FOOTBALL.

NZ Truth, Issue 60, 18 August 1906, Page 2

FOOTBALL.

It is singular that m the Senior Championship contest to date Poneke should have up-ended Melrose twice, and Petone gone under to Newtown on two occasions, while the suburban men have polished off Poneke twice, which coincidence serves to illustrate the comparative evenness of the respective combinations.

The Athletic Park on Saturday had recovered from its sloppy condition of the preceding week, and though on the soft side m places was firm enough for football. There was no wind or sun to discomfort the players, the sequence being a fast game m which neither side could claim any material advantage.

Horgan's absence from the Poneke rearguard meant, spoiling the neat mechanism so noticeable m its work m past matches, though the machinery worked more smoothly than was generally anticipated. Charley Slater came up from full to fill the vacancy, and. . Instpne (threequater) dropped back into Slater's customary position, while .Magee, a selected junior representative, replaced Instone 'm the threequarter line.

There were times when the Melrose packmen made a formidable showing •particularly m the ; solid,-:' but their scrum tactics savored much of the mechanical order, and this was noticeable m the wheeling and line-out. They were more powerful than Poneke's vanguard m the tight, the red and blacks,, however, showing decided superiority m footwork m the loose and on the line out. The combination of the Melrose scrumming brigade was hot nearly so sound as against Petone on the previous Saturday. c -

To the writer's mind the Melrose forwards made the mistake of keeping the came too tight, as Poneke's try-getting abilities could not be deemed to be a formidable factor m the facie, of the changes affected through Horgan's absence from its ranks.

For possession the Poneke hookers btat Melrose badly, and .the ball always came out quick and slick. With a nippier back behind the scrum to take it the ball must have been j;o---ing through tho backs hand:, oftener than it did. Slater was ' not agile, enough to shoot the; ball out .smartly when it happened alon& hia \VCI7. For quickness* and judgment m thao direction Horgan's .serviced on Saturday would 'have been invaluable.

The Poneke forwards, ,-aye for carelessness m shepherding their mtiji on the line out, worked well together. The packing was wedpe-likt--mkl adhesive, though tlu> turning movements were fur from faultless Xi their operation. ; The dribbling was #ood at times, though v, tendency '•.•-> bustle matters too much when no.'ic the enemy's citadel spoilt at least three rine chances of drivine the leather the chalk-mark m such a position im to ensure a sc6riu;.£ feat. In the open the red and bl«.dk,", were quicker and more expert than Melrose and gave greater assistance to their backs.

The forwards on both sides made fairly even combinations until the closing stages of the play when the Melrose pack livened up and gave Poneke a rattling good go of it, having slightly the better of the all round work. Poneke's- superiority however, m getting the ball atoneO. for heaps of failures m other directions. The tackling of Poneke war very fair, that of Melrose superb.

The Poneke back division gave ':. far sounder all 'round display than the Melrose rearguard, and at times it brought off some neat bouts of passing;; whioh lacked neither finish or effectiveness. On the other hand the red and blue division gay« few exhibitions of combined efforts and its representatives form severally was oatchv. It was m keeping with the Meirose traditional play to -afford the backs as few openings as possible, but there were occasions when chances came their way and all werti politely declined.

Instone made a very decent fist of it as full, his kicking being accurate and fairly forceful, and his taking and fielding* certain. *The novelty of playing m a new position was accountable for Instone keeping up too close to his threequarters m neutral territory. G. Spencer was m good buckle, though his line kickinp was hardly up to his usual standard. He ceo* Melrose out of some very tifrhfc corners m at least half-a-dozen m

stances. ' Mitchinson played another attractive^ frame and gave further illustration of his scoring abilities by snapping the only try recorded m the fr&me. His mind moves very, quickly, and he is never at a loss to size up the situation at the crucial test. Mitchinson always . shapes smartly and with judgment and plays altogether dashing, pretty football. In individual skill when goin* foir goal and beating a man the Poneke centre has few, equals m the city.

Ma'gee, who was not overburdened with graft, . gave a creditable shoeing. He is a pacy and powerful runner and can use his feet to advantage. He is also a sound tackier. With some coaching m tactics, especially m attack, Magoc ought to develop into a clinking threequarter. Dan Toohill played deanly 'ati<£>. nattily and made several spirited dashes down the field. His taking of the passes while going at top speed were superbly executed- Dan also made good use of his kicking and saved Poneke from more than one awkward situation. The speedy wing threequarter might adopt more cutting-in tactics. It would pay him and his side handsomely.

Wallace and Walsh were a splendid combination and each played right up to the handle* Walsh came m close to take rough stuff and was worth another forward to the Ponekes. He gave a magnificent defensive exhibition, shooting off repeatedly to help his half m stemming the rushes of the Melrose scrummagers,. or to tackle one of them. The sturdy fiveeighth checked the bull-rushing tactics of the fed and blues m great style. He made some slashing runs passed the .ball always at the right moment, tackled like a vyse and worked like a trojan unceasingly from start to no-side. Walsh always gave strong support to his half or three-quarters m positions of danger.

Charlftv uSlater had no reason to he ashamed of his exhibition behind the scrum. One knows that it is not

all beer and skittles standing up to the avalanche rushes of the Melrose forward brigade and Charley found this so on Saturday. He was never weak, and as rush-stopper did capital work. His passing out was on the slow side, but .what could one expect m the circumstances.

The Melrose thveequarter line was given few opportunities of distinguishing itself. ' It was noticeable that they rarely made a concerted move forward and never from the scrummage. When they did come through, which was very seldom, it was invariably through faulty manipulation of the ball by the opposing backs. Groube was reliable and used the boot to advantage. He handled the ball more accurately than some of his confreres and was soundness itself m defence. Adams played solidly behind the scrum and pulled his side out of difficulty m .several trying circumstances.. With more alertness and judgment Adams would take a lot of beating as scrum half.

When Poneke got slingirie: the ball amongst its backs there was trouble for Melrose and the deadly sting was taken out of the red and blues packmen by reason of their chasing so much up and = down and across the field to bar the progress of their adversaries. The tackling of the red and blue rearguard was certain and sure all through.

Poneke 's, try came .about owing to McKay and Groube making a hash between ,;shem' of accepting, a centre kick byMagee, Wallace and Mitchinson .were down on the pair like greased lightning:, but the ' Poneke lads , both over-ran the ball and Walsh stepped into the breach. His herculean efforts . to ■ break through the opposing cordon failed, but Mitchinson ' was laying hatidy and taking . advantage of a temporary breach m the Melrose ranks shot across to/ the terrific joy of Poneke barrackers. whose whoop of triumnh was louder : when Billy Wallace sent the ball over the cross bar. In the matter of scoring from penalty goals Melrose was afforded three or four chances of pulling the match out ot the. fire after the red and blacks: had established its five points lead, but though George* Spencer got one right home', his other efforts failed to effect the desired purpose Two of the red and black scrummaners have evidently failed to pront by the lesson taught them m the return Petone. match and will persistently lignorc the off-side rule m their own territory. The risk is sometimes \vorth the candle on the other side of tho half-way dag* but novt* when play ;.s confined to your own territory.

_ Wallace just missed placing unother three woints to his side's credit vet medium of a penalty kick. It was r, splendid attempt, the ball silrikiiir the upright just above the centrb-bav\ Jim Mann was an 'absentee from the Poneke ranks. The "sunny gentleman" would have been a valuable adjunct to the rod ana black tombiuf.tion m the game as it was played "on Saturday. -

.Jot Calnan donned thi} red aid blue jersey jpnee more and the big -fellow played a bustling, active same until midway through the seoondhalf, when lack of adequate training was probably accountable for his efforts oercopti'bly tiring. Unless the writer is muoh mistaken, Joe has foten m retirement since the defeat inflicted on his team also by the red and blacka earlier m the season. .Ibe is cvjdeu'> Iy not a mascotte for Melrose, ia so far as its tussles with Poneke arc concerned.

Referees, are prone to lecture playera on their ignorance of the, rules of Rugby, but the regulations inado for their behoof by their own association Is disregarded Saturday after Saturday. Some time ago the Referee.".' Association laid it down that- a player claiming a mark must simultaneously make a heel mark. How often do we see a mark given a player Tiefore be has actually caught the ball, much les.s before ,he makes his h«elmark. On Saturday no less capable referee than Peter Mackie wa?j guilty of the same offence, and m bb.vj instance the circumstances were such that it lost Poneke a possible chance of scoring.

De Blois toiled like a demon m the Melrose forward ranks, and Jack Spencer, King, Bill Adams and Sullivan went "eye's" out after a win which didn't come their way, however.

Sam Galbraitt, Tresize, Calcinai, Callum and Sweeney caught the eye oftener m the Poneke pack, while Griffiths was, much to the fore m back-spoiling and open work.

Mitchinson's alertness and cuteness stood Poneke m good stead what time he cleverly baulked Dc Blois, Sullivan, and Gilchrist, who were the leaders m a brilliant Melrose rush which had swept the ball past Insane wd threatened a "cert" sco-ie,

Magee had a try almost within his grasp, G. Spencer being the stumbling block and grassing the Poneke boy within a yard or two of the line. Mitchinson made his one mistake m the game by not getting quicker c 2 the mark and coming m close to take what must have been the easiest of passes leading up to the surest of tries.

The Southern-Athletic game at Mirimar was a walk-ovc- for the latter team. Southern took the field with ten men, and played two spells of 15 minutes each, during which Athletic soored six tries and converted them all. None of the players took the game seriously, and at times it developed into a farce.

Despite the absence of McGregor the Petone team succeeded m running up a fair number of points against Wellington. The. score, however, was not due so much to the good play of the Petone team as to the indiffer-

ent collaring of the yellows full-back. The Petone team, however, did not seem at any stage of the game to be Jl out.

J. Ryan was the most prominent of the Petone backs, doing everything that came his way like a tradesman. In scoring his try, the result o[ a good passing rush m which all the Petone backs took part, he made a most sensational take of a difficult pass from Ramsden.

Barber's play was chiefly noticeable for its inconsistency. His kicking was excellent but marred on several occasions by inability to find the line, and while taking high kicks he never made a mistake, his fielding of the ball on the ground was misererable.

Green at half gave another clever display and there is no doubt he will make a name for himself m the next few seasons.

The Petone forwards did not display the dash usually associated with them. In fact they gave spectators the impression they were afraid of hurting their opponents. Cross, Wright, Byrne and Hardham were all prominent at. times.

Apologies from the Petone forwards to their opponents were so frequent that t?he few Civil Servants and hockey girls casually watching the match were m doubt whether they were attending a football match or a drawing-room entertainment.

As' before mentioned, the 1 ' great weakness of the Wellington team was the inability of the full-back to tackle. Two at least of Petone's tries could easily have been stopped by a. capable tackier. The remainder of the backs gave a better exhibition,: m fact, their line kicking was even more accurate than Petone's. ■■'. :

Mansford, who, m the absence of Malfroy, played half-back, was a tower of strength to his side and should certainly be kept m the position. W

Carey, wing forward, played a great, game and considerably hampered tlie attacking movements of the Petone backs. McKellar was the most prominent of the other forwards who were far too light to be a match for their burly opnonents. The members of the Wellington team consider the Petone team is the most sportsmanlike crowd nlaying the game m the city, and that it would be a good thine for football m Wellington if one or two other clubs, whose names are unnecessary to. publish, played as clean a game. "