THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23702, 8 July 1940, Page 3

THE LEAGUE CODE

CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES-*.* LEADING TEAM DEFEATED ' Y ' * GOOD DISPLAY BY MT. ALBERT Bright contests characterised the first series in the second round of the Auckland Rugby League's senior championship, played before an attendance of between seven and eight thousand spectators at Carlaw Park on Saturday, Conditions were excellent, the weather being fine and the ground remarkably dry, but the lively ball gave the players some anxious moments and led to handling errors. The of the championship, North Shore, was v checked by Mount Albert in an exciting contest on No. 1 ground, the latter having a convincing victory. An excellent curtain-raiser was provided by City and Manukau, thS latter staging a brilliant recovery in the second spell to take the honours. In the main game on No. 2 ground the Papakura side failed to finish its fixture with Richmond, which was leading by 32 points to 2 when, play ended. With 14 minutes' play remaining, the Papakura captain took exception to a decision by the referee and led his team from the field. In the curtain-raiser on No. 2 ground Marist accounted for Newton. Following were the scores:— Mount Albert, 17; North Shore, 7. Manukau, 18; City, 12, Marist, 33; Newton, 0. Richmond, 32; Papakura, 2.

WELL-DESERVED WIN MOUNT ALBERT RAMPANT Mount Albert's display in the feature game at Carlaw Park was full value for the tenpoint margin it hold over North Shore at the final whistle, the latter side, which still holds a narrow lead :!n the championship, being outplayed in most departments. The first half saw the teams fairly evenly matched, although Mount Albert, which was getting a greater share of the hall as a result of Leatherbarrow's consistent hooking, was doijig most of the attacking, hammering away methodically at the North Shore defence. North Shore's resistance, except for an occasional spasmodic recovery, crumbled in the second spell, the forwards being overshadowed by tho virile and clever Mount Albert pack and tho backs being thrown off their balance .. . by the incisive thrusts of the opposition and subtie variations of play. A competent exhibition was provided by the Mount Albert fullback, McLachlan, who faced up resolutely to the rushes of the North Shore forwards, fielded safely and kicked with judgment. Cowley was the most impressive of the threequarters. He defended excellently," his dour tackling having an upsetting effect on the North Shore Back line. Catp. and Banham also refused to concede anything on defence and combined nicely on attack. Banham "was master of the situation throughout, and varied his methods neatly. When his side was holding a comfortable lead in the second spell, he frequently drove North Shore back with well-placed stabs kicks, which, as well as giving his own defences respite, also opened up play for the Mount Albert forwards, who wero always keen to hunt in the open. Clements performed splendidly behind the scrum. Gunning and Flower played outstanding games both in the tight and the loose, although Shadbolt, Leatherbarrow, Tristram and Cranch were little inferior. V. Scott made mistakes in handling at fullback. However, his tackling and kicking were good. Smith and Chatham tried desperately to shatter the opposing defence, alternating with lateral and straight running, but their efforts wero usually frustrated before the ft? J ball had reached Greenwood at centre. McArthur fumbled overmuch behind the scrum, automatically putting a brake on his back line. The usual "fire"was missing from the play of some of the forwards, who did not work together effectively. Tristram, Leatherbarrow and Clements scored for Mount Albert. J3anham converted two and kicked a penalty goat. McLachlan kicked a field goal. Smith scared for North Shore and converted his try." He also kicked s, penalty goal. Mr. G. Kelly was referee.

FORTUNES FLUCTUATE With fortunes fluctuating in an exciting manner and both teams throwing the ball about freely, the spectators had every.reason to feel pleased with the curtain-raiser contest between Manukau and City, which the former won by 18 points to 12. Showing a deficit of 12 points shortly after the start of the second spell, Manukau staged a-splen-did recovery, its backs ana forwards handling the ball brilliantly and making ground with rapid changes of direction. City w«s baffled by its opponents' new speed and elusiveness, but did not relinquish its advantage without a struggle. Weak handling at vital stages robbed Manukau's efforts of much of their force in- the first half, but when the team got moving in the second spell the passing was brisk-and accurate. Selvvyn, the halfback. Chase, at centre, and Martin, the fullback, were dominant on attack, the last-named chiming in successfully in several dangerous passing movements. Tawhai and Butler also ran determinedly and opened up some fine attacking moves. Quick to promote an attack or assist in the completion of the backs' efforts were Ririnui, Brodrick and Watene, who were the leading forwards. An impressive showing was given by the City fullback, Clarke, who got his team out of many awkward situations. Gould went well in the threequarter line, and Silva and Hughes had a fine'understanding near the srrum. H. Mataira, Jackson and Donovan were hard-working forwards. Tries were scored for Manukau by Chase, Selwyn, Brodrick and Butler. Chase converted three. Nesbitt, Donovan. Gould and Hughes scored tries for City. Mr. S. Billman was . • referee. MAR IST BACKS IMPRESSIVE _ In a well-contested game, Marist narrowlv defeated Newton on No. 2 ground. Marist owes its success to superior play in the first half, when its backs played' good foot-Sail. Newton look some time to fettle down, but halfway through the second spell pressed home some stron-g attacks. With a little better finish Newton may have scored more tries. However, even in the closing stages of the game Marist dominated the exchanges and would have been unlucky to have lost. Pe;n4-s were lost by both teams owing to unreliable goal-kicking. The Newton forwards dominated the play, and it was surprising their backs did not make more use of their chances. Both Mackenzie and Sander, the five-eighths, were slow on attack, and chances to open up the game were missed. < At fullback for Marist, Uhlmann played soundly and made few mistakes. Matthews showed his usual speed on the wing, and Hudson did some good work on the other * wing. Chalmers played a fine game at-five-ejghths. as did Nicholson behind the scrum. . Breed, Barchard and Anderson were the pick I of an even set of forwards. ! W. P. Brimble, at halfback for Newton, 1 was a tower of strength, and worked hard te avoid defeat. Richards played a good game among the threequarters, and Everett, on the | wing, was also prominent. Taylor. Middleton * I and Fraser played ably among the forwards. For Marist. tries were scored by Matthews. : Chalmers and Hudson. J. Anderson converted one and kicked a penalty goal. For Newton, Brimble, Silva and Everitt scored a try each. Mr. K. Mclvcr was referee. RICHMOND SUPERIOR i Richmond was superior all round to Papakura, which battled on gamely against big odds. Papakura failed to score a try against its opponents, who threw the ball about' in a pleasing style. The forwards were fairly evenly matched, but the Richmond backs combined better and wero faster on attack. Good passing bouts by the threequarters gave Richmond marked superiority. The outstanding Richmond back was L. Mills, who played a splendid game on the wing. lie showed a lot of speed and his elusive running gained ground on many occasions. At fullback, Solomon played ably and frequently started passing bouts which ended in tries being scored. Graham dropped a number of passes and was not so impressive as usual at. five-eighths. Webb did a lot of clever work at hi) If back. Tho best forward on the ground was Mitchell, whose excellent handling and straight running were features of the game. Hadley and Davis also played solid games. At fullback for Papakijra.' Mclnnes came through a hard game witlrcredit. R. Halsey, ccntrc-thrcequarter. was prominent on occa-" sions, but generally the opposition was too strong on attack. Milliken, Fogarty and Bentley were the best For Richmond, tries were scored hy.Harrison (2). Mills (2), Hadley, Crookall. Tittletoa and Mitchell. Solomon converted three tries and Webb one. For Papakura, Mclnnes kicked a penalty goal. Mr. O. Chalmers was referee.

RESULTS IN OTHER GRADES Senior B Grade. —Mount Albert, 32, North Shore, ."i; City, 20, Manukau, 2; Otahuhu, 10, Northcote, 5. Third Grade.—Ponsonby, 7, Glenora, 3; Otahuhu, 14, Mount Albert. 11. Fourth Grade. —North Shore, G, Ellerslie, 3; Otahuhu, 13, City. G; Richmond, 18, Papakura, 11. Fiftli Grade. —Mount Albert. 10, Manukau, 0; Otalnihu, G, Richmond, 2; Newmarket, 22. Northcote, 11. Sixth Grade. —Papalcura, 23, Newton, 3. Seventh Grade. —Otahuhu, 10. North Shore, 0. Sclmolboys' Games.—Senior grado: Eilerslic. S, North Shore, 7; Ponsonby. 3, Poiiifc Chevalier, 3. Intermediate grade: Ellerslie, 0, Marist, 3; Mount Albert. !>. Point Chevalier, 0. ( GAMES IN THE SOUTH [by TELKcnurn —niKss association") Wellington.—Petone. 17. Newtown, 3; St. George, 2-1. Randwick. 2-1. Christchurch.—Addington. 1-1. Sydenham. 0: Linwood, IG, Waimairi. l2;.Hornbj, J. Rakaia, 2. " ~r