TO-MORROW’S FOOTBALL SHOULD BE LIVELY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17864, 4 June 1926, Page 12

TO-MORROW’S FOOTBALL SHOULD BE LIVELY.

' GREAT STRUGGLE . IN LEAGUE CODE

HORNBY AND ADDINGTON MEET AT MONICA PARK. The first round of the Canterbury Rugby League senior competition will oe concluded with the series of matches to-morrow afternoon. It has not been decided yet whether two or three rounds will be played. Three or four Saturdays will have to be set aside for the Thacker Shield competition, at the conclusion of the grade matches. The chief game to-morrow will be between Hornby and Addington, the two leading teams. Hornby have not been defeated yet. and have twelve competition points to their credit. Addington, who were defeated by Marist A after a hard struggle, have ten points. The match will be one of the best this season, as far as the evenness of the teams is concerned. The absence of players who are representing Canterbury on the southern tour will, however. make the game less lively and spectacular. Some of the better performers with their dash and brilliancy will not be on the field here. k Vi Both teams will be minus four of their best men. Hornby will miss their clever half. A. Wilson-Hall; and Henry and Mason will make a great difference to the pack. L. Vivian, who was in the rep. team as originally selected, did not make the trip, and he will be among the Blacks to-morrow. Addington will feel the loss of G. Falgar, E. O’Malley and J. Sanders. They will have the services, however, of A. Green, who was unable to make the trip south. Addington, despite the fact that their three star players have gone to Timaru and Dunedin to play in the trials, will field a strong team, both back and forward, against Hornby. Three new players will turn out. namely, W. Guiney, B. Keene and J. Dennehy. Guiney, who is an old Addington player. has just returned from Sydney where he was residing for the past five or six. years. He is one of the best three-quarters in Canterbury, and will fill the place of Sanders to perfection. He plaved against the English team in 1921 at Lancaster Park, and also represented Canterbury on other occasions. Keene is an exHornby player. He played last Saturday against Woolston, and showed good form. Dennehy is an ex-West Coast representative, and his speed and weight will be a big asset to the scrum. D. Mayne is turning out as full-back, after being on the injured list for three weeks. The club can always rely on Dick playing a good solid game. The Marist A and B teams will fight it out on the Monica Park No. 2 ground. There is little doubt as to which team has the power to win, but the game will be levelled up a good deal by several of the A team players being engaged in the match at Dunedin. The A team will be without the services of C. Fitzgerald, their fullback, G. Brittenden, five-eighths, and L. Petersen, C. Bateman, and P. Burns, forwards.

Sydenham and Woolston will meet ' at Sydenham Park. Here again the team recognised as superior will be . weakened by provincial representatives being absent, and Sydenham will probably be fairly well extended if they wish a comfortable win. S. Clegg and ; P. O’Connor will be missing from the home team's ranks. Woolston will have no defections through the repre- . scntative team being on tour. 55 55 25 Seven-a-fiide Tournament. The success of the seven-a-side tournament at Monica Park yesterday should encourage the Canterbury League to make the tournament an annual one. Several years have passed since the tournament was held regularly each year, but there is little in ' the way of making it recognised as a j sure “day out’’ for players, particular- j ly those in the lower grades. The en- j tries from the boys were encouraging, and so was the keenness and form they j displayed. There is little doubt that! the League code will have much material to draw upon for some years to come, if the lower grade players stick to the game with the same enthusiasm as was evident yesterday. They showed a good grasp of the game, and in some cases rivalled the seniors in nippiness and clever tactics. The boys had a real “day out," and 1 like boys, had very decided opinions upon the rulings of the referees. Still, , the matches were played in the best of spirit. Several players in the sixth . grade, believing that feet were made before boots, turned out in bare feet, I and one actually kicked a good goal I unshod, from a place kick. Though few of the public were pre- | sent in the morning, when the first rounds in the lower grades were got off, it was due to them to receive some ! idea of what matches were in progress. They received none, unless a blackboard between the two fields i could be taken as an indication. This ! board did not put in an appearance until the first half dozen games had been played, and no idea could be gained from it as to which teams were leading. It would be well, in future tournaments, to have a megaphone for the public benefit, and also a chart of the progress of the rounds placed between the two grounds, and also in front of the grandstand. Notwithstanding these defects. the tournament can be voted a fair success, and the League should have little hesitation in pencilling in an , annual date. 55 55 X A Footballing Family. The O'Brien brothers, Arthur and Syd, who play for the Marist B senior team, in addition to being good footballers come from a family with a football record of no mean merit.

Three uncle?, Arthur, Tod and Joe. have made their name in Rugby in New Zealand. Arthur, now Dr A. B. O'Brien, of Christchurch, was manager of the British team which, captained by D. R. Bedell-Sivright, visited New Zealand in 1904. He proved one of the star backs of that team, playing in the three-quarter Hoe. Ted and Joe. together with Frank, the father of the two players mentioned. were for many years the backbone of the Linwood Club’s senior team.

Frank being also a Canterbury representative. Syd was educated at St Bede’s College, and played in the first fifteen there in 1919, 1920 and 1921, playing great games as half-back. Arthur was educated at both St Bede’s College and St Patrick's College, Wellington, where he was a member of the first fifteen. Thacker Shield Winners. A black and white silk scarf to each member of the Addington team which won the Thacker Shield competition last season, and a blazer to the captain, J. Sanders, were presented by Dr Thacker, donor of the shield, at the Addington Club's weekly euchre party and dance on Tuesday. The doctor said it was his intention to present i the winning team every year with scarves of their club colours. He made the presentations, and Mrs W. Bellamy, the Club’s social secretary, placed the scarves round the neck of each player in turn. Mr E. L. M’JCeon, of the Monica Park Board of Control, also made a few remarks advising the placers to stick together and play the game. The doctor .spoke very highly of Mrs Bellamy as social secretary, and said the Club were very fortunate in having such a “live wire." Mr J. Sanders spoke on behalf of the team, and Mr R. F. Lloyd, chairman of the Social Committee, spoke on behalf of the Club, thanking Dr Thacker for his generous donation. Three cheers were given for Dr Thacker and three for Mrs Bellamy. The dance was the most successful held this season. The proceeds will be devoted to the purchase of jerseys for the sixth grade boys. Visitors present included Mr P. M. Steggall, a past president of the Towoomba League, and Mr W. Cole, chairman of the Canterbury League. Local and General. The new Addington senior grade forward, J. Dennehy, who gives promise of developing into a first rate player, is an old bov of St Bede's College. He. was in 1919* a member of the first fifteen of the College. Union Rugby enthusiasts have nothing on some League players as regards travelling and enthusiasm. Steve Connelly, the popular young Marist senior B team’s wing three-quarter, journeys, I as regular as clockwork, to Christ- | church every Saturday from his home i near Rakaia, to take part in the game. I Steve was educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland, and was there a star member of the first fifteen. In the years 1922-1923 perhaps the smallest player in St Bede's College first fifteen was Dan Galvin, and in the position of live-eighth, he played some j rattling good games. Nowadays, the | diminutive Dan is ably upholding his ' reputation as the half-back of the ■ Marist Club’s junior team, and tackles with relish the biggest that come his way. The Canterbury League should urge the New Zealand Council to adopt the policy pursued by, other codes in the past, of making grants to schools for the fostering of League football. There has been a remarkable advance in League football in Canterbury this year and, if the experience of NewSouth Wales is anything to go by, the code will make confined progress in the primary schools until it is prac- ! tically the only form of football played. I A good policy has been adopted by the West Coast League in regrading to junior those senior players who are really past their prime but who still desire to take an active part in the game . In the junior grade their experience is Very helpful in improving the standard of play. Two prominent ex-representatives of the Coast, F. Purnell and L. Hunter —are now- playing junior for the Runanga Club. The centre has regraded quite a number of first class players who cannot stand the knocking about in the seniors.

Mr P. U. Steggall, past president of the Towoomba Rugby League, attended the match between Canterbury and South Canterbury at Timaru yesterday, and will see the CanterburyOtago game at Dunedin to-morrow. Mr Steggall came to New Zealand with Mr E. IT. Mair, manager of the New Zealand team, and one of the selectors. For the selection of the New Zealand team about eight certainties will be picked after the round of matches among Canterbury, South Canterbury, Otago, and the West Coast, which will be completed Vith the game between Otago and Greymouth at Greymouth on June 12. The same plan will be fol lowed in the North Island, and these certainties will not play in the North v South match, which will be staged to give other promising players a chance to show up. When selected the team will assemble in Wellington for a fortnight before leaving. 2c a n Evidently those responsible for establishing the League code in Rotorua this year are not overlooking the interests of the players. At the last meeting of the Auckland Ru" v ” League a letter was received from the Rotorua secretar” asking for information covering the insurance scheme which is carried out by the A.R.L. It was decided to forward the information asked for. “ Tell your boys to look out. as we have several budding M’Donalds here,” ran a sentence in a letter from the 13 otorua League. On his recent games, Cusack should just about displace Jacobs as half in the Otago representative team (says a League critic in the “Otago Daily Times”). lie played a magnificent game on Saturday, and every time the ball came his way he had no difficulty in eluding three or four of the opposii tion. though his slickness frcq-uently ! proved as disconcerting to his own side as to those arrayed against him. Yorrath (continues the writer I is one | of the successes < f this season's recruits ito the code. He will be another diftij cult man to leave out of Otago’s team I for the north. He is one of those usei ful players who tiscs his brains as well [ as his feet, and his heady game on Saturday undoubtedly saved his side ! from defeat. A fire goal-kicker, too.

There were too many casualties <.n the Athletic side on Saturday (states a Dunedin writer). Some of the players have obviously not been paying the attention they should to training, and these frequent stoppages would never have taken place if due consideration had been given to this important matter. A fast game like League cannot be piayeci on a' diet cf cigarettes and a feeble run round the track one night a week. Gregory, Marist’s (Auqkland) fullback, first came into prominence as a five-eighth in the Auckland Rugby Union team that defeated the formidable Hawke's Bay side in 1923 at Auckland. Since he turned over to League he has represented Auckland and New Zealand. I understand (says “ Forward ” in the “Otago Daily Times”) that there i. a big chance of J. Fraser (full-back for Athleticl dropping out of the game owing to domestic reasons. If this happens it will be a great loss to his club and the League code generally.. If

he continues to play Fraser should have a good chance of representing the province this season. One of the biggest surprises brought oft in the League competitions in Auckland for some time occurred when Newton, generally assessed as the weakest of the senior teams, downed Richmond in great style, and never looked like being beaten, ultimately running out winners So far as the season has progressed in Auckland. Poison is a long way the best half-back seen out. Public opinion will see that this little warrior receives a lair hearing this year, and that he is not penalised because he plays for a weak team that does not come under the selectors* eye on No. X ground (says the Auckland Rugby League Gazette). Frank Burge, who has returned to the game, is famous as the greatest scoring forward to play Rugby, either League or Union, but there appears on the horizon one who looks like running him close, in Sydney games at any rate (says the “Sydney Sportsman”). “Jockey” Kelly, the sterling St George forward, has notched at least one try in each of his games this season, and has reached the total of five, which gives him fifth place in the scoring list. Kelly has been consistently sound in the past two years, and he is considered as a worthy rival for Latta for a place in the representative teams this year. WOOLSTON CLUB. The following are the teams for toScniors v. Sydenham, at Sydenham Park, 2.45—<3. .Main, Harris, Ferris, Grainger, Parker, Pappa, Armstrong, Moffit, Watson, Sparkes (2), Martin, Petheram, Findlay, Carey, Clarke, Savage. Juniors v. Linwood, at 2.45 Weavers, Woods, Norton, Groom. Crofts, Sullivan, Motoratu, Cpoper, Foster, Choate, Murray, Yeatman, Walls, A. Carney, L. Carney. Third Grade v. Templeton, at Woolston Park, at 2.4s—Smithers, M'George, Hall, Howell. Eastwick (2), Kinley. Cordner, Wilson, Read. Maffoy, Fearon, Yeatman, Edwards, Lee, Mason, Taylor. Fifth Grade v. Waimairi, at Waimairi, at 2.4s—Alexander, Randall. Harper, Xicholls, Pooley, Upton, Storey, Randall. Swanston (2), Priest (2), Baker, Smith, Truscott. Sixth Grade A v. Linwood—Little, Ifopgood. Smith. Marshall, M Donald, Moore, Payne. Rosewarno, <3eorgenson, Gibson, Abrhams, Ilill, Asher, Sullivan, Pearson, M’Guire.