FOOTBALL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2423, 2 May 1922, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

FOXTON 9 V WERAROA G

For the first match of the season,

Foxton Seniors met Weraroa last

Saturday on'the Race Course. The game Was witnessed by a good mus-

ter of; enthusiastic spectators. Fox- “ ton woii the' loss and elected to defend, the northern half. Neither team undeffhe prevailing weather conditions gained any advantage. Weraroa kicked off and followed up with a good forward rush; and in ' the midst of give-and-take play Ball ’secured- and saved by kicking into touch.' ’From the throw-in the oval raced'to'arid fro and'when things ■ . looked ugly for Foxton, Taylor came to light with a judicious kick for the haven-of-safety. The play which followed gaVe Foxton many opportunities of scoring, but owing to over-anxiety on, the part of one or two players’, their chances were frustrated. From the force-down, the kick which followed found the oval racing towards Bryant, who . transferred it to /‘Horace” who cut , in and scored amidst an enthusiastic cry of “Horie to the rescue.” The kick failed. FOXTON 3, WERAROA NIL. ;.3 The ball at this stage was dispatched by Weraroa from half-way and when danger was imminent Taylor, whose fielding and kicking were , most reliable, made his presence - conspicuous by a deadly-directed kick for the ( line. Foxton, right throughout/, forced Weraroa to de- •/: fend and from a high-elevated kick, directed to the vicinity of Healey, who mulled, a certain try for Foxton was* lost by players being in the road of one another. After the force-down Weraroa kicked off and Foxton came again and when a try appeared certain, the local players threw away their chance, because many of them showed lack of finish in their play. From the kick at 25, the oval raced smartly up and down the field, which gave the local team an anxious time until Horace, who was always prompt with his deeis- •. ibn saved after a 1 series of feintpassing and side-stepping, amidst his oponents and by kicking to f touch. Over-running the ball gave Weraroa a free-kick from which F. Moffatt took a “mark.” The attempt at goal from a reasonable angle 1 narrowly failed to materialise. In the play that followed Foxton lost another try occasioned by the player being compelled to force-down a few feet before the goal line was" reached. From here Foxton . again pressed and from a forward pass by

Moffatt Weraroa was awarded a free-kick which relieved them rnom- ." entarily. Perry James, the Weraroa half-back was instrumental in frustrating the many attempts made by the local team to score. His defence, fielding and kicking were of a very sound order, and as his team was constantly on the defence he had no chance of proving his ability as an. attacker. Here onward Kere Carter, temporarily retired, and Horace had to do two men’s work and; things were awkward for Foxton until Cole was penalised for offside play which was welcomed by the local team. The; free-kick saw the oval racing up and down the field and finally found repose in F. Moffatt’s arms,- who raced over the line very attractively. W. Baker was entrusted with the kick which was doubted. FOXTON 6, WSRAROA NIL.

The second spell opened up with .series of'forward rushes, neither side gaining much advantage. Play was eonfinedj more or less, to individual efforts f/ than combination and was undoubtedly tame until the oval reached D. Ball, on the left wing, about mid-iield, who, finding himself hard pressed, adapted the dribbling tactics and backed by a good burst of speed, duly landed the winning points. The attempt at goal again failed. '•FOXTON 9, WERAROA NIL. Cole, together with Rangi Broughton, for the visitors, played in unison and this fact was proved fruitful almost immediately by Cole crossing the line. The visitors’ attempt at goal was erratic. FOXTON it, WERAROA 3. The visitors eame again and kept the home-team busy on the defence. * Off-side play by Cole gave Foxton a momentary relief. In spite of this Weraroa continued' to press and from a scrum within 10 yards of ' Foxton’s goal-line the oval eame out : on D. Ball and the leather were hauled unmercifully over the line and although the player forced down, the who turned',.up later,; awarded the visiting team the benefit of the doubt. The kick at goal proved fruitless. FOXTON: 9 V WERAROA: 6. v The next . dead , ball declared Foxton the viators and the result was well received:; ,'Mx Bevan had control of the matchfand except for one or two decisions he interpreted the rules regularly;, and'he would, no doubt, have given entire satis-

faction but.for the pressure unduly brought'upon him by those line critics who were more or less biassed and who pretended to know the rules from A to Z. r NOTES. H. Taylor at full-back displayed good fielding and kicking and up to the time of his mishap gave a sterling display. .. Horace is beyond doubt a great skip, who uses his head and frame with skill and ability. Would that his followers followed his example instead pf relying on main strength.

W. Baker was mueh bothered by the Weraroa wing-forward, who many times left the oval behind him. In spite of this “Wally”, was always able to get’ the ball away—satis-

factorily or not is another mattci*. Stan Barber at first five eighths, lacked practice, but with one or two matches to bis credit will prove a great asset to his team. He possesses all the necessry qualifications of a sterling five-eights and as the position requires much practice, he must take;every opportunity to fit himself. The position requires a good punter, a sure fielder, and a deadly tackier and rush stopper, who must be quick off the mark and able to take passes, often bad ones, while going at. different speeds. In additiond,he position requires adeptness in the art of feint passing, cutting in and drawing the defence, and above all running straight. Stan has invariably played wing-forward. He will ultimately make good. The Footballers’ Ball had a bad effect on. one of Foxton’s brilliant wing-three-quarters. The many ladies lie .successfully caught and passed during the evening must have affected him in his judgement of catching and passing the oval, due no doubt to the diminutiveness of its size comparatively.. Cut out the “hop” on the eve of the match. Young Darcy “shaves” past an opponent whenever an opening affords itself. He will make good as time goes on and needs no encouragement. He might be well advised to stand deeper than at present. More often than once lie received the oval whilst standing still. What would have been the result if he had received it when on top speed? There is no reason why the name “Darcy” should not he a popular Rugby word before the current season is,over. .

Individually the forwards, without exception, were good on Saturday. They were fond of hard work but lacked finish owing to the want of combined effort.

Frank Moffatt has an inclination to play a hack game instead of a forward one: thus he fails to make his weight, height, speed and slreng--,, th felt. Too good natured is his trouble. ;

Special mention must he made of rhe manner in which Austin, Jewell, Robinson, and Hunt acquitted themselves. They were always in the thick of it, but here again their failing was identical with that of F. Moffatt. Begging for pardon is an essential thing up to a certain degree, but beyond that there must he lit Ile or nolhing af all. This must not ho construed to mean that a player would have to play the man and not the hall. The bull is what a player has to play, but undue interference, ’ to spare no one. In tackling see that the opponent measures his length on the field of play everv time.

Lack of form among thp forwards made itself conspieious towards the latter stages of the second spoils Several did not relish the idea of doubling round after they had over-run the ball. This resulted many limes in free-kicks being awarded to Weraroa. Napping on the other side when the oval is behind you must never be tolerated. The fact that Cole and Broughton did this would not justify any other player doing so. Trooper’s advice to you is to dispense with it immediately. The Wanderers’ seniors met their old opon.ents, Hui Mai, on the latter’s ground, and a close game ensued. The only score was a penalty goal to Hui Mai in the first half, who thus won by 3 to nil.. The Weraroa juniors met Shannon on the Shannon ground. The home side were in good shape and lasted better than the visitors, enabling them to win by 22 to nil.

The Wanderei’s juniors went away to Tolvoraaru sliortlianded, which-is a bad start. Their tei}. men had no chance with Tokomaru s 15, and the latter won by 19 to nil. The Rovers juniors and Foxton juniors played their fixture in Levin, when Rovers defeated the visitors by 6 to 3. Rovers thirds v. Hui Mai, played at Manakau ended in a draw, there being no score. The Weraroa fourths met Training Farm, when the Weraroa boys accounted foir the opposition _by 20 to fi.