NOTES ON THE PLAY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2350, 5 January 1915, Page 8

NOTES ON THE PLAY

Yesterday's play was full of surprises in respect to some of the skips who had been playing wonderfully well on the first two days. Thompson (Wellington), who had been sailing along very nicely with five wins out of six, had another big win over Hollard. (Hawera), but struok trouble when he met veteran George Prince (Newtown) in the eighth round. The old general fairly outplayed the Wellington man, and galloped in a 'winner, 28 —6, one of the biggest defeats of the tournament. Another big surprise was the defeat of Porteous (Wellington) by Macaskill (Hutt) in the eighth round. _ Porteous had only had one defeat prior to the eighth round, when tho Hutt man, whose team played a magnificent game, got all over the champion's nnk, and ended up nine points to the good. All the green wondered I ' ■ Stephens (Pet-one) has not played lip to his true form. He went _ doini heavily to Jackman (Thorndon) in , the eighth round, though ■ the latter skip had not been doing very woll. Geo. Remington (Wellington) has had a very good run right through the tournament, and finished up with seven wins, which places him with the chosen. Ballinger (Wellington) was the only skip to- register eight wins (out of nine tames) in the tournament. He struck ne form, and assisted by a good rink chopped everyone up, ana -as a rule scored very heavily—heavy enough, at all events, to wii the aggregate points prize. It would not be doing too much to give trophies to the team winning this prize. The rink to beat Ballinger was the Newtown one, skipped by Duff—a two-point defeat. The booby prize, if there were one, would have been won by. Hatch (Victoria), who put up a unique no-win record. Strangely enough it was Hatch's rink which threatened late yesterday afternoon to keep Porteous (Wellington) out-of the final games, and an intense interest was taken in the_ game: The rinks were level on tfto sixteenth and eighteenth heads, when Porteous managed to pull away. Hatch's rink had them thinking liard all through the game. Worboys was. at .that time play-, ing admirably for .Hatch. . Of the ten rinks left in the ; final games, five belong to • the Wellington Club one < each to the Masterton, Hataita'i, Hu'tt, Kelburn, and Petone Clubs. .. .