League Rugby:

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 451, 5 September 1928, Page 11

League Rugby:

Notes and Comment

Roope Rooster games will commence next Saturday. The draw for this knock-out competition will be decided at a meeting of the Auckland League this evening. * * * Otago is fixed to meet Atickland at Carlaw Park on 15. This will conclude the representative season. * * * Ponies on Tour

Although it proved an extremely tiring journey, the members of tlie Ponsonby teams which

jaunted to Hikurangi under the managership oC Mr. Nelson Culpan last week, all thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Roth teams, the seniors and the first juniors, gained good wins. The full senior team, excepting “‘Dooley” Moore, made the M N Cu , pan trip.

Tim Peckham pleased the Hikurangi fans immensely by liis usual vaudeville stufti, which he ptilled over very nicely. He was quite a favourite, and at times completely dazzled some of the home backs. The Ponies were unfortunate to have one or two injuries during the match. Thompson sprained his ankle and was carried off the field. Letton dislocated his thumb but played on throughout the game. Internationals Three Lou Hutt, Helgrosso and Tim Peckham were the shining lights, and just by the way, these three Auckland crack leaguers felt highly honoured when they arrived to see the numerous posters plastered round the town, the good work of the enterprising Hikurangi officials. They read something like this: COME AND SEE DELGROSSO, SUTT AND PECKHAM, THREE CHAMPION INTERNATIONAL LEAGUERS, IN ACTION. But these blase posters .took on strong, because a big crowd rolled along to see the game. ** * * Little came right back to top form on Saturday. In one of the finest movements of Newton’s match with Marist he scored a great try. His display the whole afternoon was characterised by strong running, sure handling and heady work.

field both made a tery poor showing when last seen in action at Carlaw Park, but at Hikurangi they made up for this and both rose to quite great heights. Schollield was very cool throughout t h e piece and was as safe as a church, while Letton showed up well, in

Winger Letton and fullback Schol-

spite of his injury, and scored three good trise. The brothers Hadley appear to be following in the steps of their All Black brother. W. Hadley, especially, who has only been available for four or five matches for City this season, played a particularly fine game on Saturday. The friendly rivalry of the two New Zealand reps., Prentice (Richmond) and Wetherill (City) was much in evidence on Saturday. Wetherill always looked upon it as his special duty to pay his attention to the maroon fiveeighth, who, it need hardly be said, took extra measures to evade his wily opponent. Several times in the latter stages of the City-Richmond game on Saturday play grew very willing, and both teams were seen to be mixing things. McLaughlin was the worst offender, paying his attentions first to Swift, and later to a Richmond forward. One of these days he will be surprised, for the type of player who goes hunting for hard knocks is sure to get them.

A Queer Coincidence It is a queer coincidence that till last Saturday, City has not won a match this season in which “Gig” Wetherill has been playing. When their indomitable little skipper was down South the team defeated Marist and Newton in turn, staging a striking return to form. Just to show that there is nothing of a jonah about Wetherill, and that their previous wins were no flash in the pan, the red and blacks won again convincingly on Saturday against the second team on the championship ladder, Richmond.

A Thriller All the Way Whenever Hardgrave gets the ball, the crowd rises on its feet, in expectation of what is to follow. He is one of the biggest thrillers in Auckland League, and on Saturday staged two great runs. The first time he was overwhelmed by pure superiority of numbers. But on the second occasion he outstripped Brisbane in a great 40yards sprint to score a fine try, and

Brisbane was far from being the slowest man on the field. * * * Rep. Footballer at Eleven Perhaps few of the rising generation of League footballers and enthusiasts know that the assistant groundsman at Carlaw r Park these days was in his time one of the footballers of a century, and that to veterans of the game the name of Opai Asher conjures up wonderful tales of the code in its earliest days—almost mythical tales of the doings of this one-time great player. Like most famous players. Opai started young, and actually played his first rep. game (of Union Rugby, us

the League code was not established in those far-off days) at the tender nge of eleven and a-half years. It was without his mother’s knowledge that he turned out < o r Tauranga against Rotorua, and played through the greater part of the game with a broken collar-bone. When he return d

home he explained the accident by saying that he had been thrown from his horse. When his mother eventually learned the truth, his football togs were promptly thrown into the fire, but as the remainder of his career testifies, this in no way deterred him from the game he loved, and played So well.