League Rugby

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1043, 6 August 1930, Page 13

League Rugby

Notes aiid Comment.

The Australian Scare The news spread by the Sydney evening newspapers on Monday that if more money was not raised the Xew* Zealand Rugby League football team would be stranded, has not caused any concern in authoratative circles of the game in Auckland. The emphatic denial that such a position _r e vailed was given by the financial manager of the team, Mr. A. Ferguson, and h e should know as much about the position as anybody. * * # There will be a Loss It is, of course, recognised that there will be a loss cn the tour, but it will not be a big one, as reported in svdney. The Sun's special representative with the team reported in his last comment to reach New Zealand that the managers had said the lass or. the tour would be £SOO. The Council of the New Zealand Rugby Football League has advice from the managers to the effect that New Zealand’s share of the gates up till the second Queensland match was £1,200. The tour in all is costing £2,200, so tnat the Dominion’s share of the three gates (vis., v. Brisbane, and the two Svdney metropolitan games) already received, and not included in that total, and the three games yet to be played, should go a good way to making up the leeway. * * * Auckland —New Zealand Match There is no denying that the financial aspect of the tour has been disappointing, but the New Zealand Council hopes yet to stage an AucklandXew Zealand match, when the team returns and thus receive some revenue to help square things off. The team reaches Auckland on its return on August 19, and August 23, the following Saturday, has been suggested for the match. However, a slight deadlock has occurred, as the Auckland Rugby League wants 50 per cent, of the net gate takings of the match as *4l as the usual ground charges. Under those circumstances it would be hardly worth the council’s trouble to put the match on* especially as a good gate is badly wanted. Would be Attraction of Year It is to be hoped, therefore, that for the sake of the game in New Zealand some amicable arrangement can be come to betwee n the two bodies, for the match would be the biggest League attraction of the year. The 1925 side played a match against Auckland on its return, and this was a success in every way. Although there are races on the same day the code has a big enough following to make it more than worth while playing the game. From the point of view qf the followers of the game it will be a pity if the match cannot be played. The council could, of course, play the match on an outside .ground, but it would be very reluctant to depart from the traditional home of the game in New Zealand. * * * Australian Tour The following table gives the results of the matches played in Australia to date by the New Zealand touring team:—

Changes in Itinerary League followers in New Zealand were surprised to learn that the New Zealand touring team played the Sydney metropolitan team on Saturday, as according to the itinerary supplied ta the New Zealand Rugby League Council, Saturday’s match was to have teen played at Newcastle against the Newcastle team. However, when last week’s mail left Australia, there was some talk of a change being made in the itinerary, although the change actually made did not coincide with the suggestions which had been discussed by the New South Wales League. * * * Tou;- Nearing End The only Metropolitan match was to have been played at Sydney on Monday of this week but it may be a transposition was made with the Newdate. In that case. New Zealand may be playing at Newcastle toflay and returning to Sydney finally for another match on Saturday. Another suggestion made in Australia was that fjew South Wales should tour to Queensland and play there on Saturday next, August 9. In that case, it be that the New Zealand-New outh Wales match (the third of the will be P J ayed today, and that u-ni * ew Zealand-Newcastle match thlrJr’T®, P lace on Saturday. Or again, aKo tt ? tcb at Newcastle may have been * n favour of an extra game at Sydney. * * * Gaining Matches *l?® ftinerary stands at present, f n ‘ following are the closing matches tralia-!L^ eW Zealand team in Austrw?5 s « 6 (tomorrow). —Group disY oUng ß, 10, ° f New South Wales, at tVaii SU /is —-Versus New South vvaiea (3), at Sydney. tralS? I®* 1 ®* —Versus combined AusUniversities, at Sydney, the f US the match at Newcastle Dlav w bas four more matches to to v«°£ e leav ing on the return trip Svdnf W The team leaves to ?f y t? n Au &ust 15 and will return orto-i,? o ,,and, and not Wellington, as finally arranged. * * * A!mo«t a State Side tbe ma tch on Saturday has dent ilu 1 * the authorities it is eviPl *ettv wli. Zeala nd was playing JW y Web a New South Wales side. of the Metropolitan team in Stat played for New South Wales .sub this season. The rec°lour* tae ma tch, therefore, lends Win h°* tbe belief that New Zealand even ‘ or tunate if it can register win against the New South to b© ?Ki ri ' al though the team ought Gainst ° ' to clinch a victory or so fore it some °f the minor teams beths ys good-bye to the land of res cntpa^ s £ roos ' The team which rep°n Monrio fc,ydney in the return match tea m * ay was evidently only a second Played n °t one of the players had ror the full-strength side the

Saturday before. Just how weak the i New Zealand team is, therefore, is ! demonstrated by the result of that ! match. • * • Three Wins—Seven Losses To date, the New Zealand team lias played ten matches in Australia. It has lost seven of them and won the other three. The side has scored a total of 144 points and had 224 points in all scored against it. Scoring Register Following is the individual scoring register of the members of the New Zealand team up to and including the match against Sydney on Saturday: GREGORY (one try, seven conversions and three penalties .... 23 DUFTY (four conversions and six penalties) 20 BRISBANE (five tries) 15 ECKHOFF (one try, one conversion and four penalties) 13 WATKXE (three tries) 9 ABBOTT (three tries) 9 SEAGAR (two tries) 0 MEYER (two tries) G AMOS (two tries) G TITTLETON (one try) 3 WETHERILL (one try) TIMMS (one try) 3 TRAUTVETTER (one try) 3 DODDS (one try) 3 Total 122 * * * Another Close Finish. There seems to be something in the. atmosphere of the No. 1 ground at Carlaw Park which makes for close finishes to matches. It is not many weeks ago that a penalty to Richmond in the dying stages of the game enabled it to defeat Marist with the timekeeper waiting to ring the bell, and under similar circumstances on Saturday. Paton converted the try which enabled City to make a draw of its encounter with last season’s champion of champions. The big game next Saturday will be between Ponsonby and Marist. The Ponies hope to be at full strength again, and a win would give them a good leg in for the championship, while victory for Marist would help to restore the falling stocks of the Greens. * * * Auckland Championship Table Last Saturday’s matches leave the positions of the teams in the Auckland Rugby League’s senior competition as follow: Points. Ch.

Marist Club Captain It is not because of any lack of training facilities that Marist is finding it hard to win matches lately, as the club is well provided for in that direction. Mr. Henry Donovan, the well-known boxing instructor, is club captain and trQiner, and his gymnasium is always at the disposal of the club for training purposes. This is particularly appreciated on wet evenings*when no outdoor practice can be indulged in. In addition, “Henry" is no novice in the art of getting men fit, and many a player who looked like being a spectator for a week or two after receiving a few knocks and bumps has, under his expert treatment, recovered sufficiently to take part in the game the following Saturday. in * * O’Leary on the Wing L. O’Leary Is undoubtedly the mainstay of Devonport’s strong three-

quarter line. Capably supported by his brother, T. O’Leary, at centre, he was to be found at the head of every effective invasion of Ellerslie territory on Saturday. This speedy wing-three-quarter was instrumental In gaining for Shore the first seven points registered.

A Conscientious Half Oliff.,' Ellerslie’s useful halfback, was perhaps the most conscientious worker for his side on the field last Saturday. If an opportunity was offering, Oliff was always equal to the occasion. Although he played well up in support of his forwards, in times of emergency his tackling was strenuous and deadly.

The Drift to England It is a pity for the game in Australia and New Zealand that the attempt of the New Zealand Council last year to have the two-year residential qualification on colonial players going Home under contract to English clubs re-established, failed. The latest to be drawn away is Busch, the crack New South Wales and Kangaroo half, who is to get £I,OOO for four years’ play, in addition to employment at probably £3 or £4 a week, and £7 for a win, £6 for a draw and £5 for a loss for matches played during the season. When it is realised that sometimes two matches are played during the week, it will be seen that Busch is on velvet.

Speed! The air mail service between Brisbane and Sydney was used by THE SUN’S special representative with the New Zealand League team in Australia in sending a recent instalment of his comment on the matches played by the team to New Zealand. New Zealand played Ipswich on July 23 at Ipswich and arrived back in Brisbane late that night. Comment on the game was posted in Brisbane the next day, and going by air mail, caught the steamer for Wellington from Sydney the fol lowing morning. The mail arrived at Auckland on the morning of July 30 and appeared in THE SUN that evening. THE SUN was thus able to present first-hand news of the New Zealanders’ Northern tour before any other Auckland newspaper.

Team of World Beaters It is no exaggeration to say that New Zealand at the present time has the nucleus of a team of world beaters domiciled in England playing for English clubs. Were such men as Hargrave (ranked now as England’s greatest threequarter), Hall, Hutt, Lou Brown, Wilson Hall, Hanlon and others, in Australia with tlje touring team a very different story would be told. New Zealand has suffered more than Australia by the drift to England, and could that flow be intercepted the game would soon be at its strength of a few years back, when New Zealand teams could, and did, defeat the world’s best at the Rugby League game. An annual function which is growing every year is the reunion of the “Kangaroos”—men who have been to England with Rugby League teams. The next is to take place on August 10, and it is expected that there will be big representations of the 1908-11-2 1 - 29 teams. The organiser is !Vir. J. Quinlan, who, with Mr. C. Ford, was manager of the 1911-12 team. * * * Only 19 Years Old, Too! In P. S. Watene the New Zealand Rugby League team has a youngster with the physique of a George Gillett. He is tall, weighs 13st, and has the snap and speed of a champion. In one stirring interlude r linst New South W ales Watene gave yards to an expectant Blue chasing the ball, which rolled between the posts, says the “Referee.” The Blue felt certain he would score on his own, but Watene shot through the air like a rocket, and diving on to the ball astonished the boy in Blue by forcing down. On a later occasion, with t li e Blues going goalward like meteors, Watene flashed from his own wing to that on the other side of the field, and. with a diving tackle, just got the last man by his heels' as he reached the line, but too late to prevent the try being scored. Watene is the yell-leader in the All Black war-cry. Likewise, a very slippery wing-threequarter. At the end of a champion chain of inside backs he would be a try-getter of ray serene. * * * Neil Mouatt when touring with the 1925 New Zealand team in Australia converted 11 goals out of 12 attempts. On the one occasion when he missed, the ball hit the post and rebounded into play. This happened at Cootamundra when Mouatt captained the New Zealand team- * * * Dufty and Hefty C. Dufty, the Rugby League All Black fullback, we have seen before this season basking in the sunlight or the showers and mud of Sydney. Time deals very lightly with his football skill, for at 30 years of age he is as good as ever, says a Sydney critic. Dufty caught the sodden and greasy ball as Don Bradman might, and kicked it as a Jim ' Sullivan might have done. He times the ball witli a hefty foot, behind which there is the power of a man who weighs 14st 81b. On a dry day, with a useful wind, it would not be hard to picture Dufty kicking from his goal-line, landing the ball a few yards from goal, and then seeing it bounce into touch at the corner flag. He made one kick not so far short of this on Saturday at the expense of t.he Blues. Great ball-kicking foot has Dufty, of New Zealand. “WEAKEST SIDE EVER” CRITIC ON DOMINION LEAGUE TEAM BASKERVILLE TOUR MEMORIES “About the weakest Rugby side that ever came to Australia—that which J. T. Tilyard led after the war and before Maoriland had recovered from the ravages of the conflict—was infinitely, better than the All Blacks at present touring Australia.” So says a football critic in a Melbourne exchange. He continues: “The League game apparently has a long way to go in New Zealand before it approaches the standard of the Union. It is not yet up to that which Baskerville’s, men showed or that of a few succeeding which included Gillett, Woodward, Francis, Rukutai Savoury, Manning, Tancred, Ifwersen Laing, or even some Maori sides with. Asher and Papakura doing bright things. “On a hard dry turf the New Zealand side, following .their stern fight with the Blues in the mud the previous week, proved a grievous disappointment. Certainly they had the worst of the luck in the way of Injuries, lostheir winger, Pearce, before the interval, while Dobbs, the forward, developed a bad limp early in the game. But even with full allowance for these disabilities the Blacks simply were not good enough. Had it not been for the severity of Referee Neill on the home side, it is difficult to imagine what the latter’s score may have run t.o. “However, there were a few good ones on the side. Little Abbott again played finely after a rather quiet opening, and fought it out with remarkable courage for one his size. Abbott is by far the most dangerous of the visitors, ‘and several times succeeded in making splendid openings, which, however, the supports messed UP ’ “ALMOST A HORDER” “He was well supported by Brisbane, who improved greatly on the creditable game he put up a week earlier, but this was severely discounted by the complete failure of Watene. The latter had to do till Pearce left the field, when he went to the vacated wing and quickly proved he knew nothing whatever about Bill Shankland’s side step. The latter, who was in great form, certainly is clever in that direction, but there were many occasions when the Maori had him penned on the side line and then lost track of him. It made the former East man appear almost a Harder “Naturally the Blues had a great game, and at the finish were as busy as beavers working out all the fancy moves they could think of. Several were real gems, perhaps the best of the lot Busch’s second try, which was started by McMillan in the vicinity of his own line. He sent to Pearce, who whipped through the opposing for wards at a tremendous pace. Then followed some of the best combined play seen for quite a while in euch games, the attack being neatly reversed several times before Busch was left with a clear run.

Date Opponents. Result July 5 N.S.W. <1) Lost 5-16 July 9 West Dist. (N.S.W.) Won 20-14 July 12 N.S.W. (2> Lost 2-29 July 16 N.W. County (of N.S.W.) Won 34-19 July 19 Queensland (1) Lost 11-14 July 23 Ipswich Lost 3-10 July 26 Queensland (2) Lost 6-32 July 31 Brisbane Won 19-17 Aug. 2 Sydney (1) Lost 22-3!) Aug. 4 Sydney (2) Lost 22-34

P. \V. T. D. F. A. Pts Ponsonby . . 11 143 12b 18 City .. .. 11*3 1G Marist .. 11 6 3 2 190 179 14 Devonport .. 11 7 4 132 100 14 . . 11 4 7 99 8 Kingsland .. 11 3 7 1 •j*; 141 7 .. 11 3 G Kllerslie . . .. 11 2 8 1 lOli 141 G * * *