TAIHAPE SENIOR CHAMPIONS

NZ Truth, Issue 1063, 8 April 1926, Page 12

TAIHAPE SENIOR CHAMPIONS

How to Improve Standard of Play (From "Truth's" Taihape Representative.) Taihape Sub-Union prospects point to Hautapu and Pirates once again fighting for premier honors m the senior competition.

HAUTAPU, the premiers of last season, should again be a hard team to dispose of. The members of this club's senior fifteen will again be under the leadership of \ the ex-All Black forward, "Moke" Bellis, and the advice and coaching of this player ' should prove invaluable, especially to the vanguard.Several juniors, notably Sparks, Hislop, and others of their calibre, who were promoted towards the close of last season, should now become regular members of the senior fifteen. ' The experience gained by them m a few matches last year should stand them in' good stead during the forthcoming season. •,-•■., . Bellis seems to possess the happy knack of securing the promotion of any deserving junior to senior grade and seldom has he erred m his judgment. A r-ase m point may be cited: Two seasons ago, Arthur Hall, while playing wing three-quarter for Hautapu juniors, was passed over by the junior representative selectors. "Moke" secured his inclusion m the club's senior team, and the close of the season saw Hall not only representing Taihape m rep. games, but also gaining his Wanganui representative cap. . • Bearing- this illustration m mind, it is not difficult to predict that, should any promising Hautapu juniors appear on the horizon, the older and mediocre players of the senior team will soon be dropped to make way for the younger men. This, cannot but have a beneficial: effect upon ''the standard of play, m the higher grade. . . ' Pirates on Warpath But the "Hautaps" will not' have matters all their. own way.*^ . The Pirate fifteen consists of young and virile men, who, with the experience gained by playing together last season, will 'make up for what they lack m weight and age.. Two notable defections are. to be chronicled — Leahy, m the forwards, and Sherlock, m the backs. Leahy, though still a comparative youngster, has been playing senior, football for itfte last five or six seasons and has decided to give the game a sjiell. ■ : ..The writer would not be surprised however, to see' him finding the lure of the game too strong and before the season has far advanced once more donning the skull-and-cross-bones jersey. On. the other hand, several junior players entered the limelight towards the close of last season and at least two of these, T. Wilson and Roach, should join the senior team. Tho difficulty With Pirates will be the finding of a good set of backs, but 11 is stated that a promising half who,recently arrived m Taihape has decided to: throw m his lot with the blacks, and slrould this statement be correct this player willfill a longr-felt need. The Old Boys labor under, the great disadvantage of having no regular ground oh which to practice, owing tr the fact that the members of this team dwell — often miles, apart — all over th?" country. ■'/.-'. • y

In spite of this drawback the yellow-and-blacks can always be relied on to put up a good fight. The presence of Reg. Collier, last year's ' North Island wing threequarter, m the rearguard should add its characteristic touch of glamor to the backs at least. Mataroa suffer from a similar disadvantage to that of Old Boys, their playe-s being- also spread far and wide throughout the district. This year.they will be without the services of Aberdeen, who is now residing m Australia. 1A Versatile Back Utiku should again be x well to the fore, though there is a possibility of losing Kingi, who may m future reside m Taihape and turn out for Hautapu. - Should this come .to pass the event will be 'a distinct loss to the greens for Kingi is generally recognized as one of the most versatile backs m the competition. ° His name has even.been put for- • ward locally fts one of the "possibles" for -a. trip to France with the New Zealand Maori team. The sixth team <m the competitor will be the Hulas, one of the oldest clubs m Taihape. Many seasons have passed, since Huias won the competition, but m the days of yore the red-and-blacks seldom tasted defeat; . : Last season it was a common occurrence to. see 30 or 40 points piled up against them, but there is this to be said—they always accepted a thorough trouncing philosophically and always came out "smiling 1 for the following 1 match. In like manner have they come' to light again this, year and the : best wishes for success from all Taihape football "fans'\ will go with them. An endeavor was made a week or two ago^ to institute a Maori football club, but the proposal fell flat. There is no doubt but that if tho Maoris of the district linked up into a central club they would prove a hard nut to crack. Evidently, however, those who at present belong to the well-established club's considered it wise to remain where they were and not to try thenfortunes elsewhere. .