THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23726, 5 August 1940, Page 12

THE LEAGUE CODE

EXCITING STRUGGLE MARIST'S SPECTACULAR WIN RICHMOND STILL''LEADING i / Tho improved Marist side had a spectacular victory over Mount Albert in the principal championship game staged under tho control of the Auckland Rugby League at Carl aw Park, a field goal in the last fev\- minutes deciding the issue. The match, was remarkable for the manner in which the fortunes of the teams fluctuated, and a crowd of about 4000 spectators was kept at a high pitch of excitement. Richmond maintained its lead in the competition by defeating City, Ponsonby accounted for Manukau, and North Shore had an easy vict'ory over Papakura. Following were 4 tho scores:— Marist, 17; Mount Albert, 10. Ponsonby, 22; Manukau, 17." North Shore, 33: Papakura, 5. Richmond,' 22;. City, 8. BRIGHT • EXHIBITION FIELD GOAL DECIDES ISSUE Keen opportunism on tho part of Glover, who snapped a field goal in .the last few minutes of the. game, gave Marist a win against Mount Albert-after, a stirring contest on No. 1 ground. An excellent etandurd of football was revealed in the first half, when there was a series of splendid movements, most of which originated in tho Marist back line. In' the second spell both teams played open football, and tho manner ill which the fortunes' changed kept tho atmosphere tense. Marist started off in brilliant fashion, throwing the ball about with 'ft toft ml on and recovering quickly both on defence and attack. Mount Albert's handling was faulty for a time and Marist was quick to take advantage of errors. Tho second spell saw Mount Albert working more efficiently, vigorous forward play and smart handling among the backs almost gaining them the points. Splendid tackling was a feature of Uhlmann's play at fullback for Marist. In a speedy and intelligent back line, Matthews was the outstanding figure, being quick to sense an opening and revealing speed and elusiveness on attack. Glover, playing at fiveeighths—a position strange to him—was somewhat of a brake on the Marist back line, but Nicholson, Chalm'ers, McWilliams and Midgley were spritely on attack and also defended resolutely. Anderson went very well in the forwards, receiving most assistance from McLeod. Bre6d and Grotte. Dobbyn was fully a match for Leatherbarrow at hooking. When the Mount Albert back line got moving it was very impressive. Cowley was always dangerous at centre and cut through repeatedly, while Banham and Cato, efficiently fed by tho halfback. Clements, were a „ good fiye-eighths combination. Banham kicked with judgment, several times extricating his gido from trouble with well-placed clearances., Gunning was tho outstanding forward, but Herring, Leatherbarrow and Tristram also performed creditably. Tries were scored for Marist by Grotte, Chalmers and Matthews. Anderson converted two and kicked a penalty goal, whilo Glover kicked a field goal. Gunning (2), Mclnnarney and Leatherbarrow scored tries for Mount Albert. Banham kicked two penalty goals. Mr. G. Kelly was referee. x HONOURS TO PONSONBY Ponsonby recorded another good performance to defeat Manukau by a narrow margin. The Ponsonby backs are improving each week and, favoured with plenty of the ball from the scrum, the rear division impressed with fast and clever movements. Manukau. Which was without the services of Hemi and Brodrick, started off well and had a little the better of the first half, to establish a five-point • lead. Williams fed the Ponsonby backs at every opportunity, and several swift offensives caught the Manukau backs out.,of position. Superior speed and' better handling gave Ponsonby an advantage, but by no means was Manukau dominated in the second half. More finish to its movements decided the game in favour of Ponsonby. Among the Ponsonby backs. Nurse, on the wing, played a brilliant game, and is one of tho most-improved players in the code. He used his speed to good advantage and raced determinedly for the line. Kay played a fine game at five-eighths and paved, the way for several tries by speed' and straight running. McManus, at centre, also combined well and gave Nurse good chances on attack. Shilling, at fullback, played a sound game. Behind the scrum, Williams , played easily his best game this season. He •. sent out . snappy passes and used ,excellent judgment in varying tho attack. Flanagan, Briggs, Dunning and Laird played good games among the forwards.-' 7 ' " . . .. The Manukau backs Jacked combination, but once again Chase played an outstanding game and was the pivot of the attack, iawtiaj did a lot of useful work at five-eighths, and Butler and Martin were prominent in the threequarters. Among the forwards. Ririnut played a fine game, and was ably supported byßei and Shilton. Watene came out of the scrum in tho second half and Was largely responsible for checking the Ponsonby backs. His tackling was good. - ■

For Ponsonby, Williams and Nurse scored two tries each. Kay converted three tries and kicked two penally goals. For Manukau, Tawhai, Shiltor. and Clui.se scored a try each. Chase converted two tries and kicked two penalty goals. Mr. J. Hawkes was refcreo. COMFORTABLE VICTORY North Shore had a comparatively easy task to defeat Papakura, but it was not until tlio secqnd half that its advantage was so marked. Papakura provided strong opposition ill the first 30 minutes, although North Shore gained two converted trios. Weak tackling by the Pnpakura backs gave North Shore several easy tries. The winners, however, improved as the game went on, and there was an entire absence of kicking the ball by the backs. In fact, the North Shore backs gave one of the bent displays seen for some weeks. The insido barks played better and each worked in cohesion with the thrceciuarlers. i'he Pnpakura forwards played well in the looso and battled hard against the superior tactics of the North Shore backs. Smith, fullback for North Shore, played an outstanding game and started many effective movements. Donaldson was a thorn in the sido of the opposition, and his elusive running badly beat the defence at times. Chatham played splendidly at five-eighths, and followed Donaldson in every attack.- McArthur did ft lot of good work at halfback. Petersen, who received a nose injury late in tho first half, played a fine game, and his try was the result of excellent anticipation. E. Scott, Condor and Field were also promin6Hogan, the halfback, was the best of tho Papakura backs, and both Mclnnes. fullback, and Clarke, contre, played fairly well. Splendid following-up by Fogarty was .a feature of the game. Milliken and Francis also gave good displays. , , . For North Shore, tries were scored by Brown, Petersen. Donaldson, Scott, Mcintosh, Chatham and Smith. Smith converted three tries and Donaldson three. Dor Japaknra. Penfold scored a try and Mclmies kicked a penalty goal. Mr. J. Donovan was referee. RICHMOND SUPERIOR Richmond had too much method in Its play and stamina for City in the curtain-raiser on No 1 ground, and, while the latter managed to hold its opponent until half-time, the result was not in doubt in tho second spell. Jhe Richmond forwards were a formidable set and their splendid work was supported by a fast and tricky back division. Solomon and Graham had too much class for tho opposing back line and frequently ran their supports into favourable positions. Mills and.. Tittleton were the most .impressive of the thrfe-quarters, and C. \\ llliams kept the hack line functioning nicely, by smart work round the scrum. Davis, Devrnc. Mitchell and Potter were the best of a hard-working set ° f SS 8 ' Silva, Barton and Gould were the most prominent City backs, but they found difficulty in coping with Richmond s adamant defence. Among the forwards, Jackson. Donovan, Wanklyn and Thompson were Ca The'trv'-sMrers for Richmond were Mitchell (•->), Graham (2). Davis and Bramley. Devine and Davis each converted one try. Smith. and Thompson scored for Citv, and Silva kicked a penalty goal. Mr. J. Jones was referee. OTHER GRADE RESULTS Senior B Grade.—Otahuhu, 22 Ellerslie, 5- Point Chevalier, 13, , 8. Third Grade. —Mor<nt Albert, 15, Glenora, 11- Otahuhu, 3:3, Point Chevalier, -l. Fourth Grade. —Green Lane, 10, Avondale. <!; North Shore, 11. Richmond, 5. Fifth Grade. —'Otahuhu, !), Mount Albert. 5. Seventh Grade. —Knock-out final: Otahuhu, 9, Ellerslie, 5. Schoolboys Games. —Intermediate grade: Mount Albert, 0, Avondale, 3. GAMES IN THE SOUTH [bv TELECRAPH —Pit ESS association] Christchurch. —Sydenham, 20, Llnwood. 13; Waimairi, 20, Iticcarton, 0. Wellington.—St. George, 19, Eastern Suburbs. 9; Miramar. 23. Central, 7; Handwick, 25. Newtown. 5. St. George wins tho championship.