MAORI LEAGUE TEAM.

Thames Star, Volume LVII, Issue 15407, 15 June 1922, Page 5

MAORI LEAGUE TEAM.

ANOTHER DEFEAT. (A. and N.Z. Cable.) BRISBANE, June 15. Ipwich defeated the Maori League team by 20 to 3. AUSTRALIAN VIEWS. In the Sydney Sun, just to hand, the folloAving reference is made to the Maori League team: — MAORIS’ FAILURE. BEATEN BY N.S.W. 11. TEAM. “NO CLASS” YET. CHIEF FACTORS IN THEIR DEFEAT. Not all the explanations and excuses that can be offered will convince the people of Sydney that the Maori team is of sny “class.” The plain fact is that they have a heap to learn before they can be eons' 1 • ered as worthy opponents of our footballers. The defeat of the Maoris yesterday by a New South Wales Second Thirteen —even though they AA T ere not so badly outclassed as the scores suggest — Avill have the effect of making the public very sceptical about the standard of future . teams that come over here, i | . There is this to say for the Maoris, however —they possess several very fine individual players, notably Faulkner, Dufty, B. Paki, Te Whata, Maniapoto, and G. Paki —but they seem to understand nothing about the value of team Avork. Had it not been for Dufty and Maniapoto, the margin in favour of NeAv South Wales yesterday Avould assuredly have been much greater. FROM BAD TO WORSE.

As a team, the Maoris showed poorer form yesterday than on Saturday. It may have been due, to some extent, to the fast game on the first day having taken a lot out of them. In some measure lack of condition was the cause. But the chief factor in their failure was the atrocious play of Gardener. As a forward, Gardener is splendid. But whoever was responsible for taking him out of the pack and playing him as first five-eighth when two other regular five-eighths were playing as centre three-quarters, committed a grave error. Gardener persistently hung on to the ball and went down with it when he had ample opportunity to get his attacking line into action. Not on one occasion during the whole of the game yesterday did the ball go from the scrum to a winger in the three-quarter line. What possible chance, therefore, did the Maoris have of scoring many tries?GAME NOT A SUCCESS. Gardener, therefore, can thank himself for having largely contributed to his team’s defeat. Had he been playing inside centre that would have left two good fiveeighths, as the team was placed—the visitors would have done much better. And who can say that they might not have won? As an exhibition of classy football, the game was not successful. Numerous errors of judgment were committed by both teams; and, at the same time, the lack of co-ordination was most pronounced.' In this latter direction, there is some excuse for the local men, for they had not had even a run together, and it was not until towards the end of the