MERELY BANK GOSSIP.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1521, 17 August 1912, Page 12

MERELY BANK GOSSIP.

CLUB AND OTHER HAPPENINGS. Bad luck is dogging tho 6teps of Ori-' cntal. To-day they will bo weaker than, they have been this year. Tho injury to "Fred" Roberts's back is described as a ratherlseyere one,'and .'.he. .will not be playing; : 'Gordon. Kihvig is away'', from town on. business, Murray has had 1 an attack of quinsy, Halo iniluenza, and Carrad a damaged leg. None of these will bo on the field to-day. , 1 Quite a big error was made in the recent Press Association' telegTam, which records the "gato" in tho Leaguo match Wellington v. Auckland at 700. The real figure ;was 7000.. The! Wellington .Leaguers' share, of tho. gato on a 57}. per cent, basis, is about '.£200.. Compliments galoro will soon be rolling in on Mr. V.,R. Meredith if tho, Wellington representatives continue to play as they did on Wednesday against' Southland. Mr. Meredith is, as everyone knows, more than a mero selector—he is mentor and coach to tho team. And where could one get a better? When speaking at the opening of the Athletic Club's new gymnasium recently, Mr. G, F. C. Campbell (the president of the club) remarked that it was his opinion that the. Athletic senior team was playing better quality football this year than it played last season, when it won the championship. Mr. Campbell was right, and Athletic are now well in the running for this year's championship. Lambton Quay police station took sufficient interest in the Petone-Athletic match, at Petone, to send an army of two constables to do duty at tho ground. As a country newspaper used to say in its report of tho annual sports meeting: "There were two polico officials on the ground, but their services were not required." To-day's fixtures may bo the finals for the, season—and they may not bo. If Oriental beats Athletic and' Petone wins its fixture, tho cup is Petone's. If Athletic and Petone both win their games, these two teams must meet .again to decide tho premiership. There are rumours afloat to tho effect that Wellington will not get its best forward team to Auckland for the shield match. A good deal of decorative language was hurled between some barrackers in the stand at Wednesday's, representative match. _ No great harm was done, but J, W9 n officials should have stopped tlio affair; it was not in tho interests oi the game. ■ Scant attention was paid by players at Miramar (St. James-Southern) 'to tlio retereo s whistle summoning them to begin the game. The teams seemed to bo ready, nnd tho referee blew and blew repeatedly, but nobody moved. . Comment-has boon somewhat rifo this week over tho non-inclusion of H. Little (Oriental) mid M'Mahon (Melrose) in the Wellington junior representatives. Although St. James have not experienced so successful a season as they hoped they aro by no means "downhearted " Great anticipations aro formed of the very promising lot of juniors which they have coming on. As Kinvig (Oriental) is unaMo to travel to Napier with tho Wellington team I which leaves hero on Tuosday, Marshall i (Melrose centre-three-quarter) has been I chosen to fill the gap. Littlo interest would result) from traversing the big club game—Petono v. Oriental—all over again. It has previously teen described at length,- and it only , remains to bo said that the 3000 people who looked on wero quite satisfied that thoy had "get their money's worth'." Nowton, an old Oriental player, is to havo tho jersey on for his club to-day.' Ho has been away for some considerable time in Taranaki. About fit lawn years ago the Otago Rugby Control took "time by tho forelock," and got charge of nearly every ground in or about Diinedin, on which anything like a "gate" could bo taken. At that time they feared tlio encroachments of "soccer," the shadow of tho League not then liiH-ing crossed their nath. To-day the clfect is that tho public must patronise Ktiguy or patronise nothing. Last Saturday tho final in the club championship Iwtween University and Southern drew 11 r -10 spectators. The "gato" was about JJ2OO. The following team will represent the Petono Workshops, in a match against the Newmarket Shops at Auckland, next week:—MUlvridc, Finlayson, Miller, M'lnncry, Whitlev,, K. Ryan, Nunn, Moonev, Calcinui, Davis, Guthrie, W. Ryan, 0. Kenry, Valentine, Corson, Hill,' Bowles, Hayes, and Moore. It is notorious (says "Full-back" in "Tile Witness") how easilv Canterbury defeats Southland. On Saturday the -Maroons wero again beaten by the Kod-uiid-blacks. Of the 20 games played between the two provinces .Southland ha, won only two, while ono has been drawn. The drawn game was plnved in Christchurch in 189 li, and 1897 and 1903 wero tho winning years for Southland, both successes being gained, in Invcrcargill,