LEAGUE DISRUPTION

NZ Truth, Issue 973, 19 July 1924, Page 8

LEAGUE DISRUPTION

City Club Goes On Strike

Probable Heavy ' Knock For The Code.

At the present time matters; m the world of League football are m a seething whirlpool of discontent and disruption, v The climax came last Saturday, when City decided not to field its senior team against MangereCity is" regarded as the premier combination m the competition and defeated Christchurch Marists when they paid a call not very long ago. • There are strong rumors that many of the City players are "going over" to the Union. *

The trouble is over the Leage having refused to allow L. Brown, of the Newton Club, to register for City, a decision which has been upheld by the New Zealand Council. Brown, a back of more than average ability, was a member of Newton last season and left for the Old Country later, where he played for Wlgan with distinction. The present row centres round the clearance which was granted to Brown to enable him to play m the Home Land without waiting for the residential qualification of two years. The .clearance was given, it is argued, on the undertaking that Brown, on his return, would play for Newton, but this is where the 1 parting of the ways comes. ■■*. City contends that m" the clearance this is • neither stated nor implied. In this respect they are supported by a reading of plain* English, but the minute book of the League notes, the provision stated, and the fact that the Newton Club recommended that Brown be given his clearance to allow him to go to Britain is claimed to have been on the definite understanding that he would play for his old club oh his return. However, when the Auckland body and the.Dominion authority had decided that Brown was a Newton player, the City Club flouted the dictum and .fielded him m a match the previous Saturday. As a result,' the game, won by CUy, was credited to their opponents, and the player. was suspended for-three playing Saturdays. Viewing the matter m its broadest aspect, the fact that City hafe deliberately flouted the ruling of the authorities stands out most conspicuously. City has carried off the championship for' several seasons, asd the. way they have taken decision of the governing bodies indicates them as inveterate pot-hunters. The rift has done the game no good, and the turning over of the Manukau Clu.b to the Rugby code is a further indication that the affairs of the League, are not too bright.