Senior Championship Competitions.

NZ Truth, Issue 150, 2 May 1908, Page 3

Senior Championship Competitions.

' PETONE 16, SOUTHERN NIL. : Southerns made a creditable debut on the occasion of their re-entering the senior ranks. A defeat by two goals and two tries (16) to nil, cannot be considered as humiliating, especially when it is considered their opponents were the redoubtable Petoneites, winners of the senior championship- for the past three seasons. ■ The first spell was evenly contested, and with a little luck; the Reds should have scored on at. least two occasions, i On the other hand, Petone only*had a couple of openings, but each was productive .of points — they took full advantage of their opportunities. On changing sides, Hardham. Green, Ryan and Co. showed they meant business, and kept up a hot attack for the greater part of the spell, but despite some beautiful bouts of passing, only an additional two tries were recorded. These were got through the agency of Mackley, a new player to Wellington, but one whose light cannot be kept under a bushel— he is a rare flyer, and •m such good 'company will undoubtedly prove a prolific try-getter. Pctone's advantage lay m their superior condition, and -the par excellence of the backs from half to full. The rearguard is composed solely of young play-? ers, but before the season advances far, ! 'Pakeha?' predicts they will compose absolutely the soundest combination m the city. Tries were scored by A. House, McGill, and Mackley (2), m that order, House's being converted -'hy Instone, and Mackley's first by J. Ryan. Albert House calls for first mention because his previous match was played va the fifth grade, and from that to senior reads like a "flight of fancy." Anyway, he fully justified inclusion, and on actual olay stamns him as a coming three-quarter; his taking, running, and passing all being of a s very high order. ! His try was a beauty, and besides hav- | ing a hand m Mackley's second contribution, also took part m every passing i movement during the ganie. Jimmy Ryan was the mainstay of his side, his magnificent line-kicking proving lof great benefit. Like Green the irre- ! pressible, he Was here, there, and everywhere, Clem i& a glutton for work, and ihe took a deal of gruelling from the burly Templeton like a. Briton— his attack was none the less noticeable, and there is every prospect of the diminutive Petoneite turning out whe of the best half-backs New Zealand has ever possessed. Kai-ora, Clem. Mick Ryan, ai full, was safe as usual, albeit he was not over-burdened with toil. He made one or two awkward slips, but as compensation, »his kicking was accurate, especially m the second Bpell.

Oily Instone "used his nut," and was very neat m his work. He v/as somewhat inclined to hang on rather long and spoilt a couple of likely-looking chances m the final canter. Like the rest of the back division, he made no error m the kicking line, and boosted like glory. Bally funny what a hero Instone is at Geartown this seasonwhen he wore Poneke's Red and Black h« had "stouch" dealt out by players and spectators alike. Now he is just th* potato ! Strange ! The same applies to Pinkie Reed, who never got a hearing on Saturday, but for all that he played one of the finest full-back games it has ever been mv lot to witness. Compared with last i^easoja, $he local scrummagers ate "genteel,"-

and, with a couple of notable exceptions (Ready and C. Sullivan), play the "ball and not the man. But I fail to see Uow the suburbanites can repeat their former successes with their present pack. Hardham, Bought, and W. Ryan were always conspicuous for honest graft, Knight m particular shining m the lineout. The losers' forwards are a formidable lot, and more than held their own m tie line-out and m the tight. Houlihan and Cheesman also got the lion's share of the ball, and hooked practically when -they liked. But m the loose, the Blues rsjoped all over them, and demonstrated superior knowledge of the finer points of 1 4i&o giuae. ■ ! Templeton was "great," although he last his dash towards the finish. He played by far the best forward game on 'the ground. He is a fine stamp of a player, and should easily be m the fifteen to meet the English Johnnies on May 27th. Alex. Murray and Mick O'Plaherty were 1 harti toilers, their following-up and tackling being much m evidence. They were always on ths ball, and "the former had rotten luck m missing a score jus^ as the whistle was going for spell-o ! A Petone player (Mick Ryan, I think) got there first and boosted the ball like blazes for the dead line, with the result that a lady standing on the edge of the cycle track was knocked senseless. Houlihan is a bit of a snag, and Ready and. Co. got little change out of him. He worked like a nigger m the tight,! but, appeared to be short of condition. After < another match or so he should be showing signs of inter-provincial form,

Hunt's first appearance m Saturday football .was a huge success, and it was ♦evident from his play that the Southerns have struck something above the ordinary m the dashing little Wednesday ,rp*v He is a box of tricks, and with a good whack of the ball will Will Drove a dangerous opponent. His defence was sound, and, along with Green, he was a veritable Jack-in-the-box. Try him fiveeiglitlis ! Reed has already been mentioned— he played like a book, and it was well for his side he filled the full-back position, otherwise an additional ten points might easily have gone on the slate. He ticked strongly either foot, some of his screw punts being real ; beauties, and his tackling was deadly. , Amnstroiiff, Otejta,. ■.■'■■■ Pope, .aad Paalay > all did fairly well,- but their defence was much more m evidence than their attack. Indeed, the tackling of the backs was the special feature of the team's display. Pope was the pick of the quartette. j OLD BOYS 9, VICTORIA COLLEGE 5. j Old Boys put up three, trices (Eiias, Marchant, Thomson) all unconverted, against Victoria College one try (Good- j behere) and converted by Hitchings. | A Hitchings m.ide his 'debut and left a good impression. His' running and kicking were excellent, but both lie and G. Bogle evidently thought they owned tbc ball. V.C.'s had hard luck m losing the services of A. H. Bogle— a broken collarbone. Previous to the accident lie had made some fine dashes. E G. Goodbehere, his immediate opponent, received an injury to his eye, and also left' the field— thus things were even. V.C. forwards played a^ surprisingly good game, and there are no "beg par-, dons" about Cartayne, the ex-Westcoast-er—he was good. De la Mare's forte is line work— the brainy V.C. wingers promptly ignored him altogether. Tudhope, at full, is a casual sort of a cuss — the WJrite forwards on numerous occasions impressed this fact upon him. ' Old Boy forwards were not at their best. In some cases that tired feeling, m others too much yap. Arthur Thomsdn, who is now m charge of the team, is a beautiful tackier, surely ihe rest of \ ftlie team can rest content. Thomson, though out of condition, played a great .game for . his side. With \ a pretty solid pack m front of him and \ m conjunction with a winger of Avery's ' calibre, A.M*T. should make things hum. ' Said A very/ is a big lump, and troubled 'Hitchingß and Co. considerably. j

ORIENTAL 6, ATHLETIC 3. The contest between Oriental and Ath-. letic was a liari-fought one, mainly con* fined to the forwards. Behind the scrum the Black and Whites .wece" mucli stronger than the Blues, and to this tbsy OTva their win. Blaying against the w,ind m the first spell, the winners, by tbe aid of their backs, scored ttyo tries, neither of Which was converted, and had sKghtlj? better of the game. In the second spell the Blues kept the ball among their forwards and kept the play, for the greater part of the game, m their opponents? quarters, but could only score a single try. - There was no ctjmbination among the backs on either side, but the versatility t>f Roberts and the" speed of ' Thomson were of great service to their side. Hjghet at full had little to do, but made no mistakes. Thomson, W|ing three-quarter, was well watched, and seldom * got far. Mathieson, the other winger, has plenty of pace, but is uncertain when taking a ball. Sturroch, at centre, was not called on to do much. The five-eighths were not prominent. • •

Roberjs was f tile best back on the ground, and m the second spell saved bis side On numerous /occasions. Had ho been m the company of Wallace and Mif chinson, Oriental would probably have been badly beaten. The forwards were"a very ordinary lot. Heenan was probably tiR best, and sets an example of how the game ■ should be played. He says nothing, but keeps going, and is never detected doing anything unfair. Warbrick was prominent at times. The Blues' back combination,, or what there was of it, was spoilt m the first few minutes, when Gordon was kicked on the head by an opponent. For the rest of the game he was a passenger, and at the end did not, know he had been playing. Clark, w,ho played for -Petone last year, , is 0, greatly improved player, and will Bo^aii? tower of strength to the Blues. He tafceF" a ball splendidly. kicks well, and sru'ns strongly, and is good at defence. "^Jie had hard luck m not getting throue:h: r after a good run. Pool, at centre, had no opportunity of showing his quality. Evensen took Gordon's place at five-eighths, and put up a good afternoon's work. •He is not as neat m his play as last year, but allowances must be made for a first game. The two wingers, Kivell and Murray, put m a very strenuous afternoon, and promise well. The pack, contains some good forwards, and. with a few games together will prove a tough job for the other clubs to master. The new man, Marshall, Neilson, and Rapspn, are the equals of the men who have dropped out, and Wilson, Osborne, Bell and Cunningham are up to last year's form.'. ■:

MELROSE 12.JPQNEKE 0. In the absence of Wallace and Mitchinson, the machinery pf < Ponefce's rearguard worked very badly. ' The supporters olj Melrose were very conlident that with its admixture of seasoned players and vigorous youngsters, the Red and Blades would Ret as good a gruelling as they wanted. , On the whole, the game was fairly interesting, the rival rearguards monopolising mos;t of Gie play. The Melroso scrumming brigade played strongly and strenuously, the packing was cohesive, and the rushing bbdylike m its execution. When on a loose dribble, the forwards had the ball well under control, though a tendency on the part of the younger members to boot too hard when within striking distance of their opponents' territory, lost one* or two capital chances of scoring. It is amongst the forwards vhere Melrose will make much of its play against other combinations. Individually and collectively, the backs shaped soundly and surely. Their defence

: was seldom broken, and their fielding, and kicking were capitai. Their concentration for attacking purposes, however, was. weak, and this point will quickly be discoverable to the Red ana 1 Blues against a cleverer and nippier foe. Poneke forwards put m some strong rushes- at times. The scrum formation was often wobbly, the effects of indifferent packing on the centre right flank ; the tackling was weak, the footing m the loose rushes lacked unison, and the line- ! out work was marked by extreme slovenness. Melrose hookers heat their vis-a-vis f of possession, but, happily for the Red and ' Blacks, those behind the Melrose scrum, were not skillful enough to turn the advantage to . profitable account. j ' In the back division, Poneke showed to poor advantage. The defence was easily pierced by the Melrose packmen, whilst the attacking merits of the men was remarkable for an absence of foresight and system. The kicking was execrable m the extreme, and 'many a weary tramp over stretches of ground was the lot of the forwards by reason of this fact. Their handling of the ball was unreliable m many instances. On the Melrose side, G-. Spencer was safe as a house, and his forceful and accurate line-kicking put great heart m his forwards. His fielding and marking, as well; as stopping, were faultless.. C. Murphy, as centre m the threequarter line, shaped nicely, and was always safe, a remark which applies with almost equal force to Beavis and Marshall on, the. wings. Church- and Greeks put m a lot of useful defending work, the Brooklyn boy being very sure m the rushrstppping graft. The pair, however, were apt at times to , get out of correct position when on attack; All the Melrose backs made excellent use of the i touchline. #■

J. Murphy was quick and aggressive m the role of winger, and Jack Spencer, Hamilton, Dv Blois, and Cameron were conspicuous m the solid and close work. Bill Adams never shirked the toil, and hammered away consistently from start to no-side. j Paul made a creditable debut at full for Poneke. He is a solid rush-stopner, takes the ball cleanly, and lucks well, though not always with judgment. I)an Twohill was the h,est of the three-quar-ters, and on more than one .occasion his sJickness stalled off a dangerous Melrose onslaught. Flannafhan (centre) was weak m defence, and Mitchinson, whose pace is seemingly his strong point, was not fed sufficiently to display, his prowess. . .• ■ Magee was the; soundest of the Poneke backs m repelling the other side's invasion. A want of harmony between him and Flannagan robbed , Poneke of a cert try m the first spell. The combination of the' pair right through the piece did not make for their side's advantage. . Tilyard was the recipient of a nasty kick on the knee, which took the sting out of his defensive capabilities. His rush-stopping was good, but his dexterity when once m possession of the ball was wanting oh several occasions. The kicking of the Poneke backs was. without exception, below senior forjrv. The fielding, too, was very uncertain. Rush. Mentiplay, and Tresize loomed up most conspicuously m the vanguard. Calcinai and Dennehy were seen to the fo,ro m loose work. Mclrose notched its 12 points ncr medium of three tries and a penalty goal. The first try registered was a masterr Piece m the way of strategy, and it had the Ponekes thinking for a long time.

Dan Rush just missed landing a beautiful goal from nearly half way. But for the wind suddenly losinp- its force at the I crucial moment, the leather would have 'gone over the cross-har for a certainty. ST. JAMES 3, WELLINGTON 3. The St. James-Wellington game was well contested, the former, if anything, having; the : best of the deal. The Jimmies were without the services of several prominent players of last year's tsuui, including O'Connor, H. Roberts, and Manning. The, Yellows also took the field with a somewhat changr ed fifteen, perhaps the most noticeable absentee being the' well-known, winger, Carey. The forwards are a fast, heavy set, f ,and should make a good showing.' The •backs are a well-balanced lot, but lacked combination— the trouble being a want Qf understanding between the second fiveeight and the centre three-nuarter. The Red and White forwards did not work as well together on Saturday, as was expected, although the heavier Wellington nack were shown points, espec- • tally m the first spell. T.he display of the backs pave one the imtrtession that had the forwards ' been able to hook the ball, they would have been a dangerous combination. . Wilson was playing a fine forward game ;up to the time of his enforced retirement. This player is from the South Island ana is a fine stamp of a forward. ; §jfcKay, another forward- from the Far r-bouth, shone conspicuously. "■ Barclay played "a vigorous game on the wins: although his play at times was not too healthy. Malfrov, at half, had a lot of chances, and although he made a few mistakes, he gave, a good display. Abercrombie and Sellars did not work well together, but . individually got m : some good work. Hill, at wing threequarter, defended well. Sheridan at fullback, was rather m and out. Perry was the best of St. James forwards, and put m a solid afternoon's toil. His tackling is of ereat assistance to his side, and is reminiscent of Watlcins.

Wright played well and scored a nice try. Bunckenburg, on the wing, was continually j off-side on Saturday, and on one, occasion lost an almost certain try through it. \ Warwick, at half, was m the thick of it, but /was not as smart as usual m getting the Ijall away. ; Ferguson had a day off. and Worger did not seem at home at five-eight: He stopped some forward rushes m fine style, and did not shirk hard stuff: this player is a good wing threequarter, and should be played, there. ( Crewes (up to the time of his Retirement) was defending well with Thomas (full-back), the line-kicking of both being up to the mark. Sellars kicked a lovely goal for his side. The kick was into the : wind, and the ball manoeuvred about the bar before it- went over. The' Wellington supporters were jubilant, as this Was near the end. and rather late m the game for their opponents to once more cain the lead. Crewes and McGrath both had hard luck with their kicks. The former's Was just carried outside jtho post by a gust, and the latter's hit the upright.