FOOTBALL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 894, 13 August 1910, Page 12

FOOTBALL.

■'■■.- ..RUGBY- ... ,' '■;."; I ;".;:':■ ■. Ctii Aristobbmm.J . ... I / .THE LOWER GRADE CONTESTS. |: : ■•■'■■.'■ POSITION 03? TEAMS; J :.-'Now that. the championship matches j , ':.are drawing to a close,' the positions of [:.. .teams are worth noting.• .Prom i:- : :;wcek to week,' the state' of the. senior championship has been shown in'tabu-v-'iated form, and it now remains.to state :' ': the positions, of the various teams in '■-.the- lower, grade contests. The follow- -;' ing, tables 6how how the'Jclubs have • ' ; V-'fared:— .;-,/;■,;;■ ~.■-.. •'.-,•; y/\ -.;•;>: ;\ - ,-■ •;.;> ;: Junior Championship.- ■' ; > ■'•' v .'-■'.■•>.■ f" ■'i ..' -.-■■ ■ •'.' rg "" - ' a Bin' ;>:':■■-Mm. ;',■;■;■ Jv/g-:\tr'§J|; &'■":■ :•-."■:■;;;■ '" ,'-S ■■'?. ■■• 3 . AOP4, ._..'.........■ 12 .10". 0. 2.22 •Oriental .....12 D' 2 1 19 ■ Selwyn,; ..;..;... 10.... 8 . 2 1 ;17 :■':.'St. James- ...... 10 ■■-..■ -7. 2.1 .15 'Wellington,. ;;,;..... 11l 6: 4 0 12- :■■-: Athletic .......'........ If 4 6 1 9 'r; Vic. College • ■■;....„.. 10 - i -5, 1 ■ --9- : ... St. John. ........:...■ 10 ,' 4:. 6 0:8 ¥'.'. Melrose". ............... 11 i: -.1 ' 0. 8 : :: Old-Boys ............ 11 . 2 7 2 4 ¥: Southern '' >.... IV .-0 .10 1 . 1 fe'iThird 'Class. ' .'.' "'■',', , - '. f^Well.- , College. .......5 5 0L- 0 10 b'.' PetoneT ..:....- 5 . i 0:. 1 9 N : - Oriental- ;„.....;..:.' 5 4 '-. ! 0" I , '9 [■ -Porirua. ..............; 5 i I.' 0-8 ■/..Poneke:; 5 3 1.1, .7 [•- -Southern ....: .4 3 1! -0 ': 6 I'-. KaroriX ,5 -2>. 0' 1 -5 1/ Wellington' .....V 4 \2 ■ -2| ( 0 4 f'-;.'-St.--'■ Patrick's .:. 2 2...1'- 0. : i. P- AthletioV. :v....V 3 :.-V 2 02 V ",-': Johnsohville .;....... 5 14.0.-2 ■ .<St: John; .......... v ..v 5; 1 -■; 4- .0 2 ■'--'-' Selwyn. ...........'.... 5 14 0 •- ■;;.;..;--.yictoria- College ... ■* 0 4, 0 •'" 0 :' FourthvClass.- . ~ _ : , .".,. ... ;.- ft Petone^■■ .^.......;...10. .9.: 1 ■'. 0 18. /V;Southern '... ..10' .8 1 1 ,17 W-: Oriental: "A" ........ 9 v 7 ,1. . 1 -..IS f '% OrientaV "B" ;10 7. 3 0-14 R; : Old Boys: /;.... 7 : 5 ',-1: 1■; 11 p,St. James. !) '. 5 4; 0 10 :'■ Athletic- .- 9, 4; 4 ,1 -9 : Poneke- ...... ....... 10 .3 7 0 6 .". Victoria College -.:. .9 3. 6 0 6 ■;-. Selwyn < .V. 8 3~; 5 - 0-6 ;;-Johnsonyille' ......... 9 [2-\ 7. 0 4 "Hutt. , .............V 8 1 7 °■' ' 2 i; John, ..: :.!..- 10 0 10.'. 0 ; 0 ■;" Fifth :C!ass; : ;-: ■,-.•■ -^ ; •■'.:■' I'h 'li.'vi '. 0.22 E-Athlete ::.......:..V.1O;. 9 1 . 0 ,18 /■■Well. .'College "A".;. 10 ' 7v 3 0 14 V. .;....... It -2 •"; :8, 1 .. S ::>.. Southern .:' ::.'. .12: 1 .S'-'S-S: :,;v Well.-College; "&'...■;.T'-\lS ;s,_ X ;.}. r ' ; ( Petonß Cjiib's; Record. - -\ ■ ■ ■;■ ■'■"■' • -:; : For-some years now- the-Petone Tpot-li-Vlall- Club has occupied a prominent posi- ! tion in all* the championship contests, and P ■'■'' ono season they, headed the lists in all five; t' : --' : grades'. This season.they have not. done fc ?v quite eo'well, ! but nevertheless their re-, f: '■/cord is one to be.proud of. At this stage |:t : they are leading in the juniors, fourth I."-.'and fifth grades, second in the third |;<..ißrade,;'and: fourth in the senior, chain'-. f : :;; ; >pionshipi:.'. ''.. ;; . /'■ ' :'. . "'-.

1-" (fThe , Oriental Quartet. ' : F '■< The feature of the: Oriental-St. James pj- .'match last Saturday, was the-marvellous' i-';v ; precision with" which,the, Oriental half, [,■' -inside and outside five-eighths, and cen- :■:"' ftre: three-quarter handled'the ball, Hob,l, erte, Jlleod,:, Kinvig, and Sturrock—. ','--. ,; : these are the names-rscaroely made a mis- !. ■■i' , tako in-handling the'ball, and-their crisp -. v-: play :was all the more prominent:because :' '.' the wing-"three-quarters, Matheson and ; ' Pyle, both-looked very' awkward every :, time.they got hold of the leather. At '"'-' : . ,-the.'present time- Roberts and. the.three ■'.'-.men immediately:behind him are in fine !■- .'form, and if the ground is dry at Athletic iv Park to-day.some bright play should be ■: : - seen in the Oriental-Poneke game.

Not Represented. ■;' ;..- .. -. ...:/:.-" :■■'■. F , Wellington, Melrose, Southern and Hutt Clubs are not-represented in either of the feame selected-' to tour. Had M'Kollar ; :' to go to : Auckland he would .' probably.have been drawnrirom the Wel- '.'.- -lington Club, ,but apparently Melrose, .' Southern, and Hiitt have no player good ;" enough- for, a .representative team. .-. The '■opinion has been expressed that .it' would >:be a>good thing for city football if the ? ■ .selectors stretched a point to. have every ■-•.:■". club, represented by at least one man in :■ ■ the B team. The writer offers no cpm- ' .■■.ment.'but merely voices, the opinion. •'■' There appears to have been some surprise '■■'■'. caused by the omission of Tannahill's - <Hutt): name'from, the team chosen for •>'.,. Marlborough. .. .'■ > ... .■ Bradley,-who played some good games \ for St.' James early in the season, appears '.'■■'' to have gone right off during the past ■■•■ three--weeks, and in tho match against ''Oriental last Saturday there was nothing -I' l , .in his play to recall tho Bradley of two ■;. months.ago. Perhaps :lv would- have re- •■■'.-■ form had hirtaken a spell for a ■ v week when the season was' half-way ■ . through, but it is possible that, the ':■'■■■-■ changes that have taken.'place in tho.St.. '. ; James, back division have broken the combination and prevented Bradley's star from, shining. Anyhow, it is to be hoped v . tnat'ithis promising player will strike : -form , again, if not this season, then tho ';'•■" next,. : ■ ■ ■ ■•••, Mixing the Names, .'-■(■; Both of our contemporaries seem to bo ■■■'■;eqrely puzzled to distinguish one Wilson frbm another in the Athletic team. The -.-'. following little piece from the "Post" is :; quite exciting, but it loses some value '■■.■'■■'.■ when it is known that the wrong Wilson ■ is named:—"After a spell of hard tussling . . iu the mud, in which- neither side had much the advantage, tho bait came clear .-:' out from Mitchinson. to Prcndevillc,-who ":• eet but to run from the half-way, down : : the line. Ho-was unmarked. Tho.path .-,'■ was 'open, and a/1. the stand : rose to see the race, for Sim Wilson was converging : on nim from the centre, For atiine they Tan level, the crowd almost silent waiting the result.- The rest of the players looked on. 'It seemed quite a loiig wait. PrendeTille looked over his shoulder, and lost • the .'try by that much. .'Wilson caught . nim by tho legs, and Prendeville fell less than a yard short of the line. . It was tho . most exciting incident of a strenuous :" game." If the Kugby Union selectors got in the same tangles as our contemporarr : '-.' ies, it is pi'obalilo that W. Wilson would never havo been chosen for the B repre- '. sentatives. The Uses of Adversity. ■•■ ' A greasy ball and a slippery ground did not prevent the Old Boys and College . ■ teams pntting up an interesting display • . . CD Saturday last. The game was one of . : ; surprises. A crumbling up of the College /•;'■• team would have followed in natural suc- : cession on their opening display, but they geemey to improve under the spur of ' adversity. From the time.when DW Boj» ■-, scored their first and only try, the Col- - leze team showed a steady improvement 5 v in general -play," although individuals | in their ranks continued to make mistakes inniiraerable. Their backs at times went •■'-■ down with painful ease, and several times - lost \ground, instead. of gaining it, in kicking for the line.: But through it all a plucky foTward pack struggled gamely, and not altocether in .vain. Old Boys ' were a "settled" team long ere the call of time sounded. No doubt they were .over-confident at the outset, and expended the:nselves in early dash. As the gaino progressed they still spurted at tunes, : : and now ; and then a dribbling rush looked dangerous, but in spite of. ull tßoy could ■; - do they were gradually but surely reduced .: : 10. almost total helplessness. They were Y-: lucky to emerge .top-scorers.

Hutt and Petohe, - \ .'.- .The match played,between the suburban' teams on , Saturday was a vast improvement on/past performances. Petono played''a fast game .'throughout, their passing- being distinctly finished, up to the time that rain fell and made handling difficult.:,,Hutt did not'/liaye;their strongest team, but they made a 'gallant stand, and deserved praise for ; their deadly tackling. ■ Their forwards worked like Trojans, but lacked condition. Turner was the best forward on the Hutt side; he led all the time. M'Gurk, wing forward, did some fine tackling, and shows an excellent. turn of speed. Cudby is very safe; and he judges his lme- • kicks-well.-Eoutley and Logan were also conspicuous. Col-son, Petcne centre threequarter, :is improving in his play, and was a factor in most of the good work of liis'side.'Jas. Ryan was safety itselt, but did not quite fill the bill as connecting link. He was a little bit inclined to ignore the presence of the remaining backs . To.Nuun, the half-back, must be •given'the'credit of a lot of'rush-stop-' ping:. :MTa'rlane and Prouse were thebest of Petone's-good,set of forwards. : A. Football; Family. , ; ~ ' .... - ; . .Judging ;by. the accounts .of the. match; Christ's College v.'Ohgo High School pearing in the Canterbury papers, a very fine'game seems to have been' played by R.OShea'of the latter .team...o Shea isa brother of Mr. J, O'Shea, City Solicitor Wellington, who represented Otago against Wellington and other provinces in 1897-98, and was in his time-a fast attacking cc'ntre-tbree-iiu'arter; He was ' also well-known-in Otago cricket, both as batsman .and bowler. : Meeting of Wellington Reps, , '"Mixed" is hardly the word for what happened at the Athletic Hall on Thursday evening. The A and B representative teams assembled by order of the selectors, and the business before the meeting -was to endeavour to pack a,scrum. After trying it for more '.than an hour, the job had to be. left unfinished. Messrs. Gallagher and H. D. Thomson, of the -Selection Committee, were prose.it, and Mr. Gallagher, assisted by "Fred"Roberts, worked really hard to-get things shipshape. But it was not fo be. For the first twenty minutes or-so-the'-B/;forwards rushed the A nienWibrut just as they pleased.' There were-deliberations and trials of this' and that, but things got no better. Halfway through; it was tound out that a St. James man,-who is also an A man, is apparently untetored in scrum work, and could not 1 acfc •in -, rightly at all. He was spoken lo and shown, but shaped no better. Then the selectors took 'him out of the pack -and led him round the scrum to watch hbiv the B men packed, and copy them. But he could not copy them apparently, and the A packing remained* as bad as i before. He was not the only ■ A forward discovered to be in need'of tutoring, and, as the tutoriug thai was given apparently produced no effect, the B's just continued pushing the. ill-assorted A jumble about. After an hour and- ten minutes, the selectors called a halt: The end was chaos. How Slow England Is! . y.Queensland has growu'-tired-'ofvwaiting' .for the/International,Board in England to make-alterations, and,- at a', special meeting of the"Rugby Union,. the .\delegates. took matters in their ..own ■ hands by -amending the laws of the game: They considered the frequent kicking into touch 'was'thiT greatest", blot : on , ,the game, and amended the rule' to' such an extent that a penalty'is given , against the offending side. The'alteration reads: "That, in the .event :pf;.the ball .alighting' directly in touch, except from a penalty kick, a free kick shall be awarded to the side opposite to that last touching it,' at.',a snot five yards from the point - where the ball crossed, and at right angles to the touchline." The Queenslanders have also decided that in the event'of a player knock-ing-on-and catching-the ..ball before it touches the ground, no action shall b« taken by the referee. Or, in other words, the game is to be allowed to go on. It is not likely, opines "Pull-Back"- in the "Otago ■Witness,". that the '"Now South Wales or New Zealand unions will follow Queensland's example.,

A Maori' footballer. got a big shock in a match played at Eotorna a few days ago. Amongst the spectators, was a large and'fierce bulklog, evidently a partisan of the other side,: for when Jimmy Kumara was <loing his little best in the scrum the animal took- a hand, or rather a leg. It fastened on to the Maori's well-fatted call. Jimmy was so engrossed' in" the game that he imagined an opponent had him by the leg. He .yelled: "How's this for obstruction, .referee?" at. tho same time kicking out viciously in .the, direction ..of.' the supposed opponent. When h$ emerged from the scrum'and found that his assailant was a dog the look of consternation on his brown face was worth photographing. It brought him, at anyrate,' a round of ap-plause.7-"OUgo Witness." '