ASSOCIATION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1126, 13 May 1911, Page 12

ASSOCIATION.

[Br .Centre-Half.] Position 'of Senior Teams. The following is a table showing the • positions of the seaior division Association teams:— . ■ •. '...- j _ £, a , j 2 . £ 3 $ Ramblers 3 30 11 5 6 Swifts 3 I) 0 10 . i\ 6 Wanderers 3 2 1 8 4) i Diamonds 3 2 1 C 3 i Thistle 3 2 1; 8 S 4 Hospital • 3 12 7 8 2 Rovers 3 1 2" 7 6' 2 Y.M.C.A. 3 12 4 8 2 St. John's..... 3 0 3 1 !) 0 Corinthians 3 0 S 1 13 0 A New Ball Described. Soccer players may b& interested in some particulars of a new football noncoming into prominence at Home. In fact, the new rule passed by th 6 F.A. was for the express purpose of allowing it to he tried. It is called the "Orb," and is the "creation" of Herbert Broomfield, at one time goalkeeper for Ulanchester United, and also secretary to the Players'

Union. It is made, of rubberised leather, and (as the makers sny), being moulded in one piece, it cannot get out of shape. It never gets heavier, being quite unaffected by wet or mud. There is n.o fear of concussion when heading it, the jarring effects being minimised by the cushion insido it, a novel departure. Being a perfect .simps its flight is always true. Keepers can get a grip of it in the wettest weather, and it floes not slither off the licot as a leather ball has • a habit of doing. It has been proved by : > tests to outlast three lentlier-cased bails. ,5 The colour is a light yellow, and, after a . wash, it returns fro its original hue. It 1 also retains its resiliency and life on the £ wettest day. 5 Ramblers—Rovers Match, Ramblers were quite three goals better s than Wanderers, and, if Hart and Wjl- . son can strike form early, the club ought > to about lop the lengue again. In this i. match the best ba'cl; on the ground was i Parsons. His clean work was much adI mired by the spectators. M'lnniss was t easily the bcs-t of Wanderers' halves. Ho - had .Edwards "thinking a lot" in the secC ond half. Excepting the outside men, the s for-wards were only moderate, but Powell - can play a better came. Webster had an s easy day. Forwards who combine will > give Cross and "Mac." some trouble. Jack.- . son was the bsst of the halves.. Johnson t was in great'form in the first half—in j -«ct, his work was ns good as we have seen ! here, but it was just as bad in the sec- ! ond spell. Hart and Wilson are fine big t men who are expected to complete the . bsst forward line.in the league. v Eamblers i aye certainly fortunate"in.having men like Coward, who are 'content to be reserves. Edwards's centring was erratic at times. He shoots too often for an outside man. i Hospital—Rovers Game, j Tor this match Hospital rearranged the ; forward line', Phillips moring. to outside ' left, and Tyrer.being introduced as inside : to him. This change had a marked influJ ence on the play, as tjio forwards, disif carding their usual "three-inside" game, swung the ball from wing to wing in h '. style that produced the result hoped for, all four goals being the direct outcome of ■ the different methods adopted. ; The first goal was the best of the day, . and one 9f the prettiest seen, for some '. time. Elliot saw his left-wing uncovered, and so he.promptly swung the ball over to Tyrer, whj parted at once to Phillips. The latter, without hesitation, centred into coal. Tyrer having veered tijwariis. the centre met it and,' with a deft twist of his head, turned it over the fullback's head, ran round him, and nodded it past the keeper and, to. make matters sure, placed the ball into the back of the net,- Kowtui vainly endeavouring to stay his progress. Tyrer was in great form, doing the "hat trick," and, by his quick following up, kept Duignan and Martin on tenterhooks. Gibson was a lower of strength to his side on Saturday, practically doing two men s work. His penalty goal was a beauty. He should, however, refrain from lus habit of handling-usually on the referees blind side. It will got him into trouble, and it is also unsportsmanlike. A Hint to Swifts' Halves. In tho Swifts-St. John's match (at Miramar) tho standard was nof good, but .St. John's showed at times what thev cu.uld do when pns.ht.-d. Although they were W.teu, they were by no means disgraced urn!, in their matqh against Mental Hospital to-day, should , do much better than in. tho first three games of- tho season. Tor tho winners Roberts, although being tho best player in tho forward line, did not play up to his usual form. Mathieson played a useful game for iis side. Tho halves all worked hard, the work of braves, at centre, again being the outstanding feature. Pyc-Smith- and Wilson worked well together at full-back, especially tho former. Walls, in goal for St. John's, did well, and saved splendidly on occasions. Shaw was undoubtedly the best half on tho field and, of the forwards, Gosncy, Dick, and Bensen were of most service 'to their side. Swifts' halres, when attacking, should keep closer to their forwards, and tho fat-wards in turn should go back and assist their.Jialyps. ,is defending, instead.of apparently getting "that tired feeling" nnd lying off-side until the ball comes to them. Diamonds—Rovers. Bennett-, in goal for Diamonds, had very little to. do on ' Saturday. Koberts plnyed well hi the second spell, but mot a lartar in Smith in the first half. Tiarlictt played a useful game, but Joo Taylor, c-ontro half, is .but a shadow of his former self. A. Lowo arid Black were the pick of the forwards., Wilton, who played for Mental Hospital last season, doniie:l the black jersey for the first, time. He. teems inclined to l>? too, deliberate. Williams (an Auckland junior) lacks exwerience and shooting capacity. For Y.M.C.A., Hollis, in goal, was 'inclined w be carelrjs, and tho first goal should certainly have been saved. He, however, mado some .splendid clcarauees. Coato was the best full-back, and more will bo beard of him. Jardino was tho pick of tho halves. Shaw being weak.. Smith (outside left) stood out jimninently and, with a good inside man to feed him, would bo tho most dangerous man in this position hero. Ho lias speed, dash, and woir-lit (which he is not afraid to use—as Peter Roberts can verify). Pliillips worked hard, and is always a trier. Hall-Kenney would, bo more effoctivo oii the wing. The f?ame was contested in a sportsmanlike spirit. Concerning Wednesday Football. Are w.e going to' havn Wednesday football ? That is the questipn which is stirring tho minds of many. Until the ballot, was taken to ascertain what day was to be the cnneral half-holiday, nothing could be done in the matter." But since the question has been settled it behoves those in chargo to be up and doing. The material is here and all that is wanted is a start -n-ith matehes. Lest Wednesday a six-aside tournament was held, and six teams entered, one club alone putting in three teams. Speaking to a prominent Wednesday man last week, "Cen-tre-Half" lenrned that there was every chance of four teams entering for the competition, and that the two city grounds—Basin Reserve and Kelburne Park—were the likely' locale on which tho games will'be playod. An' Evil Habit. -Off-side play broke up any promising attempts in the match between Corin■thians and Thistle. Both sides were ofSenders, Corinthians, if anything, being the more frequent. Thistle's first goal was much disputed by "spectators and some players, who were cenfident in their assertions. It looked to the. writer a questionable goal, but, whether it was so or not, players will not gain by disputing a decision, for the game still proceeds, and, while they are letting their feelings have play, rt often happens that otkor goals are "scored against them to which no exception can be taken. Players have their, remedy if they are not satisfied, and that remedy eertainly is not a protracted bickering on the field. It is also well to remomber that a player in a team is unconsciously looking at the gamo from the one standpoint. It was unfortunate that the goal was open to argument, for the moral effect on Corinthians seemed to put them off their game. Quiet Criticism. Thistle showed more combination than their opponents, and, what was an even more valuable adjunct, they knew each other better. This, more than anything, won them' the game. But, on Saturday's play, ithere would appear to bo dark days ahead for Thistle, for their showing was far from what many anticipated. Perhaps they took their opponents as "a soft snip," but that summing up of an enemy has time and again brought good teams to the dust, and is a rather dangerous habit for a team to get into. Ash was not worrying himSfilf v.ery much on Saturday, and, unless the ball were placed quite to his liking, hfe did not seem to trouble to obtain possession. He is very capabl6 when he gets the ball, but heneeds to realifo more that, unless ho has the leather, all his capability is useless. Hall played solidly, and Simpson was generally handy to "do things" when called on. Of tho half line, Birss was helpful, though he would benefit by feeding the outsides more. The goal-keeping of M'Ardle was s6und, and his judgment at times in getting the ball out of the Thistle danger zone was creditable. Material Ranting Fashioning. Turning to the Corinthians, who have not found their true form yet, one was sora; that they were without Hoots at

centre-half. He is said to be returning to the ranks, though, and, with inoro regard to combination, the team should yet be a thorn in the side of many teams. Ives, who is a recent arrival, and who has played the game in the past, is a sound centre-forward, and it would bo well for the other forwards to learn to kuow his play. With him as pivot the machine should make an effective weapon of atlacl;. Corinthians' halves kicked with lack of judgment, and, consequently, the kicks often were of more advantage to their opponents than to their own forward?. Four goals worn registered against Cattail, who, however, was able to keep many shots out. Probably the brightest ray in Hie dull proceedings was the fine "save" which Cattail made just before the first spell ended. . Those Benevolent Targets. Breaches of the rules, when many are committed, certainly make a game dull, but players break the rules, not the referee, so why should one hear from players that it would have been a better game if there had been some other referee? It founded poor argument, for it is plain the players mate or mar a game infinitely more than a fully-qualified referee, though he may make a mistake or two unconsciously. Teams would find games faster and more enjoyable if they would realise that a referee is not some mythical monster with evil intent, but simply a guardian of the game. General Club Notes. The Hospital Club have been singularly fortunate in their full-backs from the commencement, and in Wallis, who plays left-back, they possess a worthy successor to former defenders. His play has been consistent, and is marked by determined tackling and fine returns, the ball, kicked without seeming effort, travelling low and in a bee-line to his forwards, in direct contrast to the ballooning clearances of most backs. He was much the best back on view on Saturday. A new arrival from , the Old Country is quite enthusiastic over the class of football served up here. He was greatly surprised at the good play shown by some of our locals, and considers that Qur best here is quite good enough for English ' second division. Mr. "Bob" M'Kay may Rovers and Hospital play in'shirts of the same colour, and a difficulty arosa over this fact on Saturday last. However, Porirua Rugby F.C. kindly offered Hospital their tricolour jerseys, an act of sportsmanship much appreciated, especially as they seemed to , bring luck in the shape of the first League points in the senior championship. The writer is of opinion that IJovers, with a full team, will extend la<t year's premiers at Kelburno Park to<]ay. Boslier, a lad playing for Y.M.C.A. Fourth Division team, is credited with putting in a high lobbing shot from hnlfway. Thompson, on the right, and Pearce. on the loft-inng, V ayod excellent football for \M C.A. "Fourths" on Saturday, and would have done credit to higher grade teams. " held at the lung's Theatre. Half the proceeds are to be handed over to the i\t«;t °. nc , of , thc ,fenior games for nextSaturday is to be taken and reproduced Ti ' it C lww ll enins in question. II is thought that the match between RambWs and S.wifts on tho Basin Reservo will be the one selected