NOTES FROM CENTRAL HAWKE'S BAY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 88, 30 April 1937, Page 8

NOTES FROM CENTRAL HAWKE'S BAY

"Referee.")

Otane's Good Win

(By

The four senior matches played last Saturday in Central Hawke's Bay resulted as follows: — . . , , Otane 24, Porangahauu 8. Old Boys 10, Omakere 0. j Takapau 17, Ongaonga 4. "Waipukurau 6, Tikokino 3. Of the four teama seen in action at Central Park, Waipukurau, Otane were the most impressive. Their forwards are big and unusually fast, and on Saturday their hard training gave good results. A+Eter half-time, when th«a score was 8 — 8, the Otane forwards added four more tries, while their opponents rarely looked dangerous. In the Otane team Burgess wae an outstanding forward; two of his three fcries were splendid elforts. S. Drinkrow, a most promisdng. wing threequarter, combines weight with speed, and a season's expenencce will make him a very tough proposltion. In Bellis, a eon of the former All Black forward, Otane have the most useful player in this districci. As a forward he would go a long way, bttt as his teamm is at present short of backs Bellis is acting as an efficienfe centre,.: In the first half of their match Porangahau looked a likely team; they made eeveral de^termined thrusts and their- speedy raght wing was always dangerous. 1 Most of the Porangahau backs, among whom are three of the well-known Kuuru family, have represented the East Coast sub-union.. More than half of the Coast team which took the field on Saturday were Maoris. An acuisition to .Central Hawke's Bay, and on their good days they will be hard to beat. Pairly Even Teams. In the Old Boys-Omakere game, while the Old Boys were never in danger of defeat, there wais not a great deal between the teams. The one try scored dn this match was the result of a mis-kick which bouhced straight into the welconnng hands of C. Wilson, the Old Boys' forward, who had an easy path to the line. "Wilson, who has for several seasons been on the edge of the Hawke's Bay team, was the best forward on'the field. Apart from their remarkably safe full-back, Jamieson, the Ola Boys' backs, when attacking, stood too far apart; as a result many of thedr passes were blown astray by the heavy wind. The same fault was noticeable in all the four teams on view; on a windy day, long passes are seldom suecessful. Sound Defensive Display. Although Omakere could not finish any of their attaeks, they gave a sound defensive display. On the day their full-back wae weak in handling, but the wind made the ball very elusive. It is said that R. Prebble, a former East Coast wing three-uarter; will play for Omakere this season. Prebble, who has had two yoars in Wellington, would add a lot of thrust to the country team's backs. Takapau's Easy Win. Takapau continued on their winning way by defeating Onga, but they haye lost eeveral of their last season'sbacks. The fact that Takapau will have four teams playing in the different grades this winter shows a commendable keenness for the game. It is a pity that Onga and Tikokino have not joined forces. Although both -are old-eatabiished clubs, th.ey are usually short of players by the end of a season; as a combination they could field a team which would make matters very dnteresti.ng for any of their opponents.