FOOTBALL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1150, 10 June 1911, Page 12

FOOTBALL.

—. —$ ' RUGBY. [Bi Aeistobulus.] The Star Encounter. In tlio Saturday night discussion on <tho St. James-Athletic match, what is commonly known as "Rapson's try" was & ■niuclw'.eliated point. All the discussion in tlio world could not, however, make any difference to the result ,of the match, foT the referee's decision on' the - matter ecttlcd the question at tho time, and it must be added that, no matter what, occupants of tho stand thought of the matter, 'Mr. Roberts, whoso lengthy experience and expert knowledge of the game place him almostbeyond criticism, gave his decision promptly and confidently. He ruled that Rapson knocked the ball on, and that he was off-sido when he did so, and on the advantage rulo St. James se-. cured a force-down in preference to a free-kick-near the line.- - — "

• ! Apart , altogether from this .particular inoident, it must bo conceded that, on the day's play, tho: Athletic, team was most unlucky to lose. Weak goaltickings and ' over-anxiety"''af ' critical stages .were responsible for' their defeat. 1 Prior to the match the majority, of peoplo were of opinion that St.'James .would win easily. How comes it, then, that they sd narrowly escaped defeat? Principally, perhaps, because they were without , two of their usual forwards in Manning.and AVright, who wero replaced by weaker men. Ivitto did well enough oil the wing, but Hope and' Chcrnside wore not up to the usual'standard of St. James scrummers, and Donaldson and King received minor injuries during the game.that prevented them from showing their best form. Then the backs showed a weakness in not making enough use of their wing-tlirce-quarters. This was especially the case with Cook., who had to make nearly all his own chances. W. Crowes, at centre-three-quarter, might weir make an effort to get the ball away to the wings a little sooner.. In general, Crewes did good work 011 Saturday, but, in the passing rushes, ho was always apt to crowd the Wing-three-quarter on the line before passing. Reverting to tho Athletic team, reference must first be made to the excellent form displayed by A. Wilson, who had always somo point in reserve with which to trick his opponents. His habit of breaking away from the scrum, and getting among ' tho opposing backs, was a method of attack which St.- James had difficulty _in countering. Wilson led practically all the forward rushes, and was well supported by Rapson, Irvine, Cunningham, and Levies, while Murray, on the wing, played a good game.

Evenson stood out by himself among the Athletic backs. lie mado a lot of openings, and his line-kicking was wonderfully good, but, like S. Wilson, ho failed badly with some easy place-kicks. On tho St. James sifle, one back and one forward singled themselves out by ■ tlio excellence of their play. Tho reference is to E. Roberts and'Moffitt respectively. Roberts tried numerous schemes of attack in the first spell, and tried very hard to bring his wing-three-quarters into action, and it was no. fault of his . that success did not attend his efforts. The single try scored by his side was the outcome of clever work by him, and : wh . c ?. fl™-' to .defence, the little man excelled ■ himself. He seemed to anticiofthe attack... and, time . and again, when a/kick from the Athletic side appeared to be dropping into a blank space, a little form would flit by, the : ball would drop into his arms, and be shot to touch. It was almost invariably that one man-E. Roberts. . What can be said'of Moffitt that has not previously been said? Throughout the game he was the conspicuous figure among tho winners' forwards, and he headed many a rush. Besides this ho made K5 D X^^t^s^ ported as he usually is, St. James miX "" k *mi" Oriental's Picnic. • fart that Hia T' aS i sht5 ht and cI6TCT - The w • A t " possibilities, but did aot in the least disturb tho probabilities ™ m any Ts' , all shortcomings wore for by the back play of the rOriental representatives. These backs .were not seriously interrupted in their •business, but, nevertheless, their work ,was absolutely first-class, and their perfe nC °- <>n the field reflected. exeelFent Gaining , n the "gym." The Oriental team Twn set , of 1 backs hl Ellington. •viAvl e° a ls.during tho match protthlfiT«W dlTersi c Oll - , dropped vnrrla +' <? m a a COUple of ? Slde line - It was ia beauty. MLeod .-was responsible for [the second. He had > been removed from : lis five-eighths position to. full-back on (account of a temporary hurt. While he I was standing amidfield, about 40 .yards '■iwS? 1 S 0 > U 17as . P«ntcd to < : . took it, but was hesitating (apparently) as to what to do, when some- | on&-~someono o& the line, of course—sueIgested: Havoa pot, Mac!", "Mac" measured the distance, thought about it, and then let go. The result was that, in one Iwild moment, "Mac" qualified as an ex)P, long-range drop-kick. Incidentally, fiJso, Oriental scored four points. fiThe Wellington Team, 'Wellington played with fourteen men jni'the first spell, and, of that number, ften were seniors. At half-time they made pnquines at an adjacent ground, and dis•covered that a fourth-class team wearing /their colours wero leading in a match by an "innumerable" total. Said the seniors: irn, u^ can ,'! : ■' osc ' Give us your best man!" j.lhe fourths agreed, and a stripling was (transferred and played wing-forward jHowcver, the second spell was not old ;yhe>n a. Wellingtonian was carried off the tfield injured, so tho complement of the ; wearers of tho amber and black was again down to fourteen. Wellington's tackling was a feature that forced itself under notice. It was very ■erratic. Somo of it was deadly, and a .treat to see; some of it was amorous, and made one ill. Tho trainer of the Wellington, team claims that, with ono exception, they are all very fit, as tlio result of serious physical exercising. Tho exception is said to be Bridge, and, curiously, perhaps unfortunately, he is one of -.the best backs in tho team. Notwithstanding that, if it is a fact that Bridge does not train, he should bo immediately side-tracked, and left there until ho does train. A Subject of Comment. A subject of comment in town is the lenient treatment extended by tlio Wellington Rugby Union to several players recently ordered off the field for striking opponents. Tho general opinion is that, - if a player is guilty of striking an apponcnt, ho should be severely dealt with, but that, if he is innocent, the Rugby Union should say so, and let' him go. Half-measures are unsatisfactory. On Wednesday last the heart of tho Rugby Union Committee seemed to be overflowing with mercy. They let go two players who ha<l been ordered off, and forwarded a recommendation to tho Now Zealand Union for the remission of the remainder of the sentonco passed on another player and, at tho same time, they expressed confidence in tho referees who had ordored these players off. This expression of opinion may net as a necessary palliative to tho referees concerned, but it will not assist them to make the game clean. Tlio one member of tho Rugby Union who disagreed with tho extending of such lenient treatment was Mr. Hardham, who |

ORTS AND OTHER PASTIMES,

considered that (when players wero deemed guilty of striking an opponent) exemplary punishment should bo administered. Doubtless Mr. Hardham was struck by I'hc fact that the referees, who appeared before tlio committee, wero most emphatic in their assertions that blows wero struck. In 0110 ease a player was used'"both left' and right," and,' in another case, a player (so tho refcreo sfiid) abandoned ;all idea of playing football and "simply acted as a battering ram for his side," and that after being once cautioned during I'hc match. In view of all this, one wonders what the New Zealand Union will do when they rcceivo that' application, for a remission Of disqualification forwarded on with the favourable recommendation of the Wellington Union. But, perhaps, by this time, the New Zealand Union may . have forgotten all the original circumstances of that disqualification. Still, it i 9 wonderful to think that tho Wellington Union could have added that favourable recommendation without' a blush. The Times We Live In. It appears as ?'f it will tako a long time to make certain sections of local football crowds understand that', if they desire to leavo Athlctic Park before the conclusion of matches, they should not inconvenience othor spectators bv walking along in front of- the stand, . while, there is another way out. Officials of tho Rugby Union appear to be doing their .best to'stop this practice,' but it seems an impossible task for them unless they provide some further means of exit at the tack;of the stand. .The one cntranco would still suffice but, if there wero doors at tho centre and south end of the stand to bo thrown open towards tho end of play, occupants of the stand would leavo by way of them instead of attempting to pass along the front. The work of arranging these exits should not. be expensive, and it appears to be well worth a trial. ' Trainers Who Talk. Trainers who direct their team from tho side line are likely to .be very annoying to -.the players. There is in the city a trainer whose.work 011 behalf of a certain club is praiseworthy. But tho trainer follows tho club to its matches, and, from titno to time, during tho progress of the games, tells the players what to do. Imagine yourself standing near the line, not far from the spectators, waiting to receive the ball which is falling from tho vicinity of the moon, whither it has been punted by the champion booster of the other side. YOll have your eye riveted to tho falling sphere; as it gets nearer you see that it is wobbling, and has a tendency to swerve; you' hear the thunder of tho other team's forwards; and at this critical moment an excitable trainer rushes up yelling. "Take it! Take it! takit. takit, tutut, tut-tut-tut-tut-tut takit." That's what happened to a player on Saturday. It is not an isolated case; it is an instance. A Remark or Two. , The match. Melrose v. Southern is turned down without further mention. All the usual string of heroes who played well "under adverse circumstances' are held over until this day next year. Southern seem to be training, but it is questionable whether one or two rather favourable press notices liavo not damaged them. They generally do. As for Melrose—Ugh! ' . Firmly, though respectfully, it has also been decided to say as little as possible about Old Boys, oven though they did draw with Poneke. They ari obviously too spasmodic about their training to begin handing out laurel crowns to them —yet. We will wait and hopo that, peradventure tho present spasm of activity may last a little longer than has been the case in days of yore. VPoneke, too, shall bo hung np. For style, this is probably our prettiest team, and, at their best, tliey are worth watching. But, how often aro they at their best? Once in 'three Saturdays. Between the sort of team that, they might easily be, and the sort of team which they aro unhappily content to be, there is a great gulf indeed. Tho affair between Potone and College was pure mathematics,, and not very complicated mathematics either. You did not Tcqniro to indulge in any hot pursuit of "X" through wild flights of algebraic symbols, you did not require any cosines, cosecants, tangents, logarithms, summation of sencs, or doctrine of probability —you just kept adding all the time. Or, rather, Petono did. Lively times at Broken Hill are reported in the Sydney "Bulletin":—"As a variant on the eternal squabbles between football players and club officials, the Umpires' Association of Broken Hill has now got talking, and has notified tho local association that, if fee 3 are not increased from 305., 10s. and ss. for central, boundary, and goal umpires to 405., 20s„ and 15s. respectively, it will strike. The-er-employers have offered half the increase demanded; but the umpires, _ being all good unionists, have rejected it, and at present there is every appearance of the games having to be played without umpires from the first of this month. In which case those games WILL be worth watching. ASSOCIATION. [By Centre-Half.] INTERESTING CONTROVERSY. The positions of the teams in tho First Division championship are as follow-.— ri ■ ,0 -u V a 13 m ? • . fe • ■ vj a z! do "8 ? ■'"S ? .5 r 1 t> 0 X o to 3 „ ... f- >-! P U Swifts ... 7 G 1 0 21 10 12 Ramblers 7 5 1 1 22 12 11 Hospital 7 5 2 0 21 13 10 Thistle ... 7 5 2 0 17 8 , 10 Diamonds 7 i 2 1 »i 13 9 Y.M.C.A. 7 3 i 0 10 13 G Rovers ... 7 3 4 0 13 10 6 .Wanderers 7 2 5 0 14 1G i St. John's 7 1 G 0 11 21 2 Corinthn's 7 0 7 0 i 35 0 Charging an Opponent. Tho paragraph in last week's notes referring to nn incident in x First Division match in Duncdin has been the cause of comment and, if tho facts aro as stated, it appears to bo a weird interpretation of the laws of the game-by the referee, for in his version' of tho facts ho cleaTly exonerates the player from an "intentional" breach of tho law. He says: "In my judgment tho offenco seemed to have been committed through ignorance, and not done deliberately." Mark well tho last sentence! Ho had ordered the player off for, as ho in his judgment denned it, "dangerous play," which was "not dono deliberately." Turning to the laws of the game, Pago 16, Law 9, instructions to referees, reads as follows:—"Note the important fact that it is tho INTENTIONAL breach of law which must bo punished." If, as tho referee says, tho offence was "not dono deliberately," i.0., INTENTIONALLY, how does 110 explain his clear maladministration of the law by penalising tho player when the law enjoins him not to do so. He stands self-condemned when ho states that ho ordered tho player off for dangerous ploy, for, on pago 21, tho law distinctly says: "Where ho considers the conduct of a player 'dangerous,' or likely to causo injury, he MUST award a freolcick." In doing so ho MUST caution tho offender, and if the offenco is REPEATED, order him off. So therefore the offence, not being intentional, MUST not be punished, and, logically, cannot bo a cause for ordering the player off, on the referee's own statement of tho facts. This official goes on to say that players hero do not seem to understand that they aro not justified in charging a man whether he has the ball or not. Trulv a remarkable dictum, which, however, docs not hold water. "Charging is permissible, but it must not bo violent or dangerous" (Law 9). Is that clcar onough to our worthy but untutored southern enthusiasts? And will the man responsible for tho above marvellous opinion still hold his ground against tho written law? It is a matter of common knowledge that referees at Home were going too far

in their endeavours to put down rough play by penalising perfectly honest charging, which is the salt of football, or any game worth tho name. So much so that the F.A. wero forced to issue instructions to referees to discontinue this particularly extreme interpretation of tho law, pointing out that tho laws are sufficiently drastic enough (if acted upon with due discretion) lo put a stop to unfair and brutal tactics. 'Tis a Fine Word That—"Discretion." ,'Tis a fine word that—"discretion." A pity it cannot be supplied in tabloid form. What a rush there would be oil Saturdays by the "Gentlemen of the Whistle" to secure nn adequate supply. Fortunately, there are exceptions, even in Wellington.' The unfortunate player in question was further ordered to be put on the "cautioned" list—another injustice—and. lovers of fair play who desire to see the laws administered in the true spirit of the s|>ort, should move to see tho player righted. A glaring caso such as this should certainly be taken notice of by the New Zealand Referees' Association, or else what redress have the players when a referee, ignoring tho rules, proceeds to control tho players according to his own particular notions. It is very pleasant to note in this respect tho very efficient class of referees' who compose tho local association, and players aro at any rate fairly safo from such inexcusable decisions as Ihoso under notice. Mr. Fordham Replies. • The following letter is from Mr. Fordham. He states:— Dear Centre-Ifalf,—ln your issuo of Saturday, June 3, you have a report of a mnn being penalised for dangerous play. At tho outset, I may state that each and every case of dangerous play must bo dealt with oil its merits, and "the referee alone is able to judge the intent behind the player's actions. Lately an instruction'has been issued by the Football Association of England to referees in refcrencg to charging, which reads:— . "Law 9 declares that charging is permissible unless it is violent or dangerous, or from behind. An opponent who is intentionally obstructing may bp charged in tho back. It is, however, the practice of somo referees to penalise charging that cannot be considered ns cither violent or dangerous. This practice must bo discontinued, and referees must allow a fair charge. Jumping at an opponenc, which in all cases is illegal, must not . be confused with charging." In his remarks. Mr. M'Gillivray is reported to have said: "That a number of players here (Olago) did not seem to understand that they wero not justified in charging a man whether 110 has tho ball or not." Mr. M'Gillivray is quite wrong in his assumption, and he cannot find a word in tho referees' chart lo support his statement. _ All that tho law says is that "charging is permissible, but it must not ho violent or dangerous." There is 110 limitation placcd npon the player charging nn opponent as to when and where ho. docs it, but 110 must have (in tho referee's opinion) a just cause, and occasion for it. A safo rule for a referee would be that, if a player is charged who is not playing the ball, or near it, or plainly determined to gat it, or is obstructing, it would be well to interfere. I do not think a player has a right to charge an opponent who is running up tho field to _ take up a position; but the player is quite justified in shepherding or obstructing in that case. In reference to another remark by that gentleman, regarding 0110 player throwing his leg across an opponent, in an honest attempt to play the ball, being an illegal act: With this I also disagree; and I will go so for as to say that a back is justified in playing at a ball from behind nn opponent. Should the player be tripped in tho attempt, then it "remains for the referee to judge whether the trip was intentional or not. Tho referee must bo satisfied that the intention was to trip tho opponent rather than to play the ball, to have justification in penalising the action.—l am, etc., C. E. FORDHAM, President Wellington Referees' r Association. Hospital v. Y.M.C.A, Match. A fine sunny afternoon, and tho promise of an attractive fixture, drew a goodly number of spectators to tho Hospital Ground on Saturday. But expectations wero very far from being, realised, as the Hospital forwartls were in a lackadaisical mood and, after scoring a couplo of goals early in the game, were content to let their dcfence do the bulk of tho afternoon's work, occasionally bestirring themselves to pay a perfunctory visit to Holli9 and his backs, just to prove the fact of their presence on tho fluid of play. After the previous Saturday's display, better things wero looked for, and there was general exasperation at the front rank's exposition of how not to play tho game—at least from tho home supporters' point of view. Had they shown a tithe of the energy displayed by tho Y.M.C.A. forwards, the concluding whistle would not have been the most acceptable item of a disappointing game, as it proved to be on this occasion. Fortunately the White defenders wei;e in their usual excellent form, Routledge in particular, being responsible for somo fine clearances. Roots was suffering from an injury to his ankle, so took matters rather easily, but did not fail his partners when tho Colours wore dangerous. Hollis gave a good display in goal, saving several dangerous shots in the first half, but not having a great deal to do in the second. Jardine was noticeable for good work, a long shot from him deserving a score in the first half. His forwards wero very lively and persistent, but their combination was poor, while they lackcd finishing power, being fairly easily dispossessed in the goal area. Smith niado some good runs, as did Phillips, tho shooting as 0: rule being off the target, though Cockburn had to bestir himself on one or two occasions, a clean sheet being a fitting testimonial for some resourceful work under tho bar. Davis, in ecoring the first goal, accomplished a neat piece of work, and Tyrer was in the right place for a corner kick bv Phillips, but Mr. Incc negatived a third point by him for off-side, his parting kick being quite needless, as Elliot had already directed the ball clear of Hollis when he arrived under the bar to help it through. The win was sufficient to carry the team into third place in tho league table, ' thus sharing the position with Thistle, with ten points each. As the tc.rms have yet ■ to meet each other in the first round, a close contest should be witnessed next Saturday. Diamonds-Corinthians Fixture, Diamonds had too much experience for Corinthians, but the new club has the material for a good combination. In Ives they have a fine centre-forward, who can shoot "some." Jamiesou, at outsideright, has a fine turn of speed, and sends across somo nice "centres." Crouch contributed towards a nice goal, got by Ives, when 110 swung across a nice "centre," which tho pivot snapped up and ran clean through with, easily beating Patrick. BnTiisley is a nice half, and together with A. Lowe, came out of thd ordeal very well indeed. Other members of the team are a very fair lot and, by tho end of the second round, will have given some of the older clubs a lesson or two. Turning to tho winners, in Patrick the Blacks have a safo custodian who, if he continues as at present, must be one of thoso considered for representative honours. Roberts is the backbone of his team's defence, and is by no means a back number. The half lino is only moderate, but A. Lowe is turning out an ideal outsidc-loft—plenty of speed and ho crosses, ns_ well ns any of tho others in that position. Black's play at outside right could well be emulated by wingers of other clubs. Staples, Wilton, and B. Lowe completed a fine set nf forwards which, without individual brilliance, yet as a quintet, is second to nono in the league. Some Quiet Criticism. Tho Swifts-Thistle match was tho star fixture of last Saturday. The Blues have no cause for, complaint this year regarding allocation of grounds. "Tlio Scots" had a lot of supporters, and the Lowland accent could be heard all ovor tho ground. Hall skies tlio ball a lot and "claims" far too much, but clears finely with his head. Clnpliam is fast, anil gets through a lot of work. Brownlee is a useful man in tho half-line. Ash is improving all the time, but it is surprising how the Blues get their goals, ,is their forwards are very spasmodic. The Maroon backs cannot bo considered as

good . as tlio "Scols" defenders, while Kickaby, 011 the day, was just as good as Hrownlce and no better. Matheson was again tlie best forward on liis side, and easily the best 011 the ground. Scott can shoot when he Rets a good opening. Percy Pye-Smith filiould be retained as a permanent. Ycssoy is plodding along, but is not the man he was. Roberts was just, as good on Saturday last as ho was bad on the previous Saturday. A Sound Half-Line. Ramblers' halves were in good form at Miraniar last Saturday against St. John's. Whenever SI. John's seemed about to do something, it was almost invariably a Ramblers' half who brought the elVort to nothing, llart was in his element, and showed skilful control of the ball l'rertiieiilly. Kirsehberg's save, when iie chased after a St. .John's forward who was clear away and caught him taking the ball from him and leaving (he forward standing wondering, was an effort one too seldom sees. Ramblers' forwards wero not. as good as against- Diamonds the previous week, and, towards the end of the game, they made some ill-judged shots, though it must bo admitted the wind was not conducive to accurate shooting. Edwards, who played full-back, was not as reliablo as usual, while Webster had seldom much to worry over. • On the Up-grade. St. John's arc improving steadily but surely. Their combination still lacks uniformity, and they have a tendency to individual play. It may be due to overeagerness, but it is unprofitable. Bunching was also a weakness among the forwards, and once the ball left the ".bunch" there was a clear opening for their opponents. Itowover, the lino is willing enough, and willingness—organised—is always a factor with which an opposing team, however strong, has to reckon. Shaw did his usual good afternoon's work, but St. John's backs wero all too fond of finding the line, when they could easily have fed their forwards to advantage. Finding the lino is not the safety too many Association backs seem to think, for not unfrequently it gives the opposing team timo to get into their places. Tho line-kick requires judgment as much as any other kick, though many hold tho idea that for safety all ono needs to do is to "find tho line." Some Notes of Interest. It is much to bo regrette<l that Mr. T. Harris, whoso enthusiasm in the furtheranco of tho Porirua boys' football teams' welfare have been so successful, cannot seo his way clear to continue, as coach to the lads, owing to untoward happenings in cotinection with tho club. His loss will bo felt. Tt is hoped that his successor as coach (Mr. A. Cocker) will bo as successful as his predecessor in "teaching the young idea how to shoot." Hospital are taking steps to enlarge their ground, and it is hoped to have tho alterations completed by .the commencement of the second round, when visiting teams will have tho pleasure of playing on what will be probably tho best ground ill the district. Guise, who plays outsido left for Swifts fourth division team, is credited with being a first-class man, and, in caso a Fourth Division representative team is picked, should easily secure a place. Fitzgerald, tho Jurist Brothers centreforward, v;onld score move goals if ho would shoot more instead of nursing tho ball in front of goal. M'Nally, right back, and Smith, in goal, practically saved tho match for Brooklyn against St. David's fifth division team last Saturday. The score in this game was no criterion'of tho play. "Centre-Half" would like to know who is this "Bobby" Walker whom Thistle men talk so much about.