LEAGUE & LEAGUERS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1747, 12 May 1913, Page 7

LEAGUE & LEAGUERS.

AT NEWTOWN PARK. KEEN CONTEST ON A MORASS. l'laycd in steadily falling rain, on a ground that quickly became a morass, tho League game at Nowtown Port on Saturday was more a contest of endurance' thau of skill. The teams engaged —I'otono and Athletic—both took the field in good condition, and tho jjaino was fast throughout, but the weather and the resultant state of the ground robbed the play of its finer features, and reduced it in the main to a matter of kicking and charging. Both back divisions, during the first quarter of an hour, showed themselves clever in passing work, but tho ball soon became as difficult to hold as a greasy pig, and rough and ready hustling became the only possible tactics to pursue. Such as it was, the game was fiercely contested all through, but Petone''had the:upper hand in a degree .not to be. wholly accounted for by tho fact that Athletic played one man short. ' About thirty spectators, watched the game with nil interest that rose superior to tho weather. The opening play was evenly contested, and several attacks had been repulsed at either end. when Miller drew fast blood for Petone by scoring in tho corner. Parker failed in a well-nigh impossible kiok._ Petone, 3; Athletic, P, flie next incident was a brilliant score by Kelly, of Athletic. Ho secured.possession of the ball sixty yards from tho Petone goal, and got clean through in a straight run, grounding tho ball between the posts. Bradley easily obtained tho extra points. Athletic, 5; Petone, 3. Soon afterwards Miller was stunned by a knock about the eye, sustained in accidental collision with another Petone man. He was carried off the field, but returned a few minutes afterwards. While Miller was off, Probstel doubled the Petone score. The kick failed. Petone, 6; Athletic, 5. ''By the time the second spell commenced, the ground was almost unplayable. All through tho spell the players had the utmost difficulty in keeping their feet; it was extremely difficult to field the ball, and kicking became uncertain. Guthrie, of Petone. went off with an injured shoulder, and was replaced by a substitute. One of tho Athletic men sustained a broken or dislocated finger, and was replaced by Fincham. In thi) eartv part of the spell, Petone did most of the attacking, and Athletic on several occasions .had to force. Desperate struggles took place in the neighbourhood of the goal-line, and usually there was a trail of fallen men in the wake of the ball. Individual players struck all sorts of queer attitudes as they were grassed, and frequently a man who made a divo for the ball and missed it would slide bodily along' the greasy turf. Eventually Athletic broke out of durance, and were awarded a penalty in a ' good position, from which Bradley contrived to kick a goal. Athletic, *7; Petone, 6. Athletic continued to attaok for a lime, but the Petone defence was sound, and before long the suburbanites'swarmed downfield in an irresistible rush with the ball at foot. Whitley scored and Ashton converted. Petono, 11;. Athletic, 7. This wa3 the final score of the day. The game was played out in increasing rain'. Petone had the upper hand in the remaining play, although Athletic continued to struggle desperately right up to tho time when tho whistle blew. An objectionable feature of the game was the amount of talking in which players indulged. The decisions of the referee (Mr. .T. Wray) were on several rccasions loudly questioned by players, and once by a line-umpire. Players on both sides sought to restrain their talkative companions, but the "remarks" continued, and some of them, to say tho least, were in poor taste.