FOOTBALL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2883, 23 June 1909, Page 68

FOOTBALL.

The following table shows the positions ol ths respective teams engaged in the First Grade contest : —

NOTES BY FCLL BACK.

L'Entente Cordiale ! In the big match on Saturday *b«tv.-.~en tho two leading teams in the competition — Alk?.mbra and Southern, to v.iit— the spectacle was witnessed of aveteran Alhambr.i and (jtaj>o representative ! p!aycr holding 1 the line flag for his old ekib, while en tho opcosito sids*'pf Jh^ Held was an old-time Southern and also Otago representative! performing a similar function for his old club. The referee, tco, was iii great favour, both teams by.ving ap- | pro-ached him to officiates in ihe "star" contest of the Altogether the relations in lbs contest were of a particularly friendiy character. J By th© way, and apropos of the fore- ' going, wa? ir, no! suggeslad seme xime ago that '"independent"' line umpires should b^ naked to officiate in lecal iratches? While agi-eei:i:j <hat at thr.-a:- it might have been bott2r to haie had absolutely ir.dependenfc touch judge =, 1 only know of one glaring case in which the, privilege an old club man enjoys has been abased. If all our touch iudsras are as far bejond reproach as those who have boon officiating in. senior • grado matches this season there is little occasion for the authorities to baccme per- , tmrbed. I It- was' rather curious chat in the match ' on the Caledonian Ground on Saturday there should have been three ex-Soulhern ' players on the Alhambra side. The players in question played remarkably well, too. : Possibly they were ''all out" just to show wh.it they could really do. or possibly, 1 again, to havo a little satisfaction. Tho rer&roaing of W. J. Wilson in the principal match of lust week had much to command it. In ths putting of the ball j into th<* scrum the referee wasted no time, ! with the result that the- game was much 1 faster than it otherwise would have been had tba playei-s been allowed to placs che boll in the scrum. Again, while quick to ponaliso For infringem-'-iits, the referee «ad nci oHiiide hr-\ presoKce with toe much 1 wh'sHa. An intelligent discretion and a judicious m« of Ihe advantage rule wer--? refreshing characteristics of Mir Wilson's control of thi game. Th 3 Wanganui Union is evidently determined to nut .;lowii rough play. The other' I day a player was found guilty and SU3poii. led for Un-ec y«ars. Another offon'lez ' '.vas suspended for 12 month*. It may be that I/be Dunishmom is out of proportion to the enormity of the offence, but orte woul-1 not think so by a member's remark: "I nave weighed ths facts carefully, aivh move as- an .-wnondment that the phtyer be suspended for five years." In this' case the ', amendment was J^st, and th-e motion of three years' suspension carried. j Fitzp'atrick, the DunccHn forward, who ' was injured early in the season, has greatly hr>pro\ed, and may be playing agam shortly. The Dunedin team will rejoice exceedingly when " Fitz." roturns to the playing field. , | \t Wellington a line umpire came unaer tho ban of 'disqualification, recently being warned off all grounds under the Rugby Uinion'e jurisdict : on for having had a wager on a match in which he officiated. This should sevve as a- warning. Ths decision of the Otago Rugby Union not to invite tho Wellington Union to send its representative team to Dunedin his yeas- lias come os a bit of a surprise to local enthusiasts (says friend '-Tcuchline"). I hope the Wellington boflv will endeavour to get this decision r"*einded, as tJio annual match between Wellington and Otago is or.o of tho things we look forward to. Quite fo, ••Touohlirfl." The fact is that when the Otago Union decided to cut ] down its representative matches it cvi- : der.tly overlooked the traditions existing between Wellington and Ote.go. Personally, 1 an-1 I know scores of others cf a like ' rrand, I hope to tee the animal match with ; Wellington playsd when come others are forgotten. Despite th-o comparatively poor quality of its back play Otago should be able- to place a tolerably strong team in the field, ' this season. Its real strength will again be in the pack, <and the selection of the team will cause some deep thinking. Backs' ! of a kind we have in quantify, but the I high-grade and intelligent three-quavter | and five-eighths- arc not to be easily found. Of forwar-dss th-e province will have erou'prh • an«l to epara — players who infuse their game with plenty of dash, but who at tiho samfi time require to cultivate the art of controlling in dribbling. In one or two rushes on Saturday I caw the whole a-litack-J ing movement thrown out of 'harmony by j fcho action of several forwards of the dashy tyotj lwing unable to control themselves either by kicking too hard or by aittemptinrg ! to pick up the ball. The latter is a j serious fault in forward play in Otago, the , majority of the dribbling- rushes being ! brought up "all standing" by irresponsible players. No complaint has been made locally respecting the time of commencing matches, but in other centres there is a general complaint, that matches are started too late. The time 6ct down by the local Flag Committee— 2.4s— is quite all ri.ght, provided the teams take i<he field reasonably near that time. If matches were j dm-ed to start at 3 o'clock one would find teams taking 'the field at from 15 to 20 minutes after that hour. Some time ago it Tyas suggested Ira these columns in order to n:aM the spectators more familiar with the players, each individual player should wear a number, ac in representative football, the same to be inserted alongside the player's name in tho Official Guide. lam pleased to note this haa been done, to tli© satisfaction of | tho general public, Vho pronounce the ' scheme a success. To tha stranger ait the { [ big match on Saturday it was a comforfc {

! to turn to the Official Guide, ami at a. glanc-s learn ths names of the players who could be singled out by the numbers worn pa the jcreeys. *~lt is an innovation in club football which I hops will be adopted ! by all' the senior teams in the competition. Southland has at last agreed to abandon tho home-and-home fixture with Otago — a Asoisiori which meets with a great deal of acceptance at this end. It is a long day sinoa Otago juet suggested the dropping of the "second" match against- Southland, but in deference to ths wishes o£ Scuthland the home-and-home fixtures were retained until this season, when it was decided to cut down the reparesentativs matches. My Christchurch correspondent writes: — Punctuality is a lost grace in ChristchurcV football circles likely. L-oud complaints . ara . haard from spectators, who are , compelled to stand -in a. perishing wind while players hang round the pavilions in their football rig-out, smoking "fags" and bainig- ( lionised by hero-worshippers. Twenty minutes after advertised time is the Usual time for starting now, and a fossilised committee nods on. There lias beep no tampering with- the' rules in Ohristchureh, nor is any likely, so long, as the Rugby Union Committee, contains so many- members who think that "what was good' enough for "grandpa is "enough for me." Many of them seem to think' tha; good old "Initiative. has been classed ss an uncosirable immigrant, and. we know liini not in th£i?e fair climes. , 2 Whan it was suggested in these columns some little time ago that "Country Week" should t>e abandoned this .year and a> tour of the o-oldfields by an Otago team sun-. 6tituted the' idea 'did nbt meet with Tnuch> favour. No new thing ever does at thei outset, bufc the Otago Union was not slow to see that a tour of the goldfields by ar" Otago team would do a power of good for football in the country districts. ""Country Week " has much to oommend it, but th» benefits accruing are not, or ever can be, as far reaching in effect as a tour of ths country districts by a sound metropolitan team. The report of the sivb-committee on the proposed country tour oT the Otago team reads reasonably well. It is pro-iosed, tha*tho team, consisting of 18 players - and -a" manager, leave Dunedin on August 26; and play Maniototo. at Nassby, on August 26: leave Nasebv, Friday, August 27, arrive afc Olyde on Saturday; play Vincent at 'Clyde, ,-~ August 28; leave Clyde Monday, August 30 ; play Tuapeka, at Koxburgh, August 31 : . leave Roxburgh September 1, and play Tuapeka South, at Lawrence, September 2 ; leave Lawrence September 3 ; play. South Otago, at Balclutha, September^ 4, and arrive Dunedin September 4. The #Stimated' cost of the tour, including all expenses, is £100. The report is to be submitted to the districts concerned. I expscfc to hear of Maniototo, Vincent, Tuapeka, and the other covnties quite approving of the tour and the itinerary mapped out. Meetings are to be held by the various clubs shortly to discues the question of the district scheme of football. This question has been -brought xip at. various times, but has always been thrown out with emphasis. The district scheme of football may be a very good one — I am not prepared to say it is not, — but "what I should prefer to see in order to 'raise the standard of local football would be th " reducing^ of the number of senior" teams in the Senior Grade competition. At present we have at least two teams too many. The cutting out of these would-be to the benefit of the game by raising a higher standard of senior play. A very old footballer, no doubt the oldest in the worid, took part in a game at Waikanao last week. This is Mr A. Burling. <;f Waikanae, aged 109 years. He kicked off in a match Married v. Single, a.nd. for the occasion, wa.s driven to the ground by hs son, aged 71 yeans. A correspondent of the Dominion states that his initial kick despatched the leather a good 18 yarde. Pv' comparison with the above other particulars of tho mateh — a. 3 points' draw— seoju overshadowed. CHRISTCHURCH NOTES. (Faoit Ova Owk Correspondent?) June 21. The grounds were in splendid order on. Saturday afternoon, when the first round of ■ the Rugby competitions was concluded. A strong, chilly wind was blowing, .makingthings uncomfortable for the large crowd of spectators, and havin« a considerable influence on the play. > Christchurch had the bye. The two laading teams in the competition (Merivale and Albion) met on the East Ground, and Merivale, thanks to good' forwards, won by 9 points (penalty goal and" two tries) to 7 (potted goal and penaltygoal). The spectacular side of the game was spoiled by t,he winning vanguard, which dominated' tho game, but there were occasional brilliant patches in both forward and back play. Albion were lucky in that Merivale did not avail themselves of many opportunities, and the score dees not represent the difference between the teams on the day. Old Boy.*' backs beat Linwood's forwards by 9 points (three trie=) to nil. The game wa© a pleasing one to watch, and ec-me ■"•xcellcnt pieces of play were wif"o?«"'. O-\,s Ecys were continually being pushed in ths scrums, but their backs always came to the rescue, and put in come fine individual anJ collective efforts. Linwcod's forwards received practically no support from, their backs, otherwise the finish would very probably have been, different. . Linwood. backs seem incapable of developing any semblance of combination, which must be disheartening to a good set of- willing forwards. One of the poorest senior games seen, for years was played. oji the "Fro? Pond," when Sydenham beat a very weak College team by a try to nil. Owing to thevacation quite a number of College players are away from town, while several Syilenharn playera were "6pelline." The frame* was a dreary waste cf half-hearted effort, discreditable to pla3"ers in any .grade,- Col-/ letce forwards made a few spasmodic efforts which promised well," but .always somethingwent wrong. Of Sydenham's play the 10-s said the better. The position, in the Senior Championship, with half the eeasoh (six matches) gone, now' !s: Merivale, 5 points (won 5, lost' 1, points for 86, against 24) : Qld Boye,. 4 points (wop 4, lost 2, points for- 52, against'

58); Sydenham, 4 points" (won 4, lost 2, points for 40, against 20); Albion, 3£ pcinte ("won 3, lost 2, drawn 1, point-3 for 45. against; 40) ; Linwood. 24 points, (won. 2, lost 3, drawn 1. poirjis for 18, against 27); Christchurch, 1£- points (won 1, lost 4. drawn 1. points for 25, against 51) : Canterbury College, i point (won nil, lest 5, drawn 1, points for 14, ny-ainso 60). Christchurch 13 (tihird grade) had not scored a point up to last. Saturday, w.hile 162 had be e n scored against them. In the same gra-dte MerivaJe A have scored 17.4 points, and only 3 ■•-.oints (a penalty sroal by Christ's College on Saturday last) have been registered against them. The position in the Junior Grade is : — Christchur-ch, 7 points; Sjxfcnham, 6; liyftelton, 6* Merivalo. 5: -Albion, 4 A : Canterbury College, 2- Linwood. li: Cd T3oys n>:l._ Ljtfelton will go very dose to ■winning the ocmpetiition. .High School (Third- Grade! beat Sydanhnm Aby 40 poirits to nil. Ten tries were scor-ed. and a lad named Barne-tt converted, live of them. * NOTES ON SATURDAY'S PLAY. UXTVEKSITr V. CSKMf. Tho greasy condition of the ground and *h« ball militated a^rainet a. display of good football, but in the circumstances play was fairly open, and a good deal of passing was successfully attempted, particularly by the- winning backs. The ga-me was .played in four stalls of. 20' minutes each, and the innovation seemed to work successfully and meat with getm'al approval. The 'Varsity forwards goz in some excellent footwork during -the afternoon, and it was chiefly, to their suiter iority in this j 'lepartm-ent tliat they owed tJieir win. The i Blues, too, generally got the ball — which i ivas always put in by the referee— from •the scrum, and Nelson at half was quick and clean in erettinar it away. Evans aenuitted himself well ;it full brick, and Sorrie and Norrie rendered iirraluahie «srvice to their side. Seed was generally to h? found well to tVo fere in the for■wa.rd rushes, and W. Rutherford is another jiarhaps deserving of special mention. Among thsf Maroon forwards Dfnni?on w£«s freqiuvitJv conspicuous for effective •vvork. and Pitta way, Ponveroy, Smith, and Dutbio wcro nerhans the be^tf of' a *>t«sy ret <}f backs. Mr Austin satisfactorily controlled the game. TTniversity ... .-., ... 11 points. Union 3 points. * Taieri Rovers v. Pirates. "For Taieri, Barnes, Watt, and M'Ahan played well, while G. Scott at full hack played a safe game; For Pirates, Black and the two Scotts acquitted themselves well, as did also Warwick and Lomas among th.<* backs. Sir Faoer was an efficient referee. j Taieri Rovers .• ... 36 points. j Pirates 6 points. j Kaikorai v. Duxedix. Play generally, although so nonrosuitant, was good. A M'Donald was, as usual, a tower of strength for Kaikorai. P-aton and Skinner did pretty work in the forward line. Woodrow, Spence. and R. Johnston wore - generally reliable. Drydon, as usual, was pre-eminent for quickness and skill, and Arm it and Strang proved difficult to deal with. The ?amc was almost without incident. Mr Ilobson made a most efficient referee. Kaikorai 3 points. Dunedin N'l. Alhambua v. Southern. The positions occupied by Alhambra and I Southern in the Flag competition mads th« game one of very great interest, and the large crowd which viewed it was in no way disa-ppointed at the style of play or iho keenness of the contest. It was a ihard and fast gam© from start to finish. It was a game in which the Red-and-black* were really the first to show up, and rh?v j maintained the upper hand practically right through the first ©pell. The forwards, a. heavy, solid pack, quieklr asserted themselves, and very soon made it obvious that they were prepared to put up an unusually .good performance. They gave no. quarter in vigorous rushes, and asked for none, and played in such deadly e^raiest. and: I with esifih telling effect that the opmbuift-

tion which the Southern invariably display, both back and forward, was sadly lacking. There was oui J - '-nonp-h for them to do. to defend ".heir lir-a, and they went down in the first half to tha extent cf 6 points. In the second half, however, they had their revenge, when right from tha start they swept over their opponents in very earnest manner, and for fully a quarter of an hour or more hammered' away at a dsfence- Ihat would only permit of penetration to the extent of 3 points. The effort was worth more, and the Alhambra were lucky in 05c.apin.cr as t.h«y did. It was a most interesting srame throughout, and hard fought, but played in the best of spirit. j Of the Alhambra backs, Marston was equal to all that came his way, kicking and running with excellent judgment. Bennet was in Kis best form and initiated some fine attacking movements. Sutherland was quick to get tlio ball away, while the fivee'ghths, M'Dougall and Williams, were always on the alert, the former's dodgy t running being particularly disconcerting to , tho opposition. The forwards as a whole | could not have played better. M'Kenzie. ! Mitchell, and Morrison individually headed some fin.3 rushes. For Southern, Kindley, with a broken finger in splints, played a vcry_ safe game, his kicking being of great • servica. M'Lennan played with resource, and runs dangerously-^ Chambers and TSckhold were only conspicuous for their kicking. Among the forwards, Casey, Sheehan, and Leith stood out mes-t prominentfy. Mr W. J. Wilson made a capital referee, giving every satisfaction to both players and public. Alhambra 11 points. Southern 3 points. Port v. Zingari-Richmoxd. It was, on the whole, a. very evenly-con-tested match, the Zingari men showing greater dash and initiative, but Port men atoning for their deficiencies in this respect by delaying greater resourcefulness on riefonoe. Had tre Port men frhown that they could do as well in attack as in defence the match must have been theirs. Still, each fido had on the field a forward pack characterised by great eagern<=ss and considerable cleverness, and the most was made of tho attractive features given the <rame in this respect by the 20- ( minute spell system. It seemed that no sooner was the game losing its sting, and one ,5-jde or. the other drawing in its horns nnd contenting itself with tamely defending, than ends were changed, and fast open play started all over again. There was some rough play, but whether due to overeagerness or bad feeling it would be difficult to say. The spectators noticed a numb3r of little incidents, and commented freely, and on one cccv.sion a player was soundly hooted for a hat appeared to be play in which there was eom-e personal ! feeling. The referee (Mr H. White) did not, however, consider that there was anything sufficiently out cf tho wav in the play to call for his interference. He administered a general caution once, but it had reference to observance of the rules. Falla. made a lot of mistakes, but he also did a great lot of useful work, and his side felt the benefit of his presence. Wilson was quite the best man of his side — perhaps on the ground, and with the Dougherty" brothers, Watson, and the safe and confident Kelly, the back division of the Poit side was very strong. Among the forwards, M'Pherson, Saltar, and Clarke were also conspicuous. Davidson was outstanding among the Zingari backs, a.nd Graham, M'Guffog, and Patterson were the pick of the forwards. j Mr White was an impartial and popular referee. " Zingari 3 points. Port , ... ... 3 points. SECOND GRADE. Ravensbournc won by default from . V.M.C.A. • THIRD GRADE. I Ravensbourne and Kaikorai played a | drawn game, each side scoring a try. Mr T. Boyle give every satisfaction as referee. j SCHOOLS FOOTBALL (JUNIOR). Kensington defeated Albany Street by 4 points jo 3. For the winners TonyjjMft potted § g&Hk

IN OTHER CENTRES. AUCKLAND, June 19. The Auckland Rugby Union district championship matches were played to-day in beautiful weather. In the Senior Grade, City beat Grafton by 29 points to nil. Parnell beat Newton by 30 points to 3, and University beat North Shore by 16 points to 11. WELLINGTON, June 19. The Rugby football championships were continued to-day, the Senior contests resulting as follows : — Poneke (12) beat Oriental (nil); Pc-tone (14) beat St. James (13); Old Boys (9) beat Wellington (3); Athletic (6) beat Victoria College (5); Melrose (18) beat Southern (3).

Ailiainbra, .. Scuthein ZingariBicliKioncl Dunedm Kaikorai Port Chalmers . . Pirates .. .. Taiari Hovers . . University Union T3 ? s 8 S 8 S 8 8 S 8 8 8 P8 6 5 5 4 3 2 1 2 0 0 1 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 £5 a P 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 2 0 2 •si! » » » "Saw "3 "3 £ Pk PM J=< 87 27 "16 97 20 12 94 25 12 62 38 J.U 48 65 8 48 31 7 T26 120 515 1 45 74 4 54 102 4 20 75 2