League.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18787, 17 June 1929, Page 6

League.

SYDENHAM TOO KEEN FOR MARIST THIRTEEN.

The four leading teams in the Canterbury Rugby League’s senior grade competition—Addington, Marist, Hornby and Sydenham—will play off for the championship in the M’Keon Cup competition. The second round, concluded on Saturday, saw Sydenham defeat Marist, Addington account for Hornby, and Woolston win by default from Waimairi.

The following table shows the positions of the teams at the end of the second round:

Sydenham have had few games on the No. 1 ground at Monica Park, and in their first round game there their form was not impressive. Consequently occupants of the stand were surprised at the game they played on Saturday. Their passing was by no means

faultless, but their tackling was deadly, and the.y were very keen and fit. Marist, on the other hand, had several changes from their usual team, and the newcomers upset the combination which has been a feature of the Greens’ play for many seasons. Davidson showed himself to be the best full-back in the code in Canterbury, by his smart fielding, clever running and effective line-kicking. He and Turton were the best of the backs. Turton was deadly on defence, and displayed strong attacking powers. A. Drury is a winger whom any opponent requires to watch closely. He has a wonderful turn of speed, and can jump into top gear within a few yards. King, who was taking a spell from refereeing, was valuable at centre, and Hamburger played well on the wing. His plotted goal was a beauty. W. Le Warne was his usual tireless and aggressive self, as he and S. Le Warne and W. Drury led the forwards. Goring left the pack near the start of the first spell and played as an extra back.

There were several weak points in the Marist team. The wing which 11. Burns guarded was one of them. Burns, new to senior ranks, did not appear very reliable, especially when pressed. Bond played on the wing in the first half, and as an inside back in the second. He is better as a winger, not having the elusiveness necessary for a position farther infield. He needs a lot of room in which to get to his top speed. Spillane and Gillespie were well up to form, in spite of Spillane having an injured hand. The opposition paid a compliment to his play by marking him well and truly. Dobbs, who was not expected to be playing, owing to his recent injury, led the forwards, in which Drayton, P. Burns and Sharp were prominent. ADDINGTON BACKS SUPERIOR. Superior combination and speed were the chief factors in Addington’s win over Hornby on the No. 2 ground at Monica Park. Addington showed up to advantage in the first spell, while in the second Hornby had the better of the play. The game was open ard fast, and the final score of 6-5 gives a fairly accurate indication of the play. The Addington forwards performed well against their heavy opponents, and the backs executed some pretty . rushes, in which the passing and the running of the inside men excel-

lent. The Hornby backs made several fine rushes during the game, but they lacked pace and 'combination. _ The Peddie-Stuart-Sanders combination was very effective. W. Stuart was prominent for clever cutting in and strong running. He was inclined to hang on to the ball a bit long at times, but on the whole his standard of play was high. J. Sanders was clever on attack and used a short punt to advantage. He scored one of Addington’s tries, showing wonderful determination in a short sprint for the line. The Addington captain is a great general, and his play has contributed substantially to Addington’s success this season. J. Staple)', at centre, played fairly well, but his hesitancy on one occasion nearly lost Addington a try. C. Goodman on one wing has plenty of speed, but as yet is somewhat inexperienced. J. Henderson, on the other wing finished off a fine movement with a try. Apart from this he had very few opportunities. B. O'Connell is wonderfully consistent at full-back. He is sound in all departments and his play this year is certainly up to representative standard. A. Peddie, as usual, went well. A. Green, M. M’Leod and W. Mayne were outstanding in the forwards. The clever Cliff Woods again took his place behind the Hornby scrum on Saturday, and although he showed patches of brilliance it was evident that he has not yet fully recovered from his recent illness. R. Mackie was very reliable and was always dangerous on attack. He has not played many games this season, still his form has been excellent. Backing up in a passing rush is a strong feature of Mackie's play, and in this respect a number of other players would do well to follow his example. P. Smith showed initiative on attack, but marred several movements by tryto do too much on his own. K. Wilkie was fairly sound at fullback. W. Woodgate was the best Hornby forward, and A. Ward was the pick of the others.