FOOTBALL.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 680, 24 June 1914, Page 6

FOOTBALL.

SENIOR GAMES DRAWN. DAY OF SURPRISES. Congratulations to Ongarue and to Nehenehe upon tha occasion of them showing something of - the form of which they are. capable. It has been held by many that both these teams arecapable of extending the best in the competition to the full limit. Unfortunately . during the Beaßon hitherto there haß been jußt a little ef the necessary combination lacking to po: the finish on the play of these teams, and it is to be regretted that the necessary coaching and training are not available te make the most of the good material which the both clubs possess. The game at Te Kuiti between Otorohanga and Nehenehe was expected to be somewhat slow, and with the probability of seeing a forward scramble with a wet ball,the attendance was not so large- as usual. Ilowever, those who braved the elements to witness the game were treated to one of the most, exciting contests of the season. There was hardly a dull, moment from start to finish, and though there ware many mistakes, these were in a gjeat measure due to the state of the ground and the greasy ball. From the kick off play centred. The visiting forwards endeavoured to get going on several osQSsions, but oft 1 side play brought several penalties and nullified their efforts. The Nehenehe backs attempted to get going with a passing tun, but Tame waß tackled with the leather and a scrum resulted. Frem open play Ned Turner picked up and made a dodgy run to the Nehenehe goal line, the tackling not ' being good. Strenuous scrum work ensued, the visitors making every effort to score but the Nehenehe forwards broke through and relieved the situation. A mark by Tame and a good linfe kick removed play to centre, and the Nehenehe held their own for the remainder of the spell the only occasion upon which danger threatened being a rush which dei£ the leather over the dead ball line. Upon changing ends Nehenehe at once sot up a<i attack, and Tame, with a good dodgy run almost scored. A geod rush took the ball over the line, but 'a force resulted. A rush by the visitors carried play to the Nehenehe territory, but good work by Tame, Tuheka, and Brown again threatened the Otorohanga line. .The remainder of the quarter saw Otorohanga mainly on the defence, but the Nehenehe rushes were successfully repelled. Immediately upon resuming after half time, the visitors rushed the ball to the Nehenehe line, but a free kick brouht relief, and a Nehenehe rush removed play to the Otorohanga quarters. Give and take play followed with'little advantage to either side until Symes snapped the ball fiom a rebound and set sail with a clear run for the Nehenehe line. He was overhauled by Hira and others, and a serum on the line resulted in a force. The final quarter saw a succession of rushes, both sides making strenuous efforts "to score, but the defence, on both aides was equal to the occasion. In the last few minutes' play slackened somewhat, the /pace sft which the same had been played having told its tale. T he whistle went to cease play with the ball in the centre, neither side having scored. Mr Hazelman refereed in a very capable manner. NOTES ON THE PLAY. There ii not a great deal to be said in commenting on the outcome of the game. In Buch an even contest a ■ draw must be accounted a fitting conclusion. The visitors were without the services of two or three of their backs, and the absence of Ferguson most have made a considerable difference, while the injury to Willis early in the game'was also a handicap. On the other hand, the Nehenehe .team could have been improved somewhat. They had to include Kati in the forwards at the la?t moment, and one or two of the backs were lamentably lacking in form. As the game went the Nehenehe backs showed to greater advantage than their opponents. Tuheka, Tame, T. Hetet, and Brown opened up the game whenever opportunity offered, and looked dangerous on more than one occasion. The Otorohanga! backs defended well, their tackling being better than that of their opponents. On the wing for Nefcenene, Hira showed to advantage and played his best game. • The work of Symei on the wing for Otorohanga, was marred by his tendency t> off lide and he handicapped bis side considerably. The forwards were well matched. Every man worked hard, and all must have been glad to see the finish. Holden, Maxted, and others were noticable for Otorohanga,-as was W.illis until

he got his leg injured. The, Nehenehe forwards at times .did some good hooking, and with a dry ball matters would have been very interesting. - Te Kuiti journeyed to Ongarue and met the^.local players on their own ground. The gam 9 was very evenly contested, and resulted in a draw, neither side scoring. _ . Te Kuiti players complain of the rough nature of the ground, which they ailege is not suitable to play on. However, the conditions were similar for both sides, and from all accounts the Ongarue team is showing improved form. Mr Gage made an efficient referee. The junior fixure played at Te Kuiti between Neheriehe and Otoruhanga, proved to be a remarkably go,od qne. The teams were evenly matched, and the game was fast and willing, in some instances, rather too willing. In. the firßt speil the Nehs's had the best of it, and Bevera) times looked dangerous, but were unable to cross {he line. There was<no score at halftime. The play in the second half was again evenly contested. From a for ward rush Seymour picked up and scored a good try. The attempt to goal failed. There waß no further score, and the game thus ending, Qtorohanga 3, Nehenehp nil. The Nehenehe men all played well, W. Hetet being possibly most conspicuous. For Otorohanga, Wharenui, at full, played a Bound game, and Cowley and Seymour both showed to advantage. Mr Hazelman gave great satisfaction as referee. THE SEASON'S CHAMPIONSHIP. The result of last Saturday's matches under the auspices of tfce Maniapoto Rugby Union, has created • a very interesting position, in respect to tbe championship for the season. Until l»st Saturday Te Kuiti and Otorohanga were leading with one loss each registered against them., Otorohanga defeated Te Kuiti at Otorohanga by three points in the first game of the season, and Te Kuiti scored a three-point win against Oto-robanga-when the teams met on the local ground. Te Kuiti played a draw with Ongarue on Saturday'last and Otorohanga a; draw, with Nehenehe. This leaves Otorohanga J knd Te Kuiti still a tie for pride of- position at the end of the second round. The two leading teams meet at Otorohanga in the concluding round of fixtures on Saturday next, and,a recorcT crowd is expected to witness the contest. Arrangements- are being made to run a train from Te Kuiti leaving at 1.45 p.m, and arriving 'at Otorohanga in time for visitors to. witness the match, and it is anticipated a large number of Te Kuiti football supporters will take advantage of the oppprtunity to see the match. ■The inter-Island Rugby football match on Saturday at Wellington' resulted in a win for the South Island by 8 points to nil after a'good game.Wellington defeated the .Wairarapa representatives at Carterton on Saturday by 6 pointß to 3.