle shown by tho opposing forwards and the speed and clean handling of the backs, found difficulty in adjusting itself. For a short period in the second spell Newton eased the pressure, and almost threw away victory,.but it responded _when Richmond attempted to profit by its opponents' carelessness. An outstanding feature of Newton's display was the brilliant exhibition of Taylor, who was seldom more than a few yards from the scene of activities. He burst his way through the rucks with the ball at toe, showed up among tho backs when they were fanning out in passing rushes, and constantly harassed the opposition with fast following up and sure tackling. Ho received able support among the forwards from Ginders, Pro:tor and Kendall, and the remaining members of the pack were little inferior. Dempsey gave a safe display at fullback, his line kicking being almost faultless. Tho dangerous men in the fhreequartcr line were Richards and Sander. W. Brimble proved as nimble as ever behind the scrum and saw that his brother at first five-eighth had plenty of opportunities. E. Brimble used the short kick judiciously, placing the ball to tho most advantage. Solomon was prominent for Richmond in the early stages, but faded subsequently. C'. Williams and Graham made the most of their opportunities, the latter opening up the play repeatedly, while Tittleton and Greenwood ran determinedly when given a chance. The handling of the'back line broke down, however, when the side was in a favourable scoring position. L. Williams, Hadle.v. Potter and Devine battled hard in the forwards. The try-getters for Newton were Richards fQ) and Ginders. Anderson converted one. C. Williams and Greenwood scored for tho losers. Mr.- S. Billman was referee.

MARIST SOMEWHAT UNLUCKY North Shore followed up Its success against Mount Albert by defeating Marist in a fast and open came on No. 2 ground. The North Shore backs played enterprising football and good following up made the most of bad handling by the Marist backs. However, the score, 20 points lo 12, was not a true reflection of the game. Only one point separated the teams at half-time and Marist was a little unlucky to be behind. Superior speed played its part in the second half, and the North Shore backs were seen to advantage. Splendid work by Donald-, son, who kicked deeply for the open spaces, gave the wincmcn 11 chance to show their speed. Marist hammered at the North Shore line for some time, but could not gel past the splendid defence of Scott and J. Smith. Both these North Shore backs played good games, although in the first half Scott got his team into difficulties by being caught in possession. Chatham, at five-eighths, did a lot of useful work, showing plenty of initiative on attack. Donaldson also played well and his presence in the team should sharpen up the attack. Behind the scrum McArthur did well in his first game as a senior. Macintosh and Sowter were prominent among the forwards, and Fields and Zano gave good support. Hudson, at centre, and Uhlmann, on the wing, were the pick of the Marist backs. The latter showed improved form. Donovan worked hard behind the piick, and McWilliams gave an impressive display. Rarchard. W. Grotle and Breed were the pick of the forwards, and Finlayson did good work as a hooker. For North Shore tries were scored by McArthur, Graham, Evans and Chatham. Smith converted two tries and kicked two penalty goals. For Marist, Anderson, Breed, McWiiliams and Hudson scored tries. Mr. J. Donovan was referee.

CLOSE DECISION TO PAPAKURA Papakura won its *.rst game of the season by defeating Ponsonby in an evenly-contested match. There was not a gieat deal between tho teams, and. if anything, the Papakura forwards swayed the balance. Good tackling by the Papakura backs stopped several dangerous Ponsonby attacks. The slippery ball marie passing difficult and no points were scored in the first half. Tn the second half Hogan and Milliken headed the Papakura forwards in a sweeping offensive, and weak tackling allowed Tlalse.v to score the only try of the game. Ponsonby's backs got plenty of opportunities, but their handlinpr wrps uncertain. On one occasion Dormer and Williams, the inside backs, broke away and a try in a good position seemed certain, but Niir.sc missed a pass and Dunning, knocked the ball on. The game developed into a battle between tho forwards, tho winners keening the ball on the ground to better advantnee than the Ponsonby set. Among the Papakura forwards Milliken played a splendid game and was always on the ball. His handling, too. was also certain. Hogan wns prominent in the loose nnd both Buckeridgo and Pratney gave excellent support. Mclnnes played a sound game and his tackling was a feature of the play. Halsey showed initiative on attack and is an acquisition to the rear division. Bilkey, cenfro, also played well, while Cossc.v, five-eighths, and Petri did gootl all-round work. Williams and Dormer bore the brunt of the Ponsobby defence, and on attack Nurse antl Bnkalich stood out prominently. Dunnine. Chester and Davics played good games ap'nncr the forwards. For Papakura. Halsey scored the only try and McTnnes kicked a penalty goal. Mr. ,7. Gerlye wns referee. MATCHES IN CHRISTCHURCH [by TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION"'] CHRISTCHURCH, Sunday League football matches played yesterday resulted:—Linwood, 17, Hornby. 9; Sydenham, 2-1, Riccarton, 4.