RUGBY LEAGUE

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22510, 19 September 1938, Page 7

RUGBY LEAGUE

THACKER SHIELD

CHALLENGE

LINWOOD PLAYS BEL'OW

FORM

THIRTY-POINT MARGIN FOR ADDINGTON

Its poorest form of the season was shown by Llnwood in the challenge match for the Thacker Shield against Addington on Saturday, Addington, having a ridiculously easy win by 35 points to 6. Monica Park was in splendid order, with a warm westerly wind which had! little effect on the play. Both sides were , below full strength, Addington missing Geddes, ■Wiltshire, and Spurr, and Linwood being without C. Priest. The first half was fairly?even, the score being 11-3 in Addington’s favour at the interval. From then on, however, Addington took complete charge, Linwood’s role being mainly defensive. The snap and sparkle of former games were gone and even that virility in tackling, usually a feature, was missing. The season plainly has been too long for so light a team of backs. The forwards were the only ones to make attacks’ of promise, the backs going in solo rushes. Lawrence hooked a big percentage of the scrums only to see the ground gained by the half-back lost before the ball reached the threequarters. It was their poorest display of the season. On the other hand, Addington was smart and neat and made ground with fast passing chains which went like machines. It. took comparatively little notice of the Linwood attacks, simply waiting for the chance to counter. Hall, Young, Wilson, Barbarel. and Bench made a speedy back line very hard to stop. Each played excellently. In the first half Roach’was good for Linwood till he was hurt. Whitley was outstanding on attack or defence, with Wilde improving as the game progressed. Berl, heavily bandaged, was not near his usual form. In the forwards A. and G. Stuart were the best workers for Linwood, which held its own In this end of the game till well on In the second spell. From then on Briggs, with excellent dribbling, and Price took ■ charge for Addington. McKewan, a fourth-grade, player, showed evidence _of good training .and jumped. In beside Price apd, Fraser to take S hand in the-heavy going. ’ J The teams were as.follows: —

' ’ Addington—W.l. Bonnlface; R. Ward, R.' Barbarel. -L. Bench.: D. Wilson, L. G. Young: J. Hall; E. McKewau, A. Scott, R. - Mcßride, B.' Fraser; R. Price, G. H. Stevens; R. Wilde, B. Mora, R. Whitley; L. Berl. D. Carey; T. Roach; G. Stuart, A. Lawrence. V. Slack, J. Stewart, R. Mora, A. Stuart. With the wind, Llnwood made an attack which was soon turned. Two fast Addington raids made Linwqod force down, and then in a long line Ward was .' held, Briggs carrying on to score. Bohhiface missed. When Linwobd worked ■to the twenty-five, Whitley made a break thf-ough and.'sent on. to' Roach for a good try. Mora missed. ' Addington 3, Llnwood 3. • , , . . , . Addington quickly returned, to be held up on the line where,’from a scrum, Hail shiit to Young, to Wilson for a glorious cut-in from which he scored. Young converted. Jn the next rush Bench, made a long run, swerving cleverly and going over with Briggs and Price beside him. Bonniface missed. Three Unwood runs led by Wilde and Berl, A. Stuart by himself, and Beri and Whitley were repulsed close to the line, the Interval coming -with the scores: Addington 11, Llnwood 3. Stevens went up to half-back on resuming, changing with Roach, who was limping badly. Bench ran strongly before. giving to Price, who crossed but was called' back for a forward pass. From tlie scrum Young dodged over very -clejwSMy- S ;ißonnlfaie- ponvertmiv.... . Fa# »loose "- forwai rd w ,‘Lmwjwd'^jp.; the -wlJHte • started iiP-: paSs; ing chain, fieri coming in to score with real dash. Mora did not convert. Addington 18, Llnwood C. Fast dribbling by Briggs caught the defence out of position so when he shot out to Bench that 'iplayer - had little • opposition, going past WlWe easily to score under the posts. Young goaled. ... , • After a tussle in midfield. Price sent to Bench, to Barbarel, to run in wide out. In a forward rush Briggs, McKewan. and Price handled for a try, and then Price, Hall, Briggs, and Wilson co-operated for Wilson to run in. The kicks at goal all missed. Mcßride set out smartly and gave on to Hall who ran in without much trouble. Briggs converted, leaving the final score; Addington 35, Llnwood 6. Referee: Mr G. E. Falgar.

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(PRESS , ASSOCIiTIOK TELEGRAMS.)

AUCKLAND, September 18. Roope Rooster Final— Richmond 20, City 8.

ASSOCIATION

FOOTBALL

ENGLISH CUP GAMES

FOUR MORE TEAMS

ELIMINATED

THISTLE BEATS RANGERS

I The English.'Cup knockout competition was advanced, a further stage on Saturday afternoon when' four;, more • teams wore eliminated./ Alt games were played on hard, last: grounds, the results .being determined by the right use of the strong nor’-west wind that blew during the afternoon. At English Park, In a very even game, St. Albans beat Nomads Reserves: by 2 goals to 1. In the latter game at English Park, Thistle, . with 10, men. proved just a little Jtoo good fqr Rangers,• winning, by the odd goal in three. Occasional flashes of.combined:play kept up interest in what really was not a very spectacular game. - At Rangiora, Western> with better finish and teamwork, accounted for the young Technical Reserves by 6 goals to 0. In spite of such formidable Technical made a brave showing, revealing some excellent players who will be after representative honours next season. At Wigraih aerodrome. Nomads, championship wlhners. , round unlooked for opposition by Air Force, having to work hard throughout! for .their 3-Igoal. advantage, r After .Saturday’s games, the following teams are left in the? English Cup competition, Technical Old Boys, Nomads. Western.-Thistle, St Albans, and Y.M.C.A. Reserves. THISTLE (2) V. RANGERS (1) Thistle played without the services of J, Paton. throughout the game with Rangers; but. the defection served to even the sides and make the game a more interesting one.-:Bbth team* when playing with the wind .used it to advantage, and in defending’kept the ball low. thps adopting the right tactic* for thegame. The play generally wa* open and even, with the usual Indiscriminate clearances; and paging tempered by flashes of well executed forward movements. Rangers have the nucleus of a good side, and on Saturday’s 7 form gave the Impression that with more practice than a Saturday game they would have been much higher on the championship table. The, forwards’ long passing was fair, but the short passing was not done very successfully by

either centre or flanks. In .Dougall and Greenwood they have two men with determination and speed. V. Cowper, the centre, though he did not show it against Thistle, is regarded as one of the best shots in the team. The halves would have been lost without the leadership, of Barnes and the welcome assistance of Lee and Sharr, the inside forwards. However, In a tight corner both Park and Todd used their heads to advantage. '.The full-backs and keeper played really well, defending fearlessly and tackling effectively. Once or twice, however, both fullbacks were guilty of closing on the wing man, leaving the attacking forwards unmarked in the goal. The Thistle team, except for a few lapses, played up to standard-. The wing men were more subdued than usual, and it was left to the three inside men to carry the spearhead of the attack. The halves, playing short-handed, left more on defence to the full-backs than they usually do, and concentrated on keeping the forwards in possession of the ball. D. Gowans played splendidly at centre half, keeping in position for* the stray clearances by the Rangers backs and directing the forward movements with well judged discrimination. In circle Renwick played soundly throughout, stopping some dangerous right-flank thrusts. The teams were:—

Thistle—J. Greig; N. S. H. McCann, A. Wilson; D. Gowans, A. Renwick; J. McLennan, W. Sutherland, E. Hall, G. Walker, and B. O’Rawc. Rangers—V. Hammond; W. O’Brien, A. Golding: J. Evans, E. Barnes, L. Parle; J. Dougall, C. Sharr, V. Cowper, T. Lee, and K. Greenwood.

Sallies by both vanguards marked the beginning of the game, Rangers with a fast movement only being stopped in front of the Thistle goal. Thistle scored first when G. Walker swerved round his man to snap the ball to the centre, where W. Sutherland gathered it in and slipped it into the net. Thistle 1, Rangers 0. ; Aided by the wind, the .Thistle forwards made the Rangers full-backs work hard to keep the goal clear over the next period. However, the constant pressure at last found an outlet in G. Walker, who passed two men before transferring to Hall, who scored as he pleased. Thistle 2, Rangers 0. Thistle found the tables turned when Greenwood, after a determined run, transferred’ to Cowper, to Dougall: but D. Gowans covered up to save a sure goal. After some Ineffectual Thistle raids Rangers returned, Barnes, Greenwood, and Cowper all missing narrowly. At halftime the scores were still; Thistle 2, Rangers 0.

Even play characterised the opening stages of the second spell. Rangers were first to be really dangerous, Greenwood racing through before passing to Cowper, to pougall, whose shot went just wide of the mark. After further skirmishing round the Thistle goal-mouth, C. Sharr secured and raced in to score. Thistle 2, Rangers 1. Rangers came again a minute later, a left flank movement drawing Thistle’s defence; but J. Dougall’s shot following the cross was luckily stopped by Greig. At the other end Hammond was called upon to give of his best with shots dropping in from all angles. Another Thistle raid let McLennan in, the ball travelling to Sutherland to Hall, who missed an easy shot. ~ . . Rangers countered, but Dougall ran into a solid tackle from . Wilson. Thistle fought back, O’Rawe racing down the side-line before centring, but O'Brien and Hammond combined to save. Just before time Hall and* McLennan went through, but Golding • and O’Brien successfully threw back the attack and the game ended with the score; ThistiJ 2, Rangers 1. Referee; Mi- H. W. Moore.

ST, ALBANS RESERVES (2) v. NOMADS RESERVES (1)

Nomads and St. Albans, reserves met in the early game at English Park. The shooting of both forward lines was the woist feon at English.Park this season Although the high wind made giound passing imperative, both sides skied the ball on every, occasion and spent most oi the r time chasing the ball over the goalliiie. Less fit teams could never have stood the pace,- but both elevens, consisting' mainly of . young players, played eamelv to the finish. Without the bri - fiant individualism and tactical generalship of' F. Stout, the St. Albans cenlichalf. the game would have been without an |ome h of gh fhe players revealed promise weir efiy *d Le cted*”centres? 3 'hn pace and determination on St. Albans right A and with Stoddart. Pearce, and Franklin oiaving up to form, should score goals a trains! Technical next weekStout, C. Cook and Todd emulated their centre, covering up on defence and backing up well when their forwards had posSe The n ‘st. Albans full-backs and keeper all look like making their name in senior football next season. They played collect football throughout. (StNomadS had five former scnlprs m the ii •h&dv-iaM. men fojutd. arir sloivlythough cohesive Movements no match for the harrying thrusts of the St. Albans side. * ■ . . „ The Douglas brothers both had pencil atlon on the flanks, but spoilt Rood movements by poor Finishing off. R. Cullen, a brother of G. and A. Cullen, tormer Canterbury players, impressed at centre-halt, and looks like carrying on the family traditions of wearing the red and black and F Adams, the wing halves, played constructive football, and saw their efforts wasted by forwards who could not find direction. Both full-backs, although not teaming as well as the St. Albans pair, shirked nothing.

The teams were:— _ _ , _ St. Albans—W. England; S Carter. D. Mitchell; C. Cook, F. Stout, W. Todd: A. Stanton. W. Cook. H. Pearce, H. Stoddart, and B. Franklin. T Nomads—A. Calder; W. Phillips. L. Fieete; F. Adams. R. Rossiter, C. Pickup, D Douglas, W. Menelaus, R. Cullen, S. Timms, and E. Douglas. Aided by a strong north-west wind, St. Albans swung to the attack, Stoddart placing to Stanton, but the wind carried the centre clear of the goal. St. Albans came again, but Franklin found Caidet too hard to beat. , , By dint of hard kicking by the backs. St. Albans kept up the pressure, but . poor ihter-passing by the forwards made the Nomads defence an easy task Oil a corner. Stout first timed a shot to the goal, but Rossiter handled in making a good save. Off the resultant penalty Stout- made no mistake. • St. Albans 1, N Stoddart. Stout and Pearce went through, but the latter shot weakly. Half-time came with the score still: St. Albans 1. Nomads 0.

! Nomads attacked early in the second spell. D. Douglas placing to Cullen, to E. Douglas, who missed g sitter. After further indecisive play, E. Douglas secured and placed the ball in nicely to Cullen who hooked the ball into the corner of the net. St. Albans 1, Nomads 1. Exploiting accurate ground passes, St. Albans took the offensive. C. Cook and Stoddart letting W. Cook in, but the latter’s header was wide. Another St. Albans thrust, originating from Stout, let Stanton gain possession and centre to Pearce, to W. Cook, who missed again. At last St. Albans clinched matters. Franklin secured, beat his marker, and centred for Stanton, to be handy to head the ball in. St. Albans 2, Nomads 1. St. Albans came again, but Stoddart and Stanton both tried to take the shot and a great scoring chance was lost. In a last desperate bid, Nomads attacked, but the game ended with the scores still: St. Albans 2, Nomads 1. Referee; Mr W. Kelly. , WESTERN (6) v. TECHNICAL RESERVES (0)

i The score of Gt* 1 ,!? in favour o£ _Wgstern in ’ the game at Kangiora on Saturday afternoon was not a true indication of the run of play. Taking into account the weak finishing efforts of many Western forward movements. Technical should have had at least three goals. • ■ ■ -Western’s win was because of superior combination of the halves and forwards ■and the tenacious defence of the fuilbaTeciinical. although tactically no match for their experienced opponents, put up a plucky fight, some of the players showing considerable promise. . , , G. Campbell, the Technical outside right, with displays next season up to the standard of Saturday’s game, will be a strong contender for representative honours. Harris, Sherwood, and Mallmson, the inside men, although. their chances on attack were limited, shewed speed and determination in possession but lacked, the ability to finish a movement. . . At centre-half* A. Smythe. a former Nomads, Rangers and Canterbury player, used his knowledge to advantage. Although a veteran player, he was the general behind most Technical sallies, and an excellent leader to the backs in staying off Western van movements. Norris and Clarke, outside Smythe, did not alwavs get their wing men, but by their bustling tactics made the Western Hank men earn every attack. Neate was the best of, the full-backs. - Both the Western half and back divisions worked ' harmoniously; concentrating on keeping the forwards in possession. Galbraith and G. Smith were the pick. Galbraith, the handy man of the Western side, knitted in well at Inside left, stiffening what has been a weak flank.

The teams were;— Western—J. Gaffaney; P. Brookes, A. McMillan: R. Henderson, M. Gordon, G. Roberts: S. Cawtheray, J. Smith, G. Smith, A. Galbraith, and M. White. Technical Old Boys’ Reserves—A. Smith; A. Jackson, T. Neate: N. Norris, A. Smythe, -W. Clarke;. O. Campbell. E. Karris, H. Sherwood, J. Malllnson, and B. Black. Technical drove deep Into .Western territory at the start, a run by G. Campbell being capped with a shot that went just outside. • . With the wind, .Western returned. Gordon skied the ball to Cawtheray, but Smith anticipating well,, beat G.- Smith to the ball and cleared. Technical countered, Mallinson’s shot being wide. West-

orn returned, but could not clinch matters with two corners. A penalty for hands at last put Western ahead, G. Smith making no mistake. Western 1, Technical Reserves

Soon after, O. Smith and Cawtheiay raced through, but the latter’s centre was wide'. At last Western got through, Galbraith netting after G. Smith had been unsuccessful. Western 2, Technical RcC Almost immediately Galbraith went right through, slipping the ball to G. Smith for an easy goal. . Both sides attacked during the remainder of the half, the score at the interval being; Western 3, Technical Reserves 0. Western came away at the kick-off. Gnwtheray . missing badly when wclj| roSced. ' Technical rallied, a left flank•mbvement ending when McMillan headed. Black’s centre over the bar. Technical kept the advantage. Gaffaney making a good save from a great drive by Smythe. ’ A little later Smythe let Campbell in for a chance, but the wing man shot wildly. . . . Although Technical was doing most of the attacking, Western was next to score, J. Smith goaling after Cawtheray had failed from point-blank range. Western dame again. J. Smith letting G. Smith In for an easy goal. A fast counter, after a Technical right flank effort, let G. Smith head White’s centre into the net. Technical atacked hard for the remainder of the half, but could not find the net. Final score: Western 6. Technical Reserves 0. Referee: Mr’C. Sweeney. NOMADS (3) V. AIR FORCE (I) Nomads, the Hurley Shield champions, did not have everything their own way at Wigram aerodrome. On Saturday’s form. Air Force should be at the top of the table next season, and appears to have gained considerable experience of the code in their one season of the game. Crisp footwork, quick ball control, and accurately placed passes characterised many of the van movements. The halves and backs covered well, and invariably tackled effectively. Nomads, exploiting the long pass and fast follow through, scored three goals from this method of attack. The halves and backs were forced to give of their best throughout to keep out the relentless Air Force forwards.

Nomads rushed play to the Air Force end at the start, but met with stubborn resistance .from the defenders. Air Force countered," byt ran into solid tackling and the game developed into even mid-field play. At last a long pass found Wilkins the. Nomads centre, who raced between the Air Force full-backs to goal as he pleased. Nomads 1, Air Force 0. Air Force did everything but score the next minute, the Nomads defence being sorely tested to keep the goal clear. After another slashing run by Wilkins.' the attack was swiftly countered, the centre obtaining a goal. Even play kept the game interesting until half-time, when the scores were still Nomads 2, Air Force 0.

Air Force made the pace fast on the resumption, ‘ employing short passing movements that constantly had the Nomads defence out-manoeuvred. At last Air Force was rewarded, de Lange, who was playing a fine game at centre forward, slipping through to net a brilliant goal, ■ Nomads 2, Air Force 1. A little later, Wilkins picked up a long pass and shot through to score, clinching Nomads hold on the game, and making the final scores Y

Nomads 3, Air Force 1 Referee, Mr B. Neville.

JUNIOR GRADE Humphreys Cup St. 'Albans 4, Western 3. Celtic 5, Technical Old Boys 1.

4 THIRD GRADE Watson Cup Technical 5, Thistle 0. Marist 6, Celtic 0.

FOURTH GRADE White Cup Final Technical College A 2, Technical College B 2

FIFTH GRADE Sevlcke-Jones Cup Hornby 4, Nomads 1. Marist 4, Limvood 1.

' SIXTH GRADE Ramsay Cup Marist 6, Celtic 2. Western 6, Nomads 0,

SEVENTH GRADE Prlddis Cup St. Albans 4. Rangers 1. Marist 6, Nomads 0.

: .AIR FORCE v. H.M.C. ACHILLES ’ 'Air Force will nlay a game with a team from H.M.S. Achilles at English Park on Wednesday afternoon.

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(PUBS gSSOCILTIOV TSLXGBAHS.)

AUCKLAND, September 18. Falcon Cup Knock-out—H.M. Navy .2, Y.M.CA. I; 4, Suburbs 2; Abels 4, Comrades 1; Onehunga 2, North Shore

. WELLINGTON, September 18. First A Division—Waterside 10, Technical Old Boys 0; Scottish Wanderers 6, Hospital 3. DUNEDIN, September 18. Fletcher Cup—Mdsgiel 3, High School Old Boys 1; Maori Hill 6. Mornington 0; Northern 2, Roslyn Wakari X; Seacliff 8, Caversham 2. __