THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23696, 1 July 1940, Page 3

THE LEAGUE CODE

PREMIERSHIP GAMES NORTH SHORE IMPRESSIVE MANUKAU SIDE DEFEATED Bv defeating Manukau in the principal contest at Carlaw Park on Saturday. North Shore maintained its lead in the senior championship of the Auckland Rugby League and ■won the Rukutni Shield, awarded to the club at the head oi the table at the completion of the first round. With the prospect of a stirring striigglo for the leadership, a record crowd of about 9000 attended, and it was rewarded wit.h a fast and exciting contest, diarist vanquished Ponsonby in the curtainraii.er, while City registered a surprise by 'towering Newton's colours on No. 2 ground. In the match at Mlcrslie, Mount Albert defeated I'apakura. Following wern tho results:— .N'orth Shore, 12; Manukau, 7. Marist, 13; Ponsonby, 0. City, 17; N<j'vton, 0. Mount Albert, 21; Papakura, 14. The points scored hy thu teams to da to are as follows: —North (shore. .H; Richmond, 11; Manukau, .11; Ni-wti".'), 10; City, Albert, -8; Marist, 0; Fai>sil:ura, J; Ponsonby, CLOSE DECISION WINNER'S CONVINCING DISPLAY Adjusting 1 its play cleverly to counter the volatile methoiln of the opposition and moving throughout in a well-b,limited manner, both on defence and attack, North S-horo gave its most convincing display this season to secure a narrow victory over Manukau. Although there was little to choose between the teams. North Shore, judged on tactical play, was the more impressive combination and would have been unlucky to lose. Two powerful packs clashed in a thrilling struggle which left tho honours easy, although the North Shore vanguard was going better than that of tho during tho crucial closing stages. Tempers became fruyed at times, and tho referee was forced to order off Marsh, the Manuka i forward. Ther*' was a stage in the second half when Manukau had a chance of grf,i,ing on top-, and had somo of the Maori players paid more attention to the. ball and less :'o the man, their efforts might have swayed the balano-s. Bather sha ;y for a (start, V. Scott subsequently settled down to n;ivo a solid display at fullback. 1b gave his team some nnxious moments, however, by his ilowness in fastening on to the ball when it was rolling dangerously near th;- North fihwo lire. Excellent defensive work was performed by the whole back line, which played well un on the Manukau rearguard and successfci'ly offset many offensifeH. The outstanding men were McArthnr, a game and clever halfback, Smith, who went brilliantly at first. Hre-oigliths, and tho eiusive Ch.ut.ham at twcorid llvy -eighths, who several times cai:v?d gaps in tho Manukau defence. Greenwood nl.;o Chimed in successfully on occasior-s, and manoeuvred splendidly to promote the winning' try. There were no loafers iii the forwards, but 11. Scott stood ou* for a briUiait- disp.iy. Conceding nothing on defence, ho was i!so an eager and clean-handling fota,wtr on attack. Graham, Mackintosh and .?ater.-o • wc;.} very acthe in the looso. ,: t

Tawhai was strange l-o the position of fullback and would-probiibl.' have been mora effective at five-eighths, alongside Martin. Chase, Herni ana Euilcr l.uttled gamely against an adamant defence, but their prospects were not improved by occasional. faulty handling. Watene, who assisted the backs at times, was always on the alert Tor an opening, making some powerful runs. Brodrick, Ririnui and Shilton also showed up among tne forwards.

McArlhur and E. Scott scored for North Shore. Smith converted one try and kicked a penalty goal. V. Scott also kicked a penalty ttoal. Brodrick scored for Manukau and Ctiase converted. The latter also kicked a penalty goal. Mr. 0. Chalmers was referee. MARIST'S STRONG FINISH Although Marist defeated Ponsonby in the ciirtajn-raiser to the principal match, there was not a great deal of difference between the teams. Ponsonby actually held a territorial advantage, and halfway through the second spell looked a winning team. However, Matthews scored a Sue try for Marist near tho posts, and a. few minutes later Anderson used iiis sreed to score and place tho issue beyond doubt. The Ponsonby backs did not get much of the ball from tho scrum, Marist had an aovantage of fonr points at halftime, but 10 minutes later Ponsonby gained the lead, A fine run by Kay gave Dunning a weil-deicned try. In the concluding: stages Marist dominated the name ar.d superior combination greatly assisted tho Marist backs. The forwards of both teams; were well matched, and the Ponsonby vanguard is liiceiy to improve. x ' Among the Marist backs, Glover, at fullback, cm a lot of useful defensive work, and generally was sound in his handling. Chalmers, tho five-eighths, spoiled a good display by kicking too much. Behind the scrum Nicholson worked hard and made tho most of attacking positions. Among the forwards, Anderson played a good game, and received excellent support from Barchard and Grotte. Tho Ponsonby backs showed improvement all round, and both Kay and McManns were prominent. Nurse also played wejl at centre. Shilling made a few mistakes at fullback, one costing a try. Dunning, Bakalich, Laird and Blutcher played good games among the forwards. . ~ ~, For Mar.st, McWilliams. Matthews and Anderson scored a try each. Anderson converted two tries and kicked a penalty goal. Matthews alsc converted one try. For Ponsonby,- Dunning scored the only try, which Kay coincrted, and the latter also kicked two' penalty goals. Mr. J. Hawkes was referee. SURPRISE BY CITY Citv caused a big surprise by comfortably defeating Newton 011 No. 2 ground. The gamo was fast and open, and good play by the City forwards was a feature. Newton failed to reveal tho good form which won five successive matches. The Newton backs failed to get going and at no stage of tho gamo was tho Cit.v rear divisibn upset as tho result of Newton s attack. Actually the City backs cannot bo considered a strong attacking force, but tho set compared more than favourably with the Newton backs. In the forwards, City outplayed tho Newton vanguard and always dominated tho game. Early in tho gamo City established its superiority, and its forwards never slackened ttioir relentless attack. In tho second half the City pack gave a splendid display, and both H. Mataira and Jackson did effective work. This pair broke fast from the scrum and frequently held up tho Newton inside backs. W. Mataira and Wanklyn also played good games among tho forwards. At fallback for City Clarko got through a lot of useful work. His ridding was very sure. Gould played a good game on the wing, as did Smith, tho ccntre-ihreequarter. Behind tho scrum, Hughes defended ably. For Newton, Dempsey played his usual sound game at centre and Sander and Richards were prominent on tho wings. Mackenzie was much below form at contfe. Taylor, Fraser and Cinders were tho best of the forwards. For Citv, H. Mataira, Hollo and Gould scored a try each. Silva converted ono try and kicked two penalty goals. Clark also kicked a field goal. For Newton Fraser scored a try. which Anderson converted, and Anderson "also kicked two penalty goals. Mr. J. Jones was referee. INTERESTING CONTEST In a well-contested gamo at Ellerslie, Mount Albert defeated Papakura by 21 points to 11. Mount Albeit gave a good displa'y, which will improve its prospects against Xorth Shore next Saturday. Both backs and forwards combined effectively, and in the first half some good movements wero witnessed. Tho Papakura forwards put up an excellent showing, and wero by no means disgraced. A good display by Mclnnarnoy on the wing was a featuro of the gamo. One of his tries was a brilliant effort. Cranch also played a good game. Banham did some excellent work ! both 011 attack and defence. Among tho forj wards, Shadbolt and Flower playcid good | games, tho latter showing up well in the loose. For the winners tries wero scored by Mclnnarnoy (•_'), B. Cranch, Flower and Gunning, one each. Banham converted two tries and kicked a penalty goal. Mr. S. Billman was referee. LOWER GRADE RESULTS Senior B Grade.—City, 17, Newton, ;t. Third Grade. —Newton, 3, Marist, 0; Mount Albert, 0, Glcnora, 2; Otahuliu won from R.V. by default. Fourth Grade.—Otahuliu, CiS, Point Chevalier, 11, Fifth Grade. —Richmond, 15, City, 11; Mount Albert, 10, Northeote, 0; Otahuliu. 8, Ponsonby, .'5. Sixth Grado. —Point Cliovalier, 4, Papakura, 0; Newton, 11, Richmond, 0. Seventh Grade. —Otahuliu. 10, Ellerslie, 3. Schoolboys' Matches. —Intermediate grade: Newton, S, Green Lane, Junior grado: St. Benedict's, 0, Glcnora, n. GAMES IN bTHER CENTRES [by TELEGRAPH —I'll ESS association] Wellington.—.St. Georg?, 12, Newtown, 6; Central, 15, Rand wick, 10; Pctone, 15, Miramar, 7. Chrlstchurch. —Sydenham, la. Riccarton, flornbiv 25*,