LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

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

LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

[Br "Fleetfoot."! THINGS IMPENDING HERE. One of tho League players who visited England w : th A. H., Baskiville's team in 1907, recently tried to. sum up tho sporting instincts of the crowd in Great Britain, in Australia, and in New Zealand.' "In England," noways, "the vP.rowd willgo to seo a' fierce match;' in Australia tho crowd will go to see its own team win; in New Zealand tho crowd will go to seo its own team beaten." Eroni this, he argued, that the New Zealandcr was tho best sport, because if ho thought tho home team were going to have a walk-over, he would not bother going to see it. According to Australian correspondents, New Zealand is going to be beaten every timo it,stands up against tho Australian kangaroos and if the estiuiato of the Now Zcalander6 is a correct one, then the. crowd will turn out in great style. But the New Zealandors have a notorious habit of dying hard, and it will probably ho found that at Newtown Park next Saturday tho Wellington League team will give the Australians as much as they are likely to relish. It is admitted that the five Wellington representatives in tho team which recently toured Australia were the best of tho bunch. Those men have had the benefit of two tours, and, together with tho other iikoly Wellington representatives, will not bo easily put down. On the other hand, tho Australians will bo coming together for tho first timo, and will bo at a further disadvantage in having landed just three days previous from the Sydney boat. Those circumstances will help Wellington. If ono takes the personnel of the likely players, it will bo found tha,t for physique and stamina they will bear comparison with tho average of Wellington Hugby teams. : > ' ' A familiar device nowadays is to introduce the names of players 6uch as Keogh and the Warbriclts, and others. But, to . tho average football enthusiast these names signify nothing. A fow old veterans will tell you that tho men of to-day aro not liko the men of years ago. But that isWhat wo have all heard since, childhood. They never are.

Ijot vis tako C. King and Ash ton as fair samples of Wellington forwards. Can any player, past or present, produce a team of forwards in which seven men donned the black jersey, and were better, every one of the seven, than tho two named? It is doubtful. Thoy would have won a place in any seven that Wellington has put together in recent years. Now let us tako the backs, Kelly and Bradley have been playing in senior Rugby here for sonio time. They ore young'and enthusiastic. They cannot bo called "hns-bosns," and they aro certainly equal to any that we have on the field in Wellington to-day. Then, wo have Cook and Uilmour, two fast men playing I a gamo mainly suited to fast men, Oho member of the Rugby League management is chortling to himself tlicso days at tho expense of the Rugby Vnion, Sonic years ago, Mr. M. J. Reardon was a delegate at the annual conference. 110 there proposed that out of their banking account of ,C 12,000, they should devote the sum of ,JC3OO per annum to eucourugo tho Rugby game among schoolboys. The proposal'was defeated. But after much talk they eventually agreed to voto .£2OO. Tho whole thing was doiio in that 6ort of superior way which would say "Wo are not here to bother about boys. Recently, however, somo of tho managers of the Rugby Union decided to tell tho small schoolboys of tho fearful consequences in store for them if they glanced sidoways at tho League game. Hitherto the League management lias not been taking much notice of tho threats issued by tho Rugby authorities, but this time thev aro going to hit back. On tho recommendation of Mr. Reardon, it lias been decided to issuo invitations to ©very school bov in thei city to visit the park on Saturday next and see for himself what the game is like.

Wellington plavs Auckland next Saturday. If Auckland defeats Taronoki toda'v, tho Wellington-Auckland contest a week hence will bo a shield challenge match. If Taranaki lifts the shield today Wellington will endeavour to deprive them of it when tho teams meet on August 29 at Xew Plymouth. Xcarly one-half of the people of Denmark live exclusively by agriculture. Little Wonder. U hands 31 inches, was tho smallest animal to win tho Derby.