THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23660, 20 May 1940, Page 12

THE LEAGUE CODE

PREMIERSHIP GAMES SEVERAL BRIGHT CONTESTS MOUNT ALBERT'S FIRST WIN Bright back movements and virile forward play marked most of the games plnyed in the fifth series of the Auckland Rugby League's senior championship before an attendance of about 4000 at Carlaw Park on Saturday. The matches resulted according to expectations, but tho losing teams, with one exception, offered strong opposition, and the games provided fast and wellcontested exchanges. Richmond carried a superiority in tho principal gamo on No. 1 ground against City to win fairly comfortably, while Mount Albert registered its first victory of the season in the curtain-raiser against Marist. Manukau accounted for Ponsonby in the main attraction on No. 2 ground, while North Shore proved too strong for Papakura m tho early fixture. Following were the scores:— Richmond, 1S»; City, 8. Mount Albert, 19; Marist, 8. North Shore, 37; Papakura, S. Manukau, 15; Ponsonby, 4. The points gained by the teams to date are as follows: —Newton, North Shore. S; Manukau, Richmond, 7; City, 1; Papakura, Marjst, Mount Albert, 2; Ponsonby, 0. IMPRESSIVE BACKS RICHMOND MOVES FREELY The back play of the Richmond side was too incisivo for City in the feature game at Carlaw Park, and, although tho latter put up a staunch defence' for two-thirds of the game, the speedy, clean handling and intelligent Richmond rearguard finally wore down the opposition and moved to a comfortable victory. With the hookor sending the ball out regularly to the efficient halfback, C. Webb, the Richmond backs had many opportunities to reveal their talents, and the straight running of the inside men had the City side in a quandary. Occasionally City's back line fanned out, but due to cross running by the insido men and slow passing. Richmond almost invariably had plenty of time in which to cover up. There was a different story in the forwards, however, where tho City men strove valiantly in tho tight and the open, and did much to balance the exchanges. Although not so convincing when bustled, Solomon, at fullback for Richmond, was a dangerous man when given any room in which to work. He frequently ran his backs into scoring positions, whllo ho also drove ■back the City forwards with long, well-placed kicks. Profiting from splendid feeding by C. Webb, C. Williams was the most attractive back in the early stages, several times cutting out his man before getting rid of the hall. Graham was alwuys efficient, but showed up better in the second half with some clever runs. Tho best of the threequarters were Bramley and Tittleton, tho former proving solid on defence and aggressive on attack. The Richmond forwards gavo their backs fine support, the hardest workers being G. Mitchell. Hadley, L. Williams and Davis. , „ Clarke ha? played better games at fullback. his handling being faulty at times. Gould and Smith ran strongly in the threequarter line, while Hughes was responsible for the most initiative among the fiveeighths. The forwards gave a sterling display. their handling in the loose beinc good and their play in the tight of a high standard. H. Mataira, Jackson. Thompson and Donovan stood out slightly in a very even pack. _ The try-getters for Richmond were Bramley (2), L. Williams, Tittleton and Mills. Bramley concerted one and kicked a penalty goal. Thompson and Gould scored for City and Clarke converted one. Mr. G. Kelly was referee.

EXCELLENT HANDLING ATTRACTIVE CURTAIN-RAISER Some splendid movements were witnessed in the match between Mount Albert and Marist, the spectators frequently finding: occasion to applaud brilliant bouts of handling by the forwards and backs of both teams. Crisp passing among the Marist backs, supported by fast raiding by the forwards, gave the team a slight advantage in the first spell, but Mount Albert's rearguard came into its own in the second spell to pave the way for victory. A try to Mount Albert shortly after half-time, after one of the backs in the movement had given what appeared , to be a forward pass, seemed to dishearten Marist slightly, but it was not until shortly prior to tne finish that Mount Albert could claim any definite ascendancy. Mount Albert 1 gave a greatly-improved showing and can be i expected to make a forward showing in the competition fs*om now on. B. Cranch and Clarke needed little eni couragement to show their pace and skill in the Mount Albert three-quarter line, and they had their inside, men to thank for a number of good opportunities. Banham and Mclnnarney" were ;i dangerous combination in the five-eighths positions, quickness off the mark, sure handling and determined running making them thorns in the side of the opposition. Thej- in turn owed many of their chances to ths efficiency of Clements behind the scrum, the- halfback varying clever individual play with orthodox, but first-class, service to tin) backs. Leatherbarrow raked with great success and also showed up in the loose, while Gunning and Flower also proved their worth ill all departments. The Marist side had the utmost confidence in Gould, who was responsible' for a fine display at, fullback. Adamant on defence, certain in his handling and possessing a keen sense of positional play, he .also won applause for fast following up of lengthy clearing kicks by means of- which he bustled the opposition into terrors. - Matthews was very impressive among the Marist three-quarters, while Hudson also showed initiative at centre. Chalmers and McWilliams had a good understanding at live-eighths, varying their play nicely, while Donovan battled hard behind the scrum. The best of the forwards were Breed, Barcha.rd, McLe'od and Anderson. Shadbolt (Mount Albert) and McLeod (Marist) were ordered off shortly before tho finish. Tries were scored for Mount Albort by Cranch (2). Clements. Mclnnarney and Clarke. Banh;im converted, two. Breed and Finlayson scored for Marist and Anderson converted one. Mr. H. Tate was referee. " PAPAKURA OUTCLASSED After putting up a good fight , in the first half Papakura, went to pieces and was - outclassed &y tho speedy tactics of tho North Shore team. Play was always fast and interesting, and when North Shore settled down its backs gave a high-class : display. The tackling "of tho Papakura backs was not gdodj' and both Smith and Donaldson made gaps in the defence. North' Shore gave one of its best exhibitions and -it* would have taken a strong team to have withstood the winners' speedy thrusts./ Backs and forwards handled tno ball well and good backing up was a feature of th»s game. Once again excellent goal-kicking played a big part in tho high scoring by North Shore. The losers were up against a stiff proposition, particularly in the second half, when the Papakura forwards strove hard to retrieve a nopeless position. The weakness lay in the backs, which were outclassed in ill departments. The combination of Donaldson and Smith at five-eighths was the deciding factor. This pair have become a splendid attacking force, which should prove a big assot in future games. Donaldson was a tower of strength and Smith m.ide many clever openings. V. Scott played a splendid game at fullback, and also did good work when moved up to centre. Behind the scrum, McArthur was always prominent and ho used excellent judgment in scoring two solo tries. Mcintosh. Graham, Zand and E. Scott played good games among the forwards.. Although shaded by the opposition, Clarke, centre-threequarter, Cossey* halfback, and Hosken, five-eighths, were prominent on occasions. Mclnnes!, at fullback, did well. The pick of the forwards were Pratney, Hogan and Fogarty. For North Shore, tries were scored by McArthur (2), Donaldson (2), Smith, Graham and Mcintosh. Smith converted threo tries and kicked two penalty goals. Donaldson also converted three tries. For Papakura, Mclnnes kicked four ponalty goals. Mr. J. Gedye was referee. MANUKAU SHADES PONSONBY Manukau proved a little too good for Ponsonby, whicn. however, was far from disgraced. In fact, Ponsonby continually harassed tho opposition, but there was a lack of finish to the play of tho backs. Several times in tho second naif Williams, the Ponsonby five-eighths, broko away, hut lack of support lost at least two tries. Ponsonby held Manukau until Flanagan, its hooker, was ordered off. "With more of the ball, tho Manukau backs played good football, and on numerous occasions Hcrni, from fullback, raced the threequarters into scoring positions. He was the outstanding player, and showed a surprising burst, of speed. Several of tho Ponsonby ljacks showed greatly-improved form, particularly Kay, who did a lot of jiseful work. Murphy, a newcomer on the wing, played a heady gamo for Ponsonby. Mahima, the Manukau halfback, was a ' thorn in the sido of the opposition. His first try was a really brilliant effort. Tawhai combined effectively with Mahima. Eirinui was outstanding among a hnrd-working pack, while Broderick, "Rei and Hardy gave solid support. Briggs, Dunning and Bakalich wcro the pick of tho Ponsonby forwards. Nurso. tho Ponsonby wing, compared very favourably with any back on tho ground. For Manukau, Mahima scored two tries and Homi one. Hetni converted two tries and kicked one penalty goal. For Ponsonby, Kay kicked two ponalty goals. Mr. O. Chalmers was roforce. RESULTS IN LOWER GRADES ] Reserve Grade.—Mount Albert, 2<J, Marist 10; City, 5, Richmond, 5; Manukau, 12, Pon*sonby, 11. j Senior B Grade.—Ellcrslio, 10, Otahuhu, 5. ] Third Grade.—Point Chevalier, 20. R.V., 3; Olahuhu, 31. Glenora, 0; Mount Albert, ! 15, Mariat, 8; Ponsonby. 10, Papakura, 5. j

Fourth Grade.—Richmond, 12, Green Lano, , 4; City, 16, Newmarket, S; Avondale, 11, E'lerslie, 8; Point Chevalier, 26, North Shore, 11. Fifth Grade.—Otahuhu, 3, City, 0; Richmond, 30, Northcoto, 0. Sixth Grado. —City, 21, Newton, 0; Point Chevalier. 10, Richmond, 0. Seventh Grade. —Otahuhu, 10, Shore, 0. Schoolboys' Matches.- —Senior: Point Chevalier, 30, ponsonby, 3. Intermediate: Ponsonby, 0, R.V.. 0. Junior: Green Lane, 22, Ponsonby, 0. PLAYER ORDERED OFF INFRINGEMENTS IN SCRUM Tho ordering, off of G. D. Flanagan, Ponsonby, and Auckland Leaguo representative hooker, for infringements in the scrum while playing for his club against Manukau at Carlaw Park on Saturday, gave rise to considerable comment among followers of the code. When tho first set scrum went down, the referee, Mr. 0. Chalmers, was heard by spectators to warn Flanagan for lifting in tho scrum. The referee also brought tho matter to the attention of the Ponsonby captain and intimated that Flanagan would have to bo moved- from the position of hooker.

A few minutes later Flanagan was ordered by (lie referee to play in the second row of the pack, an action which was not considered warranted by members of the Ponsonby side. Flanagan afterward moved up to the front row. but on tho side of the scrum, in which position it was almost impossible for him to infringe under the rule. Ho was in this position when the refereo decided to order him off. Interviewed after tho game, the Ponsonby hooker expressed astonishment at tho referee's action. He stated that, during his 12 years' experience in club and representative play, his style of hooking had never been questioned. One mcmbor of the Referees' Association, who was within 10 yards of the first scrum and keenly watched each subsequent. formation, also expressed surprise at tho refereo's action. Other officials of the Auckland Rugby League and the Referees' Association refused to comment on tho incident pending submission of the referee's report to tho controlling body. MAORI REPRESENTATIVES The Auckland Maori representative team, which will pay Auckland at Carlaw Park on June 3, will have its first match at Huntly during the next week-end. ho following team has been chosen:—Backs: J. Hemi, H. Butler, T. Chase. E. Martin T. To Tai. D. Solomon, B. Donaldson. W. Tawhai, P. Mahima. Forwards: H. Mataira, W. Mataira, J. Shillon, P. Ririnui, J. Brodrick, N. Mitchell, M. Rei. GAMES IN OTHER CENTRES [by TELEGRAPH —TTtESS association] Chrlatchurch.—Addington, 18, Riccarton, 7; Sydenham, 17, Waimairi, 7. Wellington.—Randwick, 5, St. George, 3; Miramar, 21, Eastern Suburbs, 5; Petone. 20. Newtown, 0.