Moment of truth for young Halswell league XIII

Press, 18 April 1979, Page 14

Moment of truth for young Halswell league XIII

Bv

JOHN COFFEY

It is a rather strange situation that a club which has languished in the lower grades will, in the minds of most rugby league followers, fill centre stage ahead of last season’s grand finalists under the spotlights at the Show Grounds this even-

Considerable interest will be taken in Halswell’s premiership debut when it meets Addington in the first round of the competition. Papanui and Sydenham, by right, have main match billing, but a creditable display by Halswell could relegate them, to supporting roles in the night’s entertainment. There has been quite some controversy concerning Halswell’s promotion — on two counts. Halswell failed to . qualify by finishing in the top two in the grading series last month, and its inclusion creates a bye, an unpopular move in the opinions of a majority of

the other premier coaches

By looking favourably at Halswell, the code’s board of control is seeking to further foster the sport in an area where it is already flourishing, as evidenced by the club’s having the third largest schoolboy rugby league nursery in Canterbury. For some years Halswell’s administrators have had the galling experience of developing the talents of many promising youngsters, only to lose their services because premier football could not be offered to them. To their credit, they were not discouraged; nor did they get their priorities wrong by spending finance to build a stronger first team at the expense of more important requirements. So Halswell encounters its moment of truth this evening with the knowledge that it has a firm foundation. There are two other open grade sides and 19-year.s squad to provide reserve strength, the abundance of schoolboys

who can now aspire to premier status in Halswell’s colours, and a fine clubrooms complex has been constructed at Halswell Domain. The Canterbury Rugby League made a proviso when it admitted Halswell to the premiership. At present, Halswell is assured of being in that division only for the first complete round. Its early

performances are all important, for the board of control is to review the situation in about six weeks. If the pressure will be felt by the whole club, the individual most affected is Halswell’s young playercoach, Lester Wilson. A former New Zealand 19years representative with a little experience for both the Canterbury A and B teams as a second-row forward, Wilson,- at 24 years of age, has an awe-

Barry Owens and Paul Prescott have a lot of football behind them and their presence helps the newcomers to premier rugby league,” Wilson said.

He conceded that Halswell appeared somewhat overburdened with forwards in its appearances earlier this year, with Wilson himself at centre in its first game. Since its promotion Halswell has had its ranks boosted by a number of rugby union

some task ahead of him. Wilson has no qualms about the fitness of his players. The lead-up programme to the qualifying contest required them to train on three nights and one morning each week. That schedule has been relaxed since then, but only to the extent of one run. “The squad is pretty young. However, David Baxter, Gordon McLeish,

backs, and Wilson plans to ease them into their adopted code by placing them in the senior first division for a while. "The premier team has the full support of the other sides, and players can be brought up as required. We also have the backing of the Halswell area, and hopefully we might be allocated some home fixtures to take advantage of that,” Wilson said.

"Baxter's selection for Canterbury B will also spur on the other players. He would not have received that opportunity if he was not able to play at permier level,” he said. Recalling the qualifying round, Wilson said that Halswell’s 24-6 loss to Addington and 6-3 defeat by Kaiapoi had not shaken his confidence. Halswell kept in contention for the first hour of its match with Addington, although having to combat first

night nerves and inexperience, while it was only a late try which carried Kaiapoi ahead. “We know that every game is vital to us,” Wilson said. “If we win a couple, Halswell stays in premiers for the season. We must also hold the stronger clubs to respectable scores. One thing is : our players would not improve in premier B football.”