FOOTBALL.

Otaki Mail, 16 July 1923, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

! SATURDAY'S FIXTURES. f SENIORS Woraroa v. Shannon, 3 —o I Foxton v. Hui Mai, Foxton de- ! faulted. Wanderers v. OtaTu, 11 —6 JUNIORS Paraparaumu v. Rovers, 7—o To Horo v. Otaki, 3—3 Hui Mai v. Werar»a, 17 —0 THIRDS Paraparaumu v. Hui Mai, 3—3 Otaki v. Kuku, 9—6 Te Horo and Otaki Draw. The junior match between the abovi teams, played at Otaki on Saturday resulted in a very fair game, althougl the Otaki backs were severely handi capped by being unable to secure th( ball from the scrum. The Te Hon in "hookers" were certainly good, aui m their smart little half, Pat Wells, whe iis used it with advantage. From the kick )i oft' Otaki forced play and Te Horo soon is i accepted a force. Then the visitors )■ reversed'play by a great rush and the s Otaki line was crossed, but in the I.! scramble the ball was anyone's and a e ftve yard scrum was awarded. Then k Wells, after dodging some of his opponr ents in great style, sent the ball to e Wakefield, who from the thick of a ruck, x scored. Puti failed to convert, 3 —o. t From the kick off in the second spell > To Horo still held the advantage in i scrum work, but by loose rushes Otaki ', i frequently became aggressive. Early in 1 I the spoil Tuna had a place at goal, but i missed," but a little later landed a • splendid goal, 3—3. Otaki again beieanic aggressive, and the visitors were hard put to it, but a force down relieved. Play then traversed the field . j in quick succession, but the whistle . j went, with Otaki pressing, with no ; I further score. Mr. S. Parker was ro- - j force. j The Otaki team was not seen at its j best, mainly through lack of opportunities, the ball on almost every occasion going from the scrum to the Te Horo half. Then again, some of the Otaki backs were badly out of position over (and over again, which gave the visitors desired opportunities. j Levin (11) v. Otaki (6). This game, played at Otaki. was robbed of a deal of interest owing to Otaki having no chance of winning the chain- > pionship. The match—very interesting i at times —should have proved a better j exhibition, and it is regretted that oue 1 or two of the Otaki players wore halfhearted in their play. The game, bow- j !' ever, opened briskly, Otaki kicking off. i The visitors had the advantage of the | first scrum, and had it not been for Udy, would probably have scored early in the game. McDonald and Marino were soon prominent for Levin, while Howell and Campion made the most e.f a loose rush that followed. Then Hapi and Udy became prominent, and were the means of forcing- Levin back to neutral territory. Wilson and Winiata retaliated with a passing rush, and Otaki saved by accepting a force. Then Winiata had an unsuccessful shot at goal, while a little later Ropata was lucky to emerge from a tight corner. Winiata then had another unsuccessful shot at goal, followed by a fine passing bout between Holder, McDonald, Winiata, and Wilson, the latter being collared on the line. Shortly after Tat ana landed a goal from a free kick, and Levin with a three-point lead made the most of the play that followed. At this stage the Otaki forwards showed a deal of dash and aided by the j backs became aggressive. D'Ath brotk- ■ ers both became conspicuous, and made | good openings, while a little later the neatest and best passing rush of the I day eventuated. Hapi securing possession, passed nicely to Prim, who in turn transferred to Pana after beating two opponents. Puna, at the right time, sent the ball to Wallace D'Ath. who, I though he had a good chance of scoring, passed cleanly to his brother. Dovey immediately raced for the line and "scored admist applause. Prim's attempt to convert failed, 3—3. Soon after Levin again attacked. Hannan, McDonald and Wilson putting in fine play. Winiata had another shot at goal but missed. Dashing play by Rhodes, Robinson, and Kehu followed and Levin were pressed on their goal line, but Winiata nicely saved. Dovey D'Ath then put ia a strong run, and was making a splendid dash for the coveted line when he slipped while dodging. Levin worked thi *>»" w ' u " " „„,,: [ w ± _ uacs, and Otaki , „ us lucky in getting a force-down. FolJ lowing this was a nice passing bout. Hannan, McDonald and Winiata again taking part, the latter securing the ball and scoring. Tatana missed the goal, 6—3. Prim'and Hapi then played nicely into each other's hands, but off-side play spoiled a chance of scoring. The spell ended with Levin leading, 6 —3. The second spell lacked ginger, and it was evident that somo of the Otaki players were not keen. Farther creditable passing rushes resulted, while the Otaki forwards, at times, dribbled nicely and shone on the line-out. Dovey D'Ath and Prim were conspicuous in the early stages of the spell, while from a loose rush Koro scored for Levis. Tatana converted, 11—3 Hapi then j put in a good run, followed by "Udy racing for about fifty yards along the line, j Prim- further helped, and aided byPuna, Dovey D'Ath was enabled to | again put in a fine run. He scored a t ' nice try but Prim failed to convert, 11 j 6. No further score was recorded,' and Levin thus won. Mr. E. Bevan was | ! referee. . Kuku Beaten By Otaki Thirds. Although Kuku brought down a hefty team to play the Otaki lightj weights the latter gained well-earned | victory by 9—6- The backs, some al- - most boys .glay«d good football

and frequently their passing rushes Ie: Kuku far in the rear. Watts and Mil scored well-desorvcd tries, while Arel ki«ked a goal from the field. Kul scored a try and secured a penalty goa Mr. Tumeke Wehipeihana was referee | Notes. J By Levin 's win on Saturday the fins for the senior championship will now b I played with Manakau, who howeve: ! have a, one-point lead. A good gam should r«sult. j Mr. Jack O'Connor watched th Leviu-Otaki match on Saturday with ' view of making his final selection fo the representative match to be playei betweea the Horowhenua and Bus] Unions at Pahiatua on Wednesday wee! for the Bebbington shield. Foxton tailed to fulfil their engage nient with Hui Mai on Saturday and ii 3 consequence several members of the lat 1 tcr team were spectators at Otaki. l f Members of the Otaki Club, arc re . quested to attend "gym" practice , every night, this week —juniors in par- , ticular. Those attending practice will L be given first consideration when teams , are being picked. Otaki iuuio .< are now leading lor the championship, Hui Mai and To lloro being .:ext in order.