FOOTBALL

Waikato Independent, Volume XXII, Issue 2550, 25 May 1922, Page 5

FOOTBALL

\ LEAGUE NOTES. It : (By “Oval.”) Saturday last marked another step 5n “Advance Cambridge,” whpn a large gathering of football enthusiasts witnessed the opening of League Park in Clare Street, by His Worship the Mayor, Mr S. Lewis. What only a week previous had been a sea of blackberry, gorse and broom, had been converted into a splendid football ground, -which, if a little rough at present, will rapidly improve under the willing hands of the followers of the League, code. Everything possible was done in the short week at the disposal of the officials, to provide comfort for the public—seating accommodation, etc. —while ample provision was made for the press representatives. In years to come, perhaps, when League Park is a beautiful level green, with grandstands and other necessary buildings, some of those who witnessed the opening ceremony and assisted in procuring the grounds, w'ill indeed feel proud. i The Players, i Xiddell, at full-back for Suburbs, was again sound in his tackling and kicking, and is showing marked im-

provement. The Mclvor Brothers, five-eights, played grand football, although I w'ould advise George to take two hands to the ball in taking passes. Ward Brothers, on the wings, -were solid, showing dash and nippy play. H. Mclvor, at half, was a distinct failure, diving into the scrum with the .ball and starving his nippy colleagues. Even if the Matangi man played offside :a little, he would find it easier to beat one or two of them in the open than burying himself and the ball in the serum. It is not as if he did not know ’better, he being one of the best halves in South Auckland last year. Meehan and Hill were, as usual, hard and fast, ever on the ball, and getting their side out of many tight corners. Jim Tauti was a tower of strength, and played a splendid game. Shaw, for Matangi, is a hard worker, and his pace was a treat to witness. Cranston iheld his team together •splendidly, and showed a sound head in tight places. He could, perhaps, set bis backs going more often. Turner, McLennan and the Matangi full-back are a trio of players worthy of their places. McDonald is a hard man to beat, playing “on the ball” well. Athletics play a fairly good game, and will be hard to beat ere the season advances. McMurtree was their back mainstay, saving his side repeatedly. He is good in attack, and a stout kicker. Thorpe played a fine game, especially as his position is in the forwards. Armer should have scored on two occasions, once being prevented by deliberate obstruction, and a knock forward spoiling his second chance. Webber struck form quickly, and played with great dash. H. Hall would do better closer to his pack, and should pass underhand. E. Hall is a good forward, and well worth his place. Wilkinson will make a good man later on —a tryer! C. McMillan was, as usual, here, there and everywhere —showing all his old form, and his try was well deserved* Cooper is inclined to “bump” unnecessarily. He looks rough, if he does aiot mean it that way—otherwise a good man.

Cornaga continues on the straight lun, and gained much ground for his side. He takes his passes neatly. Pau was unfortunate in hurting his knee, for his nippy play is a feature looked forward to. I would advise a week's rest to ensure sound play later in the season. Tom Appleby battled away as usual, taking his hard knocks with his proverbial smile. Shostrom was safe at full-back, and is a very cool player. Kelly played his usual hard game, getting the ball well in the scrums. Los. Young showed up to fine advantage on Saturday, and made some pretty play. Campbell, at full, takes too many chances, waiting for the ball to bounce. He should know it is not to be trusted. Hswcvor, he is sound when it comes to getting down to it in defence. KTJG-BY NOTES. (By “Olympus.") Footballers experienced ideal weather for their games last Saturday. Altogether eight teams were engaged in the various Rugby Union contests and next week ten teams will be in action. ■ Several teams of schoolboys are also exacted to take the field shortly. Tin the Senior grade Hautapu had a very comfortable win over ltoto-o-langi. For the first ten minutes it appeared that the blacks might make a close game of it, but they afterwards went to pieces and showed very little dash. Hautapu has a fine heavy pack, while the Roto-o-rangi vanguard is for fho most part composed of light men., who were unable to withstand the com-

bined onslaughts of the reds. Among the Hautapu forwards B. Thorpe and B. Dunning were again conspicuous in all departments, while D. Burke appeared to be a great toiler in the tight. Gibbons also showed a good deal of dash. W. Burke, as usual made some spectacular runs but is inclined to wait for chances. Voyscy played his usual hard game but his style is not convincing.

Among the backs Thompson and Burke put in some fine sprints in which however, they were greatly aided by feeble attempts at collaring. Burke may yet develop into a good threequarter as he shows an inclination to run straight and hard. Butler at fiveeighths played a sound game while Vincent on the wing got through an immense amount of work in good style. His field goal was a smart, piece of play. T. Burke at full-back had an easy day but when called upon made no mistakes.

Eor Roto-o-rangi P. Peake, the fullback, was the outstanding player. He was called upon to bear the brunt of the Hautapu attack and was often in a tight corner but seldom failed to get clear, His collaring was a feature of the match and in marked contrast td that of the majority of his confreres. D. Warren was tried behind the scrum and played a sound game but got little chance to shine in attack. Among the forwards E. Nickle and G. Fogarty were the most conspicuous, the former especially, putting in a great deal of solid work. A. Whyte, although ho toiled hard, docs not seem to have struck that form which earned him rep. honours. H. Thorpe turned out for the first time this season and showed glimpses of his old dash. I. Peake as usual got through an immense amount of work in dashing style. The second grade contest. Leamington v. City, was a fairly interesting game but there was too much close play. Young players would do well to remember that it pays to get the ball away, besides making the game more spectacular. Paton and Kytc, the respective full-backs, both performed creditably. Coates, the City three-quarter, has good pace and made several good dashes. A. Russo and L. Mason were the pick of the Leamington backs. Russo runs determinedly but is lacking in judgment and spoils many a good chance. It was pleasing to see the third grade teams in action. High School put up a good fight against Leamington and are to be congratulated on defeating their more weighty opponents. The fixing of a weight limit for players of the third grade has proved a knotty problem for the C.R.U.

TEAMS POR SATURDAY.

Leamington Seniors:--—R. Kelly, C. Wallis, A. Tatton, T. Dagg, R. Haworth, J. Tucker, R. Harrison, L. Fisher, A. Hall, G. Douglas, N. Paterson, C. Robertson, C. Espiner, J. Wallis, J. Dagg. Leamington Juniors: —Paton, Russo (2), Mason, Higgins, McKinnon, Care, Kelly, Hall (2), Hicks, Nickle, Douglas, Joyce, Hardy. Emergencies: —Tripp, Harris, Osborne, May.

Hautapu Juniors. —Newcombe, Chapman, Murray, Campbell, Aspin, Palmer, Shaw, Burns, Marshall, Cartmill, Cowan, Gibson, Tamihana, Kennedy, Patena, Tamati, Reihana, Krawk. Leamington Third Grade: —C. Wallace, Brittain (2), J. Looker, Baker (2), L. Marx, Morse (2), J. Giles, D. McKinnon, ,S. Harding, S. Hastie, E. Andresen, A. Hooper. Emergencies: —J. Luckman, Malcolmson, W. Kilmore. Cadets. —Moyle, Walker, Onion, Edmonds, Bluck, Fletcher, Penn, Carter, Haworth (2), Gulley, Wood, Basham, Davies, Miller, Fievash, Morris, Hargreaves.

Cadet Third Grade. —Wattam, Morris (2), Wood, Haworth, Pol win, Sutton, Newcombe, James, McKeown, Rennie, Miller, Buttimore (2), Wallis, F. Davys, .J. Davys, Parker, Bluck (2). City Rovers. Campbell, Michael, Parkinson, Cornaga, McMillan, L. Cubis, Young, Gilmore, Robiuson, Appleby, McKearncy, Price, D. McMillan and Matatoke. The team will leave the fountain at 2 p.m. sharp, per motor lorry. Suburbs team will be picked from the following:—Kiddell, Ward (2), Collett, Mclvor (2), Norman, Hill, Meehan, Coe, Haare, Maehurori, Tuft, Drcnnin, Tauti, Hudson, Hopkinson, Monkley, French, Wilson. Athletics. —H. .Shostrom, L. Arrner, A. H. McMurtree, E. Byrne, H. Takerei, 11. Hall, D. Kelly, E. Hall, L. Webber, A. Mays, J. Wilkinson, H. Kidd, W. H. Cubis, T. Diamond. HAMILTON DEFEATS WAIPA The first representative match of the season took place at Hamilton on Saturday last, when the Waipa team was defeated by Hamilton by 15 points to six.