FOOTBALL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 562, 17 July 1909, Page 12

FOOTBALL.

A —•—r • RUGBY, p (Bv Arisiodoldb.) Like tho Bage must over hide his > light. And ho must hido it undor a cartload of sweepings. Football or philosophy, it is all the same—death to tho panjandrum every time. Tho first cave man who said that i cave men should wear clothoe was dealt with in cave-man fashion. - Some of - tho prtfphote tried to amend the rule-book in tho days of Israel, and they wero stoned. Alas! I fpar that I am already marked down as a ', janjandrum, and can now feel the'bnck-bats ', coming at mo. For, during, tho past week, ' I havo boon asked / to state: (1) Do you hons/tly think that you aro giving Poneko enough credit for their "combination ?" j and (2), Bout you think it was time that "Paddy" Morphy was dealt with' "Courage, mon jcher, du couragol" 1 say to myself, and tl endeavour to reply. As to tho first, lam doing my best not to assassinate Poneke with newspaper "credit." As to the second, I note that Mr. Sluiphy struck tho referee jn the face with tho wet , , slushy ball,' and then explained to tho coinmitteo that it was 1 flone "unintentionally." I would havo given Sim a suspension of one lunar month for tho *ffeaoe, and 223 years for tho explanation. A n<l then a benevolent-looking gentleman itates: "I hope you will give the 'Post , tome more medicine." Another friend, who b an official of the Wellington Rugby ,Union, wd whose brass plate adumbrates the Jotters, W. G. Talbot, asks: "Why do you 'ipend so much timo in controversy? Why , ion't you write football?" As to this latter. t reply that I am considerably'handicapped through want of ability to associate the usual jungle of guesswork with the usual etring of names "for good plav," and there- - J tfore am totally un «' oto wTito lattor-day football. As to the "Post," there is no immediate hurry. "Indeed, that antagonist does not appear. ' W/wden-logged and wooden-armed players have lately been "starring" through tho press, witK tho usual exaggerations The wooden-legged exaggeration came from the genial city of' Chnstchurch. Tho woodenarmed falsehood comes from Otago, and probably refers to Mr. W. Mahone. formerly of , the Zingari Richmond Club, Dunedin, and no# resident in ..Wellington "Bill," in his-, time, was of the "salt of tho earth." Tall and gaunt, 'and handicapped by , circumstances beyond his control, it was always a ' to watch him operating that rough and cruel position—the line-out. Up went his big Tight arm, always /'certain Buro" to Rather in tho ball, but that was nothing. To find Bill's "other arm" under your chinj wagged as it wero by sympathetic nervous action, and to find jour face tilted up towards the sky, as if to ask tho bright, implacable nni- ' verse what it was all about, was an exporienoe to be talked about. "Bill" always had an' aversion 'to tho usual class of football writers, and that is probably the reason why his name has not gone down to fame. But he was truly a wonderful forward. And thero was no in, his noncombatant arm. ' Vffalstaff, ,, , arrayed in whito, with Ted splashes across his cheat like a Crusader, * ' camo on to Athlotio Park last Saturday. Ho insulted tho grandatand, and the grandstand presently ordered him off. Two police, obeying the stand, removed him—by degrees. "Collectively," bawled Falstaff, "you put me < down, bat individually—what hoi" , And ho . waved his hickory walking-stick against the dull, 'grey sky: Lator, as Poneke wero kneeling on the chest of ,poor Melrose,, 4 one H saw ( "Balstaff" and his confreres up oV the clay t hank 'behind the ground, still waving ,their hickory sticks, still white-robed and redBplashod, liko "knights" of a time remote. Training, I believe, should bo the subject ' this week, according to the announcement "■ made in' this column last Saturday. But - training is a serious and soro thing. Also, it is nearly hopeless, because any medical > man can state that, when any ono develops abnotmal size in any one portion, the rest 1 of tho frame is bound to suffer. The clumsy >' commercial ontorpnso of the day has been • massaging the poor footballer's head,,and tho result of that pernicious treatment may ' be expressed in various ways. Henry Laweon would no doubt havo set it out this nay:— _ „ , iWhen you Ha awake at midnight ' List'ning to your neighbour's snore, i / And you ponder o'er the morrow , And tho tries that you will score— , When you think of'past achievements, And you hug yourself and smilo, Sow are raising up a demon Who'll up-end you in a nhile. (Ton may be as good as "a perfect "Trojan"— 1 A New Zealand rep. as wellBut, you're bound to loose your prowess When you're head begins to swell. j ' Maybe you have seen a "hero" And you've wondored whyp because? He is over dropping backward - Prom the days that'used-tc-rtss t, 'And you're seen that paper "hero" w lake a blind man in the dark, Missing passes, missing chances Maybe at Athletic Park. , j , * If'you'd hko to Jsnow the reason ; 'Why your hero's falling fiat, _ i , lou will find it, if you measure t ,/ ' The circum'frence of his hat. , iTou are none tho less a hero - , If you elevate your ohm , SVhen the "mob" begins to hoot yon And you see the hoodlum's grin; And you're Tather more heroio Than are ordinary folk If you take the "barrack'' lightly, And you treat it as a joke; But the atmosphoio's more sultry, And it hits you hot as—woll lou'ro certain to go backward, If you're head Lcgins to snell.. And, while ihe narrative is in this vein, bo pleased to listen to the story of the "Little Wondei." It has something to dc ■with the foregoing, and something to dc with training. Ho was a littlo half-back, and tho writer discovered him in a third fifteen tie had several good points, and one blight uig habit. Ne-voiUicless I put him in th< senior fifteen I happened to bo tiauiing. He played ono or two good games, and then tht /lsual piess exaggerations oveitook him. Lcl me see—what aid thej call him? "The Little Wonder," "The Lightning Half-Back," "The r Marvel of the Age," and , all that sorb oi thing. That killed liini.. The team scorec about 200 points that 'jear' and he threw - away another 200. When ho got his rep cap ho grew unbearable. Ho told us that th« 'game he was placing was good enough fo-i the reporters and the public, and ho wouk see us 'further -before" ho altoied it W< eaw then Jhttt he was past curing, and thai we should have to kill him; AVo held i mooting, and threw him out of the nrst fit teen, after which, as a junior placer, he wa, no longer el'giblo to plaj for tfie reps Th« we called the half-back from the second fif teen, told him that ue had decided t< give him the vacant position m place of tli< curient incapable. Also that he would h< allowed to keep the place so long as the usua poisons did not reach his head. # , And that is the first step in training Ge ■rid of "Wonders," "Marvels," "Trojans, , and so forth. The club humorist who per 6istently mistakes the training hall for i vaudeville show must go too. Also the dou Bort of Solomon who is alwajs saying: "Oh jo's all very well in theory, but it won't uorl iut ill practice." Also all fat men, lock men and others above 12st. or thereabouts. Then tho training ntity begin. It is simpli but sore. Six 4 dr eight 100 >a,rds haJidica] , olub races (without rests or intermissions) oi Wondaj muht. 'Same Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdaj each week of tho season. Loitj rtins, walks, oto,, only niako a team 'slow Handicap i aces—and the object of handicap ping is to make them BAci.s—gne speed a wclf as endurance. That was tho old-time training, but if on went into a hall and suggested it to tti moderns the impression would no j doubt b civen that the man who proposod it ,wa& no Suite sane. Still, if 'A, wore really canto \ ,

out a team would dovelop paoo, and a fast team is an interesting thing to contemplate nhothoriit is successful or not. And, on such a muddy slithersomo giound as marked tho Ponokc-Molroso match, thd men who had thoroughly carried such training out would havo things all their own way m the last stages of the game. As Mr. Jones set tho Poneke-Molroso match in motion on Saturday the note of his whistle recalled the formula at pugihstio ovents. "Mijd vorsus thirty, players—one to win! Box on!" Tho mud won, as it generally docs. But not altogether. It assailed Mitchinson as it assailed all tho players. To sec that wise and clever centre , gathering in tho ball with his hands (not against his jersey), was ono of tho sights of the match. It seems that some gleams of the old gamo still light tho modern darkness. , ; i Also there were some "Trojans"—not tho Biuuimttgem atticlo, but the real thing, j King, ono of the Melroso van, was about > the best forward on the ground. On the Ponoko side were Dennehy (a splendid worker), Tannahil], Gardiner, and about two 'morel , ■ ' Noticeable throughout the match were Mitchinson' and Gardiner wagging their arms like' semaphores to their side whenever Ponoke wore awarded a free-kick. A freekick, proporly 'understood, opens gilded op: portunitics for a sudden attack, and this, no doubt, was what Mitchinson and Gardiner wero after. Unfortunately tho modern freekick offers no opportunities for anything. Like the modern line-out ahd ,the modern scrum, it is merely a blessed haven of rest where tired men lean on other tired men, and pause till breath comes back. A funeral on the Kelburne Parade—embracing 1 another funoral—that is tho free-kick of to-day. Curious about this match were certain tries which were almost forces. Tho try scored by Gioeks was ono. That scored by Ryan, was even more noticeable. If the refereo had not given him that ono, Iβ would' have had some reason to complain. As it was, Mr. Jones ruled uniformly to tho muchdiscussed ruling given in tho Petone match by Mr. pard.' And it is a very lino thing to find reforeei with some concert of • It was very, fine, in the first spell of thia match, to watch tho crowd and the players reacting on each other. Molrose first supplied/pace. The crowd then supplied , cheers. And ohoers and pace acted and reacted until Molrose had worked up somo very fine footwork. But Poneke lasted best. ' Some of the players in the Athletic-Wel-lington match seemed inclined to "mis things,," and small pugilisms tended to bring on general roughness. A glaring offender was a „ Blue back, ' but tho reforee saw nothing of the incident. .Othorwise this player would rib doubt havo received suitable treatment from, tho official in charge. Before considering tho football of the contest 'it must bo mentioned that the "Wellington Selection Committee has at last given a "summing up" in regard to tho icnior fifteen' play this season, the result boing tljat tho I'cllow forwards, who have proved themselves a, hard-working pack to date, had the backing of three juniors in the rear division on this occasion, and it must lba said that the promoted ones— \Durie,''Treahy, and Power—made a.fairly creditable debut, The game was hotly contested all through, and Athletic have Evenson to thank in great measure for their win. , This player faced the v music with a bad knee, but, despite being so sorely handicapped, he mndo an oxcellent showing—in fact, he was tho best player on tho ground. Two other players who distinguished themselves for Athletic were Kivell and Murray, who were'always in tho van of things, and they accomplished a great deal,towards bringing their team out on top. j Denharn was an absentee from the Athletic team, and M'Lennan from the juniors filled the post of full-back creditably. Two Atlilotic* plajors—Richardson and G. "Wilson—who were hurt in the match against Hclrose have decided to retire for the rest of tho soason. i The "Wellington forwards played their usual solid game, and held their opponents in ,the serum and loose work. Can- (wing-three-quarter) was unlucky in not getting much to do for a great portion of tho game. When his services were most required—in the' first spell—he was on the'inactivo sido of things, and soldora handled the ball. In tho secohd spell, however, ho occasionally had work to do, and proved well equal to whatever came his way. ( , Durie—ono'of tho promoted juniors—played on the other wing to Carr, and displayed good defensivo form' and line-kicking. Ho should improve in present company. Malfroy deserves,a meed of praise for his work behind the scrum for "Wellington. He played with more confidence—probably the result of the change made in the personnel of his supports. A change will be effected in the "Wellington team to-day. Malfioy, who has filled tho position of half-back throughout the season, will go to five-eighths. Palmer will come up from the junior fifteen to take Malfroy's place, and Sellars will play fullback. D. Bridge resumes his place as wingforward* Old Boys, who had beaten Oriental in the first round, made an effort to repeat the performance- last, Saturday, and, in the first half of, the game, th'ey almost held their own against the "White and Black- team, but at no'stage did they look like winning. Chances camo thoir wjiy once or twice, but thero was no finish in their attack, and, of their backs, -Thomson and Dawson appeared to be the only two who know how a score should be attetnpted. Two backs in. a team are,'.however, scarcely sufficient. Old Boys' towards all played hard from tho commencement, but, in the majority of scrums, they were beaten for the ball, and this, of course, told heavily against them. The pace bet by tho Oriental backs was solid, and, towards tho close of' the game, Avory was the only forward, on the Old Boys' side that was in good enough training to keep near the ball. Had ho been backed up' in the loose rushes, the Oriental lino would have probably' been crossed. ' , On the Oriental side, Canod was a poor substitute, for Roberts behind-, the scrum, and he was -very tiied after tho' game had been in progress 10 minutes. M'Leod, at five-eighths, whs at his best, and some of his dashes through the Old Boys' backs wore very Tno lest of the backs were not worth much, excepting Kinvig, whoso linekicking was really good. Among tho forwards, Perry did good work on the wing, and made openings for tho backs on- eeveral occasions. None of the others stood out for good play. They i wero superiorvin the scrums, and, when their side had registered 3 points against Old Boys, they appeared to do thoroughly ■ contented. ' ' •Training will tolll It "told" eloquently in i the Southern-Petone contest. During tho first spoil Southern played as btrongly as , tho/'could. Their better-trained opponents i contented themselves with keeping a steady ■ pressure on them until the second spell had i fairly begun. The sequel—Petc-no 21, South- > em s—tells its own tale, viz., that Southern > can last only one spell. _ , 1 No team started the season with greater hopes than Southern. Beforo tho opening , match they prophesied long and optimistic- ' ally. Everybody knows what has happened. - And this is how Ono of them now puts the i position:—"Tho forwards tiained—in a way. r But the backs—well, there is not what you , could call a "star' among thorn. When the c forwards gain a good stretch, and the ball is returned to one of the hacks—ho mulls it, and we are 'as you was. . What I want to 3 know is why tho backe havo not tried to iiind prove -themselves?" - i A feature of the match between Petono and , Southern was M'Fa-rlane's plate-kicking. In » ,tho fiist spell ho was given two attempts to ! convert, but it was not suiprising that he - failed, seeing the condition of the turf' and s the ball. Dunng'the second half he enhanced all threo tries—lyliirh wits, in the circunie stances, a meritorious performance, e Of tho I'ctone backs, Green was sten to b advantage a number of times. None of tho t vangUuid ftoro more conspicuous than the J rcat. , ';

Prominent among the Southern forwards wore L. Campboll a,nd Leahy; Of the backs, Harris did a Jot of good work; -Galloway got amplo to do, but no was not always equal to tho occasion. .