FLASHES FROM SATURDAY'S SPORT

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 226, 23 September 1940, Page 10

FLASHES FROM SATURDAY'S SPORT

Tactics in Question.—Suburbs made a mistake in tactics when it played so much to Denny Brady. This fine back was closely watched throughout and was overburdened with work. It is difficult to understand why Suburbs did not change its UK-tics and thus give Brady a spell writei nt the same time attempt to catch the opposition unawares. Brady showed what a fine player lie is when he stood up to a severe pummelling and was always dangerous on attack. Early in the match he got a nasty knock in stopping Day, the Training College wing. His brother. Charlie, was also kept in check and was not allowed to get away with his fast breaks round the scrum. He carried out a lot of defensive work, but his handling was not so accurate as usual. Training College's Day.—ln one of the brightest and most open matches of the Kugby season Training College deservedly took the honours from Suburbs in the principal attraction at Eden Park. Conditions were ideal for fast play and the teams exploited them to the best of their ability. The winning side, which went into its stride right from the kick-off.

never once let up in its dashing and harassing tactics. The vanguard played splendidly in the loose, while the rearguard had a day on. and the speedy threequarter line was always a thorn* in the side of the opposition. Excellent defence, tackling and quick covering held at bay for the most part the dangerous Suburbs' inside attack. Suburbs had plentv of the ball, but try as it may, was always matched by very sound defence. At the same time Training College lost no opportunities to make the game open, and thus took the honours from one of the leading teams, which was really beaten at its own game.

Hares New Role.—"Hare will soon make that up, ' was the genera] opinion of Marist, supporters at the Kllerslie ground, when University, with a stiff wind behind them, finished Clio first half with a lead ot two penalty goals, kicked by Warner. But the breeze abated, and though Maris* were quickly on top in the second spell they were solidly me't by the University backs and forwards, who wore carefiil about infringements. Ic was ten minutes l>efore the first penalty was awarded Manet, and Hare duly landed a goal. Still three points behind, Marist attacked back and forward, but again and again were stopped by a stout defence, while the infringements were all on Marist players' side, as they were solidly tackled " and. stopped. Lvnds and Armitage. in the forwards, and Mcßae and Minogue behind them, kept "bombing" the invaders, and the spell was more than half gone, wiuli the Marist score unimnroved. Then Hare came to the rescue by jumping into a passing bout from the full-hack position to get the overlap and score at the corner, a fry which he failed to convert. At least the day was saved, and with the strain off the Marist team improved their comhinntion. so that Nearv cot more room and brought, off a brilliant break-through fo five Molloy a try beside the posts, that Hare had "o bother in converting. It was, however. Hare's rnn-nn from full-back to make a try that saved Che game.

Keen AntlrlmHon.—Butler. «he Training College second five-eighth, proved >dept In intercepting and the team wag unlucky Wit on each occasion a try did not result. The first time, from near" his own line. Butler took plav to the other where Suburbs were luckv to save. ;On the' second occasion .a pass infield to Thurston, who had a clear field, would have had the desired result. Butler did clever work on attack and defended stoutly against Denny Brady. Day Causes Thrill*.—The dashing wing Day caused thrills for, the crowd on nearly every occasion he had possession. Difficult to stop, the used. his weight well against s> tackier, many of whom bounced off him In their efforts to bring nlm down. Colmore-Willlams was in his best form, and his try Was a fine effort, the reward of determination in going for the line. Thurston played a good all-round game, and was frequently in the limelight on attack, although he lost a good scoring chance once in not. drawing Underwood enough. Kingston In Form.—Except for one sod mistake when he went for an opponent high and only fast covering by supporters saved a try. Kingston, the Training College full-back, played a fine allround game. His strong and accurate line-kicking proved Invaluable .to his forwards, while his defence In all other respects was of a high order. Leading Forwards.—The Training College fori wards never let up. and had their opponents overshadowed In the final stages, when the Suburbs pack had tired. Beard and Kurney were always prominent, but the whole pack went well aa a unit. Kelson was the outstanding Suburbs forward, and did great all round work, especially in the line-out. in which he frequently gained' poeMMlon.J«nd sent quick- and well-directed passes to his half-back. "Jt-'v 1 Few Thrills Experienced.—There were few thrills in the curtain-raiser between Takapuna and Technical, neither side combining to advantage. Poor tackling and passing were more the order than the exception, and both sides lost great chances through errors hardly expected In this grade of football. Takapuna now shares the lead in the championship with Marist. but judging on recent form will need to show improvement to lower the colours of last season's champions.

forward's Three Tries.—As the result of fine following up the versatile Ponsonbr player J. Rolf was rewarded with three tries in the match against North Shore at the Showgrounds. One of these tries was an opportunist effort, the play having swung down the left wing with the backs. Rolf Anally picking up a dropped pass to dive oyer. Another outstanding player was Stancleb, Shore five-eighth, who. when his side was striving hard to stave off defeat, repeatedly broke through; he was unfortunate that his outside men could not turn his elusive running to account. Chances For Juniors.—otahuhu fielded eight Juniors against Grafton, and they were right out to Justify their selection, with the result Oat the game was a fast and open one. Kelly, (the home full-back, who acquitted himself so well on the previous Saturday, was in the limelight all the time, and scored 11 of the 20 points gained by Otahuhu. Gow And Neighbour were two Juniors who played good football. LEAGUE.

League Surprise.—Highlight of the Auckland Rugby League's semi-finals of the Roope Rooster competition on Saturday wa* the eclipse of Mount Albert by Ponsonby, the latter # team showing speed, resource and combination to pile up a big score. Kay, for Ponsonby, had a field day, getting three tries and seven goals, and registering over 100 points for the season. Richmond had the better of its game with Papakura; City defeated. Qtahuhu, despite a good showing by the latter team; Marist and Manukau played a drawn game, and at Devonport North Shore defeated Newton, and is the runner-up to the champion team, Richmond, for the' 1940 season. Kay Brilliant.— lt was the pivotal play of A. Kay which .was such a .deciding factor in Ponsonby piling" up a cricket score against Mount Albert on Saturday. He scored three tries, and kicked seven goals apd had a hand in all the other Ponsonby scores. Kay showed great speed and an ability to penetrate which the Mount Albert defence could not cope with. He had splendid support from the other Ponsonby backs, and B. Riley, who has played beside him for many seasons, was always there to do his part. And for defence they had behind uhem Scott, a third grade player, who showed the coolness of a veteran and never put a foot wrong all day.

Outstanding Forwards.—Two forwards who stood out In the match between Richmond and Papakura were M. Devine, for the former team, and H. MilUken for Papakura.- Both were outstanding for the reason that they tried to make play for their supports, and threw out long passes from loose play. Both played notable parts for their sides by unselfishness and ability to do the right thing at the crucial moment.

Edgar Morgan Returns.—Back in the Ponsonby pack for the match against Mount Albert was Edgar. Morgan, making his first appearance this season. Originally a Rugby player, Morgan was one of the best Ponsonby forwards (or a number of seasons. He is over 13 stone to weight, and excels in open play. . ?

Herat's Ten Points.—A very even and at times bright exhibition was given by Manukau and Marist in the early Phelan Shield encounter. The game was punctuated with good individual lootball, and the highlight was the brilliant goalkicking by J. Hemi. who accounted for the whole of Manukau's points. Another feature was the improved form shown by the Manuknu side, which was in striking contrast to its ragged display against Papakura on the same ground the previous Saturday. There was a far better understanding among the Manukau backs, and Hemi time and again ran his supports into position. The Marist team played with good combination, but it was well along in the second half before they succeeded in breaking through tile Manukau defence. Marist succeeded in crossing its opponent's line twice for two good tries, one of which was converted by Anderson, whereas Manukau, although on the fringe of crossing on a few occasions, just failed at the critical moment. With the score 10 points each at the end of the second half, two extra spells of Ave minutes each were played, but there was no addition to the score.

Otahuhu Show Up Well.—Although beaten by City by a margin of 11 points in the second Phelan Shield game, the Otahuhu senior B team made a creditable showing. The side held its own well against its more experienced opponents for the greater part of the first half, but the lack Df a leader with experience and the finer points of the game gave City a decided advantage in the second spell. There are some promising young players in the Otahuhu team, and among those prominent in Saturday's game were the three Johnsons, Wilson, Cann and Gordon, while L. Allan proved a safe full-back. For City, the outstanding players were Nesbitt. J. Gould and C. Gould in the three-quarter line, while Clarke played another fine game at full-back. Among the forwards who played a very solid game were M. Mataira. Smith. Donovan and Jackson. City won by 16 points to five. Solomon Constructive.—Constructive play by D. Solomon was a feature of the match between Richmond and Papakura. In which Richmond backs were superior. Williams gave a good scrum service and A. Graham, ■ at first five-eighth, showed cleverness in finding the gap, but it was Solomon who was there to give a movement fresh Impetus if it was inclined to flag; continually he made the play for his supports. SOCCER. Last Challenge Repulsed. — Blandford Park was in perfect order and one of its largest crowds was present to see Canterbury meet Auckland in the final English Football Association Trophy match. Canterbury started off in great style and had far the bettor of the play in the first half, but the southern forwards lacked that final finish in front of goal. Canterbury were first to score after about 20 minutes* play, but Auckland equalised just before the whistle sounded for half-time. After the interval Auckland were a much improved side and had far the better of the game. Masters was brilliant on the left wing and Auckland eventually won by 5 goals to 2. Canterbury were unlucky to lose .1. Smith, their inside right, late in the game; he sustained a slight concussion.

Masters Brilliant.—Masters, Auckland's outside left played a brilliant frame in the second half. He showed a greait turn of | speed and put over some beautiful centres. His corner kicking was also most accurate: He had a say in, the four goals scored by Auckland in the second spell. Ward's goal from a well-placed corner kick by Masters gave Auckland the lead by 2 goals to 1 soon after the interval. Masters added the third goal for his side, beating England with a fine shot. The fourth goal was the result of a solo effort by Masters when he broke away on the left and ran in to score with a beautiful shot from a very sharp angle. The final Auckland goal was the result of another good shot by Masters, Cawtheray (full-kick), in trying to save, ju«t touching the ball with his head to deflect it into the net. -

' Robinson Did Well.—The first Auckland goal was scored by Robinson, who received ; a nice pass from Hopkinson an<l_ ran ■through. to score a good goal. Robinson was |the' outstanding forward for Auckland in the first spell, making some nice runs on the right wing and putting over some good crosses. Hopkinson also played well at centre and fed his wings in good style. The Auckland halves all played well, Blackie being particularly brilliant with his head and giving Robinson some welljudged passes.

Fonr Brothers In Forwards.—The Canterbury front line was composed of J. McLennan at outside right, anri the four Smith brothers filling the other positions. The line played well together, Roger smi'h being in great form at outside left. It wan from his centre that B. Smith scored the first goal of the match for the Southerners, whilst O. Smith notched the second Canterbury goal, also from a well-placed centre from Roger Smith, whose first season it Is with the representatives. The Canterbury halves were a good trio. They played right on top o! the Auckland forwards in the first half and gave them few opportunities, but Auckland's forwards played a much improved ■ game in the second spell. Sutherland at centre half was the pick of the visitors' middle line.' Cawtheray and Graham made a good pair of backs. Cawtheray being the sore conspicuous. " '> " i Speed in Fine Form.—Speed played one of his best games of the year for Auckland at left-back. His tackling was very clean and his clearances well placed. He saved what appeared to be a certain goal for Canterbury when he cleared a good shot from' Sutherland with Yearbury beaten. Rlggans also played well at right-back (and got through a lot of work, while = Yearbury made some great saves In the Auckland goal. Metre College Win Daere Cap-—Although being hub goal down at half time, Metro College had far the better of the game in the second spell and beat Mount Albert Grammar Old Boys by 3 goals to 1, to win the Dacre Cup. Goals were scored for Metro College by Speed and Sutcliffe (a good shot from about 25 yards range) and Hannan, while Patterson scored for the Old Boys. , t HOCKEY. United'* Championship.—United's onegoal decision over St. Luke's gives it the championship honours for this < season, with a four-point lead over University A. Then follows, at one point intervals, St. Luke's and Somerville, with Grammar Old Boys and Training College equal in the next position. The United-St. Luke's match proved a hard and keenly-contested game in which the score of one goal in favour of United just' about sums up the run of play. It was the thrust of the three inner forwards—Fenton, Cooper and Monteith—together with the rock-like defence of Jones and Bowden at full-back which swung the result in their favour. They Breed 'em Teagtt!—When the Franklin representative team defeated the Auckland Junior representatives by 3 goals to. 1. McKlnney, the left half-back, in the visiting team, took the field in - his .bare feet. This unusual procedure brought forth some comments from ■ the sideline. but It certainly did not detract from the player's sound exhibition, throughout the game. He was not afraid to get Into some of the tight play when necessary and proved a danger to the right flank- of the Auckland forward line. Sean* Gealteeplag.—ln keeping the University net Intact, Goalie Belshaw put up a good performance. He stood to' his task In line style and varied his methods well in dealing with the attackers. Cooper, the University inner right, gave glimpses of his best form against .Albertians. The goal lie gained'ln the. second spell was a good effort. Crawley also shone, while Wallace, righ wing,: opened many fine attacks. Better Team Work. success was' due. to the splendid team work as against the individualism so pronounced in Grammar Old Boys. The winners' half line, Stewart, Swinburne and Marshall, severely harassed the opposing forwards.