THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23714, 22 July 1940, Page 3

THE LEAGUE CODE

RICHMOND ON TOP NORTH SHORE VANQUISHED SURPRISE BY PONSONBY Repeating its performance of the first round, Richmond had a convincing victory over North Shore at Carlaw Park on Saturday, when the senior championship of the Auckland Rugby League was continued. Richmond now assumes the lead in the competition, having an advantage of one point over North Shore. The game produced a hard and interesting struggle, in which the Richmond backs thrilled an attendance of about 7000 spectators with their bright and open methods. Marist surprised with a' comfortable win over Manukau in tlic curtain-raiser, while Ponsonby also upset calculations by taking the points from Newton on No. 2 ground. On the same ground Mount Albert got the better of City after a promising start by the latter team. Following were the results:— .Richmond. 38; North Shore, 13. Marist, '_' D; Manukau, 10. Mount Albert, '2-i; City, 7. Ponsonby, 17; Newton, 14.

RESOURCEFUL BACKS RICHMOND'S SUPERIORITY Recovering splendidly after a shaky start, "Richmond gave an excellent display to defeat North Shore in the principal attraction at C'arlaw Park, the efforts of the winning team's backs, who handled neatly and shewed considerable resource on attack, as well as sterling defence, swaying the balance. The early play gave the impression that Solomon was being wasted at fullback for Richmond, but judging by the manner in which the rearguard subsequently buckled down to ils task and moved with machinelike precision, it is doubtful whether Richmond would have profited had Solomon been moved up. Although unaware that he had fractured his jaw early in the first spell, Webb, the diminutive Richmond half, battled along .gamely, giving splendid service from tho scrum and tackling solidly. Graham and C. Williams were a splendid combination at five-eighths and also timed their individual efforts nicely. The three-quarters -were all determined attackers, with Mills and Tittlcton receiving the most chances. The Richmond pack did not suffer in comparison with tho North Shore set, outstanding men being Hadley. Potter and Davis. In the absence of V. Scott, Donaldson made a reappearance for North Shore, giving a sound exhibition at fullback. He later moved up to five-eighths and put sparkle into the attack. The North Shore rearguard was impressive for a start when Mcintosh was winning the ball regularly from the scrums, but as soon as the back line had to fend for itself there was a marked falling off. McArthur gave his usual honest display behind the scrum, while Smith was solid at first five-eighths. Smith attempted to put an edfce on the attack with occasional straight running, but found the defence impregnable. Chatham was not as impressive as usual, but Greenwood and Wilkie wero prominent at times. The leading forwards were E. Scott, Mcintosh, Peterson and Hollows. Tries were scored for Richmond by Graham (2) and Mills (2). Webb and Solomon converted one each and Bramley kicked a penalty goal. Hollows scored a try for North Shore. Smith kicked four penalty goals and Donaldson a field goal. Mr. J. Donovan was referee.

LIVELY ENCOUNTER Plenty of variety was offered by the curtain-raiser between Marist and Manukau, the former getting a well-deserved decision. Free use was made by both teams of their back divisions and there were many, sparkling movements. Manukau's handling was, if anything, the more impressive, but Marist's advantage lay in its ability to make the best of the most unlikely situations. Quick recoveries by the Marist backs and forwards often swung a Mannkau attack to the hitter's disadvantage. The Marist team is showing distinct improvement and seems likely to pliy a prominent part mn the closing stages of the competition. When he made a strenuous effort to stop a Manukau forward. Glover, the dependable Marist fullback, received an injury which necessitated his early retirement. Tiis substitute, Uhlmann, played well, however. All the threequarters were dangerous, with Hudson and Matthews proving the most difficult to stop. Nicholson went well at half and had sound supports in tho f ve-eighth?, Midgely and Hughes. It was difficult to discriminate between six hard-working forwards, although tho efforts of Anderson, Breed and McLeod proved the most successful. Chase. Broughton, Martin and Butler were the most convincing of the Manukau backs, all of whom handled attractively. With Ririnui and Marsh absent, the Manukau pack was not so impressive as usual, although good srames were played by Khilton, Brodrick and Watene. The try-getters for Marist were McWilliams, Hudson, Matthews and Anderson. Uhlmann and Anderson converk-d one each and Anderson and Matthews kicked penalty goals. Shilton scored two tries for Manukau. C'iase converted one and kicked a penalty goal. Mr. S. Billman was referee. BETTER COMBINATION TELLS Superior combination in the second half was the deciding factor in favour of Mount Albert, which found City a difficult proposition for most of the game. The first half was evenly contested, and generally City had tho better of the play. Its forwards packed a solid scrum, and in the loose the Mount Albert vanguard met with strong opposition. Smith, usually a threeauarter. hooked for City, and his team was at a great disadvantage, being opposed to Leatherbarrow, the representative hooker. However, it was not until halfway through the second spell that Mount Albert asserted its superiority. The Mount Albert forwards then played dashing football, and fast raiding tactics overwhelmed the City backs. The Mount Albert backs did not play as well as usual, and there was an absence of combination. The five-eighths, Banham and Caio. ran across the ground too much and the pair showed little inclination to vary their play. Clements, at halfback, got better results by passing the ball infield to the fast-breaking forwards. Theso tactics were not overdone. Mclnnarney did well on the wing, in spite of limited opportunities. Weak kicking by Vorrall. at fullback, often got Mount Albert into difficulties. Gunning, Shadbolt. Herring and Leatherbarrow played well among the forwards. Simpson was the best of the City backs, and did some clever work on attack. Nesbitt. at centre, also played a good game. Among the'forwards, Mataira, Thompson and Wanklyn were prominent.

For Mount Albert, tries were scored by Herring (2), Leatherbarrow, Clements, McInnarney and Gunning. Banham converted two and kicked one penalty proal. For City, Nesbitt scored a try and Silva and Clarke kicked a penalty goal each. Mr. 0. Chalmers was referee.

Well-contested game Ponsonby followed up previous Rood form by defenling Newton in one of the best-con-tested games seen on No. 2 ground this season. Newton looked certain to win, and it was only in the last four minutes that Ponsonby scored a converted try to win by 17 points to 14. Newton had a little the better of tlie first half, although only one try was scored. Newton continued to show its superiority, and after 20 minutes' play in the second half led by I t points to o. The Ponsonby backs, however, played splendid football, and good combination was a feature of the second half. ' Kay, at five-eighths, showed brilliant form, and with Nurse, at centre-threequarter,. the Ponsonby backs pot numerous opportunities. Tho forwards gave excellent, support. Both the last two tries came from the support the Ponsonby forwards crave the backs in swift attacks. From near half-way Williams passed to Kay, whose speed enabled him to penetrate decplv into Newton territory. The forwards. Blutcher, Laird and, finally. Flanagan, handled in turn to score a splendid try. Besides playing a good game, Ka.v revealed excellent goal-kjrkiiip: form. Several shots were successful from about 40 yards out. Hughes shaped well on the wing, and Williams was prominent at halfback. The Ponsonbv forwards all played well, with Blutcher. Laird and Flanagan outstanding Brimblo. the halfback, and Dempsey. five-eißhths, wore tho best of the Newton backs. Stephens also did good work on the wing. Ginders was the pick of tho forwards. , t For Ponsonby, tries were scored by Williams. Hughes and Flanagan. Ka.v converted two tries and kicked two penalty fjoals. For Newton. Fraser and Stephens scored a try each Dempsey converted one try and kicked two penalty goals. MacKenzie also converted one try. Mr. J. Jones was referee. RESULTS OF OTHER GRADES Reserve Grade. —City, Hi. Mount Albert, 5; Richmond. 13. North Shore. 12. Senior B Grade. —Championship final: Otahuhu, 10, Northcote. 0. , „ , _ . . Third Grade.- —Mount Albert, 13, Point Chevalier, 2; Otahuhu, 15, Newton, 7; Manst, 7, Avondale, 5. <■> Fourth Grado.—Avondale.: 5. Otahuhu, 2: North Shore, 35, Green Lane, 10: .Richmond, 22. Ellerslie, 0. . Fifth Grade.—Ponsonby. 10, Manukau, 5; Citv, 7, Otahuhu. 5. Sixth Grade. —Point Chevalier, 0, City, 3. Seventh Grade.—Otahuhu, 5, Ellerslie. Schoolboys' Games.—Senior , grade: Richmond, 11, Newton, S; Ellerslie. 30. Ponsonby. 5. GAMES IN OTHER CENTRES [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] Wellington.—Randwick, 9, Eastern Suburbs,. 3; Miramar, 15, Newtown, 0. Chrlstohuroh.— Addington, 24, Riccarton, 6; Sydenham, 30, Waimairi. 5; Rakaisu 20, Linwood, 6. Sydenham wins the championship.