LEAGUE FOOTBALL

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 265, 3 August 1921, Page 6

LEAGUE FOOTBALL

AUSTRALASIAN TOURING TEAM K AN EXHIBITION GAME The exhibition of League football by the Australasian team at the Basin Reserve yesterday was a success in every way. The weather conditions in the morning were favourable, but about 10.30 bla- K clouds made their appearance, and the hopes of League supporters fell, but by noon the sun shone out brightly,, and at 12.30, the time announced for the start of the game, there was an attendance of just over 2000. There w some excellent material in tho touring team, and League supporters consider that their endeavour to retain the “ashes" wrested from the Englishmen on their recent visit will not be in vainThe ground was on the heavy side, and was not conducive to a display of speed by the tourists, but nevertheless their exhibition gave an indication of what, they would be capabale of with a littl© more play together. The game was an education as far as general tactics and passing were co-neerned. The way the respective halves worked both sides of the serum, and not only the halves but the five-eighths changed the trend of the play from one side to the was particularly striking. Another feature was the revival of what is at present a lost art,'*- “fending. ’ Ilia tourists, ©specially Caples, Thompson, and Watkins, proved themselves adepts in this very useful, but almost lost, art in Rugby football. To see these men fend off opponents one after another was quite a treat, and the lesson will no doubt prove• useful. Another very noticeable feature was the passing and handling of the ball by the iorwards. In fact, at times it was difficult to distinguish whether a. passing rush was taking place between the hacks or the forwards, so good was tho handling of all players concerned. The tackling was very deadly throughout. During th© game kicking to the line was almost neglected. When one side was defending instead of following the stereotyped style of finding the line passing would be indulged in, and on two occasions tries were registered from this new method of defence. To criticise the players individually would not be fair as all hands treated the game as an exhibition purely, but some of the visitors showed at times what they were reallv capable of. Fraser, at full-back during the first half, showed what a really clever .full-back he is. His opponent, Norman, was too slow altogether, and his was not inspiring. Of the three-quarters, Blinkhorn was easily the best on the day. This player showed plenty of speed, ability to handle' the hall, and ho possesses a very useful fend. Craig was responsible for several nice efforts. Holder got very few opportunities to show his dash, being pounced on by opponents before he could get going. His try showed ho has not lost his speed. Of the halves, Caples (who has a great reputation in Australia) was watched closely. He is a master of tho art of fending, and proved his worth in the majority of the attacking movements. Defence was not his strong point on yesterday’s showing. Thompson lived' up to his reputation, ns a great half-back. Laing, the only New Zealander in the team, was to tho fore in the majority of the attacking movements, and was very solid in defence. His one fault was to take the "dummy” tqo much. One of his efforts resulted in a score being registered-. Of the forwards, Watkins proved very veraatile both in attack and defence. Ryan was to the fori in many loo c e. rushes. Ives, Shultz, and Latta also showed out well. The game resulted in a win for the Blacks by 27 points to 23. For the winners, Blinkhorn (3), Craig, Broadfoot, Ryan, and Ives scored tries, Craig converting three. For the losers, Caples, Thompson, Latta, and Frazer scored tries. Thompson converting four. Mr. C. Murphy was referee.