FOOTBALL.

NZ Truth, Issue 68, 6 October 1906, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

•The season was clewed up on Saturday when Poneke (challengers) and Petorie (holders, by virtue of its winning 'of the Senior .Championship) met to decide possession qf the Charity Cup for the , ensuing twelve months. The game ended m a popular victory for the red and blacks by two penalty goals and a converted tr*' (11 points) to two tries (6 points). J. Ryan and McGill crossed the Poneke chalkmark m the first spell, Barber's attempt at conversion being resultless m each instance. On changing ends Poneke was to the fore with two supberb goals from the field, Wallace being the place-kicker, and a few minutes to time Mitchinson scored a characteristically ' clever try, which Wallace improved upon. "Bumper" Wright was the only notable defection from the Petoneranks, on the other hand Poneke v/as minus the services of Horgan (half), Slater (five-eighth), Mann (winger), and Sweeney and Calcinai forwards. Cozens, from the St. James' forces filled the vacancy behind the scrum, Ma-gee was Mitchinson's colleague as five-eighth, Sellars, who played full for- Ponsonbv. last season, acted as <subsi>ttutey for Slater, . and Sam Mhrims and Sutherland stepped into '^/mP i bre«^ in the vanguard ranks. The weather overhead was fine, out ;a strong, gusty nor'-wester was m evidence, which placed the backs at iV disadvantage m their manipulation -of the ball. The turf was on the hard side from the effects % of the past ten day's dry weather. The game on the whole was not particularly interesting, save at intervals, and many of the players appeared to have lost much of the enthusiasm they possessed m the earlier part of the season, a circumstance hardly to be wondered at m view' of IM^ast fix months' operation m the iueijv arena I ■■'... -. Petbiie's representatives had the advantage of,- the wind behind theni m tU first spell, and they. were expected 'to pile on a good few points. Poneke, however, put up a stubborn defence and sound tackling, prevented the' champions froni getting over its line on more than two occasions. Poneke turned the. tables m the second half, per medium.! of magnifi- _ cent place-kicking by Wallace,, who was m great "oal-conversion form. One of his shots was fully five yards inside the centre line and few on the ground suspected that he was equal, to the task of piloting the leathersafely over the cross-bar. He did so, however, to the accompaniment of , terrific handclappin<r from the spectators. Another , shot at less distance! but from awkward range proved -similarly successful, and again the crowd cheered the feat liistilv. The Pdneke captor**-; made another fine attempt frotr>><more than half-way, later on, missing the post by about a couple of feet. 'He had a soft snap on when essaying the task from Mitchinson's vtry, and, unlike Dufty, of.! Auckland: fame, made no mistake About- adding the . extra points. Poneke is to^be" on the 1 reliability of their defence m the first sPAll,'. which was well tested by 0»e -suburban men, who made pleiity of onslaughts, back and forward; The baking *of the backs was 'accurate, the fieldin"- - was generally certain, md all made sure of finding the ,fcOuch-line when it was. necessary, m the interest of the team to do so. Wallace was /vei-y successful m >■ thwarting the tactics of the -.Petone tried with his sure finding Of toe toych-line— prrubbers notwithstanding. The comparative weakness of the Petone backji m t'rv-eettihg powers when everything favored them m the first half was pronounced throughput! They were r uneven m point of skill, some being fair, while others were shaky. On few occasions only did they, work m entire unison, some of its members passing and moving very erratically and slovenly. The Petone forwards failed to move with their accustomed smartnessand virility. They beat Poneke repeatedly for possession, but ttie half and five-eighth' did pot- make an effective combination and Griffiths spoiled a lot of their passing before the ball got going amongst their three-quar-ters/ The Petone packmen's scrummaging lacked solidity^; on the lineout "they were lifeless, and m the loose they exhibited little of .tlie pace and systematic combination which .marked their, efforts m the senior cdanipionship competitions. There were times when they broke away with' dangerous rushes," but the effort was spasmodic, and inability to combine sharply with the rearguard nullified the advantage obtained. \ As tackier s- the red and black forwards were resolute, robust and sure and they played better, all round football than Petone's division,' and worked ; m: ; greater harmony with their .backs', though the system was not always the essence .of "methodicalism. „With more weight, the Poneke scrummaging brigade would; probably liaye walked over the suburban van-

guard. The red and blades showed oelerity, dash and speed m several lively bursts up and down the field, one rush m the first half against the wind was a "dandy." The red and black scrum worked with greater adhesiveness than Petone's pack. The Poneke backs played with moderate combination m attack. Cozens made a good showing at half, his sound rush-stopping aod passing out peine: well executed. Magee played solidly, and Mitchinson and Wallace put m a lot of serviceable work,' the "All Black" representative showing up very prominently tn defence. Dan Toohill, whose defensive qualification has improved this season, was conspicuous when he got the chance, which was not often. He has an inclination, however, to trust too much to his sprinting powers when a timely kick would spell more ground for his side. Instone had little work to trouble him durirre- the afternoon, and Sellars was reliable on the, whole m the role of guardian of the goal-posts. Sam A brims kept consistently going throughout the game, and though resurrected, as it were, for this game showed' that he has lost none of the dash which made him one of the most solid forwards m the city a few seasons ago. He "pushed" well, made spirited dashes from tho ! line-out, -and m the open footed it with the speediest of the red and black forwards. Gal/braith did a lot of honest graft, and why the selectors of our rep. team {failed to discern' his merits as an all round scrutnmager this seasoo is one of the impenetrable mysteries which they alone, perhaps, can solve. Sutherland and Calium were noticeatble for graft. Griffiths played a dashing game on the wing and was very aggressive m frustrating the attempted passing bouts of the Petone rearguard. Jim Barber was the soundest back on the Petone side, his kickinn- being forceful and serviceable m its results. J. Ryan shaped very well, hut neither Green nor K<elly not Ramsdep played up to their past standard of excellence. Their disposition was unsuitable for effective attacking purposes. Had the centre and 'five-, eighths been nippier and better backing up exhibited the honors might have rested with the suburban teamTom Cross, was the hardest worked forward .-on. '•■'the- Petone side. Bvrne shone Out occasionally m the open, but "pushed" infrequently. Hardham was - not active on the fringe of the scrum or viligant enough to check Griffiths m getting on to his half or five-eighth. The Petone skipper's methods of putting the bail m the scrum should have produced repeated penalisation. hut referee Robb winked, at the offence. One of the spiciest tit-bits m the match was ttie passing among the Petone backs whioh 'ended m Jimmy Ryan crossing the Poneke chalkmark. Starting with Green the ball went through several hands until Ryan got possession, and the wing-threequar-ter -made no race of it when going for the' line. Mitchinson, who is jthe best "find" m Wellington football this season, made a great dash up the field m the first spell which threatened a score. Ryan, however, wore him down and seeinn- that trouble was. brewing the rPoneke >an slung the ball out to Wallace - o was m near attendance. The winu yas responsible for the Poneke captain failing to gather it m and Mick • . Ryan being thereabouts jeffected a save for his side by booting it into touch about midfield. On i another occasion Wallace broke away m great style from centre and was ! grassed , withm a few feet of the Petone chalk-mark. 'When Poneke had put the issue beyond all doubt, Petone pressed spiritedly and not dangerously within striking distance. Tne suburban forwards made stirring onslaughts, but the opposing defence was too sound to pierce, and aided with a bit of luck the red and Macks relieved the minds of their supporters by transferring the battle ground near Petone territory.