LEAGUE GAMES LACKED POLISH.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19133, 28 July 1930, Page 13

LEAGUE GAMES LACKED POLISH.

STODGY PLAY MARKED THE PRINCIPAL MATCH. I 1 League games on Saturday were marked bv stodgy play. Waimairi defeated Marist in the principal match by five points to three. Addington defeated Sydenham by nine points to five, and Woolston defaulted to Linwood although a friendly game between these two teams was played in the afternoon. Waimairi v. Marist. There was nothing exciting in the Waimairi-Marist game. A general lassiture was noticeable among the players, who were content to run rather aimlessly after the ball, occasionally kick it, and sometimes they even went so far as to tackle.' Until the last ten minutes of the game, the teams gave i very poor exhibition. During that period" Marist hammered away at the Waimairi line ..continuously, but were unable to force their way over. Waimairi took up the attack from the start, and poor defence saw O’Malley cross the line a few minutes after. Half a dozen opponents had the chance of bringing him down, but they assumed dignified attitudes waiting for someone else to start things. For the rest iof the spell Waimairi had distinctly the better of the play, but there was nothing even remotely resembling brilliance. Of a mediocre lot, Pahi, the Maori half-back for Waimairi, stood in a class by himself. He played aggressively and with a fair amount of success. He was the only man in the team to show any initiati\’e, and really won the game for them. Of the others, J. Woodham, P. Lvnskey and E. O’Malley were seen occasionally in some loose work, but their passing and combination showed them to be still in the hack class. Lobbed passes and indiscriminate kicking, especially on the part of C. Smith, the Waimairi full-back, were features of the game. The Marist players did not infuse any vim into their game except in the last few minutes, and their tackling would have disgraced a very ordinary ; junior team. Poff, Archer and Growj cott got into action occasionally. Mar- | ist’s only try was scored by the winger, 1 Murphy, who made a good rtin along ; the line. Their forwards made the most of their weight, but did little else to commend them. Addington Backs Win the Hay. Superiority in the backs enabled Addington to gain a narrow victory over Sydenham by 9 points to 5 at the Jerrold Street Reserve. Play was mostly confined to the forwards, and the few ! bright back movements were provided iby the Addington rearguard. Sydenj ham were out-weighed in the forwards, | but they worked hard, and by effective spoiling tactics broke up many { of their opponents’ passing rushes. The I handling of the Sydenham backs was very weak, and several tries were thrown away as the result of this fault. The Falgar brothers, at five-eighths, were the star Addington backs. Both | made many fine runs and showed enj terprise on attack. In the second spell, I when Sydenham were pressing hard, they put in very solid defensive work. The best try of the match was scored by J- Gagahan, the Addington winger, who showed speed and dash to finish off a movement in which the inside backs had played their part. Al! the forwards went well, but T. Newsome was outstanding. He was at the head of many rushes, and was a hard worker throughout the game. G. Fraser, the Sydenham full-back, i fielded well, but gave his team some anxious moments through slowness in getting in his clearing kick. E. Tonkin showed initiative at times, but Ay son, the other five-eighths, was a weak link in first spell. He went better on the wing in the second half, in place of Gilroy, who moved alongside Tonkin.

THE LOWER GRADES.

Second. Hornby 35, Marist 0. Third. Linwood 42, Riocarton 3. Woolston 19, Marist B 0. Sixfcli. Riecarton 13, Linwood 5. Waimairi 11, St Joseph’s 5. Seventh. ZUccarton 23, Marist 0. Schoolboys, Marist A 30, Addington 0. • Addlnarton 8, Woolston 6. Sydenham B 5, St Joseph’s 3. Addington S, Woolston 6. Linwood B 3, Marist B 0. THE LOWER GRADES. Junior A. Marist 3, Air Force 2. Junior B. Nomads 2, St Albans 3. Technical 4, New Brighton 1. Third. Marist B S, St Mary’s Guild 0. Western 6, St Albans 0. Technical 5, Marist A 1. rifth. Nomads A 2, St Albans 1. Marist B 7, Y.M.C.A. 0. Technical 3, Thistle 2. Sixth. St. Bede’s 3, St Albans 1. Technical 4, Marist 2. Nomads 2, Lyttelton 1.