ON THE MARK!

NZ Truth, Issue 1151, 22 December 1927, Page 12

ON THE MARK!

Australian Athletes To Do Battle

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Athletic Correspondent.) Athletic warriors of the fair states of Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales have bared their lances. Armored and caparisoned they are " to give battle to the legions of Maoriland. THE tilts are listed for Boxing Day, December 26, and Tuesday, December 27, at Athletic Park, Wellington. And the prize! The prize is the premiership of the Southern Seas Individually and nationally— a trophy indeed desired by the knights of the spiked shoe or javelin. Victoria is the proud holder of the shield, and incidentally the majority of the individual championships, but New Zealand has gathered together a force that will take a power of beating. It is a matter for regret that Geo. R. Hyde, the famous little Victorian distance runner, has been unable to make the trip, for the clash between him and Randolph Rose has been long looked for. In addition, it has also bgen noised abroad by the faithful j followers m Auckland that W. Savidan is also good enough now to lead the | way home to anybody m Australasia except Rose at his best. Those who saw the Auckland boy racing so well m Christchurch have no cause to believe that the Auckland confidence is misplaced. Special interest will attach to the sprints, and the nominations bespeak quality of the highest order. L. Parker (Q.), 100 yds champion, will defend his title, and is reported to be running m great heart, as also is his fellow-countryman N. Grehan, 220 yds champion. Both of these men have their names m the Australasian record book. They will be faced with formidable opposition m the New Zealand trio—Leadbetter. Jenkins and Elliott — the two former being especially hard to heat on Wellington grounds. Then there is the phenomenal N.S.W. schoolboy, James Carlton. Only 19 years of age, he has cracked evens m both the 100 yds and 220 yds. Again, Lane, the Victorian sprinter, must be considered, for he, too, has hit the tape before the hands of the watches have reached the lOsecs. mark. NOT .A CRITERION In Wellington last week Jenkins scored decisive victories over both Parker and Grehan, but it would be unfair to the visitors to take this as a criterion of their present form, for the night was bitterly cold, with bit-ing-ly cold "wind. Under those conditions, no one could reasonably expect men who have come direct from' a tropical heat of 102 m the shade to give of their best. . New Zealand's chief hopes for the quarter-mile will be pinned on J. T. Fleming. He will be up against R. D. Norman (N.S.W.) , the present champion, and a runner of great experience and capability, but the New Zealand boy may be expected to show up well as gamehess is a feature of his racing 1 There should be a battle royal m the hurdles when two present champions will toe the mark, m Scott (N.S.W.) 120 yds. hurdles and Watson (Vie) 440 yds. hurdles, but the writer will not be astonished if Lander (N.Z.) captures the 120 yds. title and Ramson (N.Z.) the 440 yds. In the first place Lander is, or was when the writer last saw Scott m action, a more finished hurdler than the New South Welshman and what he loses on the flat he will more than make up over the sticks. Ramson is not such a neat man over the hurdles as Watson, but he is such a- powerful runner on the flat that his pace and stamina is likeiy to prevail m a gruelling 440 yds. race. There are three events that, barring accidents, New Zealand is sure to collect and they are the hammer, discusand javelin. Our fieldsmen, headed by the champions Munro and Lay, are altogether too powerful m these events, but m others it is not so sure. For instance, New Zealand will have to go some to win either the long jump or the hop, step and jump or the high jump. In the former two events, Queensland has a strong card m Day and New South "Wales m Ebert, "We look to Sutherland and Shii-ley to do their best for the Silver Fern.