THE AUCKLAND TEAM ON TOUR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 62

THE AUCKLAND TEAM ON TOUR.

DEFEATED BY MARLBOROUGH. BLENHEIM August 26. The Auckland team played the first match of their tour to-day, meeting the Marlborough representatives in fine weather and in the presenca of a tig crowd of spectators Marlborough won by 8 points to 3. Amongst the visitors Gallaher took tho place of Wilkes on the wing. The toes fell to the Aucklanders, who played with the wind and sun behind them in the first sj>ell. Up till halfway through the first ■spell the game was fast and willing, and with the odds against them Marlborough more than held their own- From then onwards the play was even till half-time, when no score had been registered. On changing ends the visitors became' aggressive, and in a passing rush started by Seeling the ball was handled by all the backs, and finally Seeling got over the line. Magee failed with the kick. Marlborough then assumed the offensive, and shortly afterwards were awarded a free kick at a difficult angle, Church successfully sending the ball over the bar and equalising the Fcorea. The play was of an even nature until the home team gradually worked down to their opponents' territory. From a line-out Nolan secured the ball and dashed over, Church again adding the major points. The Aueklanders then worked hard to equalise matters, but were in the local danger zone only momentarily, the splendid forward play of Marlborough, supplemented by the following up of the backs and fine line-kicking, saving the situation. As ii matter of fact, Marlborough's defence was never seriously penetrated from this point onwards. The game went up and down tho field, the advantage, if anything, being with Mariboiough. During the second snell Mcr«e hurt hii> ankle, and had to loave the field, being replaced by Wilkps, Seeling coming out to five-eighths and Gallaher going into the pack from the wing-. The success of the local men in Lealinsr what i^ regarded as the champion team of New Zealand, on top of their retention of the Seddoii Shield., has created Sieat enthusiasm locally, and it is thought should materially sirenjfthen Marlboiough'o claims to a larger =hare in national representation. It is. however, iocog:ji*ed that the Aueklanders would have proi^cl a considerably to*jgrfc>er pioblem had they been encountered at a laier stage of j the four. Galldher. Nicholson, and Seeling aerroe that the Marlborough i;la\sn> _ certainly po^seea ability and that with tuition and training they would have nothing- to fear in tho highest quarters, but they ako l>oint out that the:'- own team had not previously played together this season in a representative 'natch, and therefore had a •rood deal of ground to make up in regard to combination Seeling was injured during '.he oLtond .^ell, and though he played

[ on it is unlikely that he will be able to don ! the jersey against Wellington on Saturday. i The visitors returned to Wellington immediately after the match, getting a great send off. AUCKLAND v. WELLINGTON. WELLINGTON, August 28. The twenty-first match between representatives of Wellington and Auckland was played on the Athletic Park this afternoon under conditions that were the reverse of pleasant and tended to make any chance of decent football being played out of the question. Rain had commenced to fall on Friday, and practically continued off and on till after the match was played. The ground was, therefore, very slippery, and in places pools of water were in evidence. When play commenced there was an attendance of between 6000 and 7000, which, considring the fact that umbrellas had to be held up all the time, will be sufficient to record ■ the great interest taken by the Wellington publio in this contest, which is one of the most important fixtures of the year. The match was a good struggle for supremacy, and although Auckland eventually won by three points, as the result of a penalty goal kicked by O'Leary in the first half, they could not be said to have had tbe better of the exchangee. A fair result would have been a cujasra game, if any- -- thing slightly in Weliuigton'js favour, for. they were oftener on the attack * than*: the men from the north. The teams tfiat '," lined out were. as follow: — Attckzand.-^FuH back, Ren wick; threequarters—M'Gregor, Wilson, Murray r fiv&> I eighths. Magee and O'Leary ; half, Webb ; wing, Wilk«s; forwards — Herring, Sellars, Francis, M'Guire, Nicholson, Williams, Waddell. Wellington. — Full, Ryan ; three-quar-ters — Walshe, Mitchioson, Evenson; fiveeighths, M'Leod and H. Roberts; half. F* Roberts; wing, Avery; forwards — Ready, Dennehy, A. Wilson, A. C. Wilaon, Tannahill, M'Kellar, Bruce. F. Roberts, the Wellington skipper, elected to play with a fairly strong easterly wind behind him. After the opening exchanges Magee made a fine kick which Walshe returned into play beyond Auckland's half-way line. A ruah of Wellington forwards carried the ball over the line, but Renwick was in good time to prevent a score. Nicholson broke away from a scrum, but Magee was ruled offside. Ryan's kick was a good one, but went wide of the goal. F. Roberts made a fine run, but M'Leod mulled H. Roberts's pass just when anything might have happened. The Aucklanders breathed easier for *a while. M'Gregor made a dash, but O'Leary's kick was tco hard and Wellington forced. Herring next kept up Auckland's attack and carried the ball to Walshe, who was penalised for ! hanging on. Magee's kick was in a ercod direction, but was not strong enough. Ready, Avery, and Wilson headed a rush of Wellington forwards, but Renwick 1 stopped them when a slip on hie part would have meant disaster to Auckland. I A free kick was given against -him, and . I Roberts tried for .an impossible goal under ■ the circumstances. Francis, Nicholson, and Wilkes penetrated the Wellington defence, but a score did not come just then. O'Leary had ' hard work in stopping- a rush of Wellington forwards. After a lot of hard kicking a f.ree kiok -for , obstruction was awarded the Aucklanders, O'Leary kicking a fine troal from a point more tlian 25yds out. Auckland 3 points, Wellington nil. Roberts broke away once again, but M'Leod gave a bad pass. Mitchinson, Herring, and Murray in turn sent the ball back, and Mitchinson made a. fine mark, but his kick went over the line. Evenson, Roberts, Mitchinson, and Walshe associated in a passing rush, but a force down only resulted. The Aucklanders wasted time at this stage in kickouts, and cries of " Play the game, "Auckland," were pretty persistent' from the spectators. M'Gregor made a fine dribble and Wilkes carried it on, and then Francis. Sellars, and Nicholson booted the bail rig-ht to the Wellington line, where luck saved Wellington, as Nicholson only had to grasp the ball to score a try, /but it eluded him. Tannahill broke away from a scrum, but Murray returned the ball, and the whistle went for half-time with the play in midfield. The wind, which had helped the local team considerably during the first moiety had by the time ends were changed dropped a lot. Walshe took H. Roberts's place at five-eighths, the younger player going on as wing three-quarter. The game had hardly been resumed •when the Aucklanders were called upon to defend their line, but Avery's final kick was too hard, and M'Gregor g-ofc to the ball first. Francis led the Aucklanders over the half-way line, but O'Leary knocked on. The stoppage was only temporary, however, for William 6 and M'Guire brought the ball right down to Wellington's full back, who was called on to dofend the citadel, just managing to foreedoivn in time. For about 20 minutes at this stage of the game the Wellington team practically overran their opponents, but open play, passing rushes by the backs and forward rushes by the forwards were met by the sturdiest of defences. A great run was mads by H. Roberts, Renwick pushing him out just at the corner flag. •Wellington let up for a moment, and then Wil-t-oii made a run for Auckland, getting right to the full back before he was checked. In the succeeding scramble Macgee, tho Auckland captain, received concussion as the re-suit of Francis's knee striking him on the bssd. Ho had to bo carried off tho field, Wind<?.- coming on in hk place. Wheni play was resinned Wellington came back to Auckland's half of the field. Roberts, Walsh<\ M'Leod, and Mitchinson got going in good style, but tho last-named missed his pass through trying to take it with one hand. Evenson made a da6h from a pass given him by Roberts, and also tried to drop a goal. A frec-kidc was without reou't. Roberta made a run right' through, but R-nwick collared him splendidly, and! Averv once again kicked tco hard over tho line and M'Gregor saved. Maguire and Winder headed a rush right down to tho Wellington full back, but M'Leodl relieved the pressure by kicking into touch. Wilkes got off-side, and Auckland, mainly as the, result of a fine rush by M'Guire, Waddell, Herring, and Williams, came right through to Wellington's last line of defence. Wilson kicked over the line, but Ryan saved. The concluding incident of the game was a. fine run by Franc is, who passed to Wilkes. Then O'Leary had a shot at goal from a penalty kick, which was reeultless. Final score i

m . ' hi ■-■t 'Auckland » < . . points. ! 1 Wellington . .-. ...'. . . Nfl. j Senwick played brilliantly as Auckland's full back. Others who -were prominent were M'Gregor aad O'Leary among the backs | and Williams* M'Guire, and Francis in the ' forwards. F Roberts was Wellington's leading back, and Ryan's full back display { was almost on & pa*r -with Renwick'e. > ;Widehe «nd Evemson were the best of the ' others. Among the forwards Tannahill ■wao easily the best, although he was followed closely by Bruce and Dennehy. Mr J. Duncan was referee, and although j too strict for such a wet day he was abeo- | lutely impartial, and gave satisfaction to both teams. - During the game Auckland forced 12 times and Wellington five. ASSOCIATION. By Left Wdjg. The following table shows the final positions of- the teams in the Second Grade Cup j competition : — . -"-- , £.|1 I1 1 8* p+ p d> & v Bivensbouro© — .. 14 14 0 0 58 13 28 Northern 13 9 2 2. 46 24 20. Cftristian Btothars 14 8. 5 1 45 21 17 Ifiwrr BQll 13 7 6 0 22 28 14 Mornittgton B „ .. 13 6 6 1 30 25 13 City .. .. . , 12 4 5 3 20 25 11 Koslyn-mkari ... 12 3 9 0 21 31 6 Alliance .. ... .. 11 2 9 0 8 21 4 "Left Wing" acknowledges the courtesy j o£ a complimentary card for the City ' Club's smoke concert on September 1. ! The financial necessity in connection with the visit of. an Otago schools' team to | .Wellington on September 18 is practically j assured, and the new secretary is deserving > o£ all. credit. The O.F.A. has recognised i the claims of schools .football by setting apart a whole day next Saturday and giving Culling Park for schools matches, the only outsidfe match being Jie replay of i the Third Grade- final between Northern ' and' Christian Brothers. The schoolboys ' display surprisingly good football, and the , public and- players snould find the games most interesting Predicting the results of football or cricket matches is a precarious diversion. Saturday's match between City and Northern for the Charity Banner furnished a striking example of the uncertainty of prophecy. A close match was certainly anticipated, and the weakening of City's strength by the measure of two important units favoured the runners-up. But the wildest fancy never depicted a 7 to nil rout. Twto factors influencing the result are easily assignable. In the first place, the substitute forwards proved unhappily impotent. Campbell was rarely seen in relation to the ball. It was otherwise with the striking figure of^Patterson, but he proved but a weak vessel, notably when, after a fine break away, with only the goalkeeper to. beat, he placed ludicrously outside the post. The second, and more serious, factor in the downfall of City was the sloppy state of the ground. The close, fine footwork of City forwards was very difficult on a ground where the ball almost . stuck. Northern were better used to the conditions, and their style of play is more easily accommodated to such a heavy ground, so that they were able to use their superior speed to the best advantage. Add to this the moral effect — in opposite directions — of a lead of a couple of goals, and the altogether remarkable, if unpremeditated, generosity of Elliot in presenting Northern with- three goals, and you have the explanation. The game was thoroughly attractive, and bright with concerted movements, despite the state of the ground. Nortl«rn full backs, Irvine and Shepherd, were particularly safe, their directing of the greasy ball being rarely at fault. Their opposites, Elliot and Mayhew, were less reliable than usual. The former, despite his lapses, put in some ( notably strong kicks. Porter was again the nick of the Northern halves. He is never bustled, and displays rare judgment in fielding and placing. The half back line proved more congenial to Wyness than did the forward -ranks a fortnight before. From the vantage point of right half position he not only engineered useful manoeuvres, but also offered gratuitous education to the referee — a decidedly risky proceeding. Ratley rarely lost a kick. He placed in a nicely-judged shot which looked dangerous for Northern. Har- ■ rison played a strong game on the left, but the halves as a whole did not succeed in ' holding the vigorous Northern forwards. The pick of the City front line was Rus■seil, whose clever fielding and e\cellentlyjudged passes to Raeburn were a feature of the game. The latter unfortunately marred his otherwise- useful display by the adoption of tactics calculated to bring discredit upon the sport. f Northern forwards proved a different team to that which contested the Cup final. Instead of bunching together like Rugby forwards, they kept their places, and re- ' tamed control of the ball instead of kicking it into the City backs. "The wing play, too, showed improvement. Evans should be ■ kept on the left wing. Although still not , over valourous, he made some effective runs, and assisted in the scores. Simpson also seemed more at home on the riprht wing, in spite of strong opposition in Harrison and Mayhew. Ohadwick played a brainy gam°. and the Timlins showpd rare dash, breaking repeatedly through the Black defence. j It. was surely the very irony of fate that in the final match of the sea-son Jack should have had put up against him more goals than had been recorded against him for the whole Cup competition. His total of six poals against was increased in one day to 13. And the fact that three of them were scored against him by one of his own side must be but poor consolation. Jack handled some stiff shots very cleanly, but on one or two occasions paid penalty for running out from his goat. J. Fhepherd had only a few serious shots to trouble him, arid he disposed of them splendidly. Northern and Roslyn's names now appear an equal number of times upon the banner. So far the O.F.A. .has" not any further word from either Canterbury or Wellington. It begins to look as if the Wellington trip may have to be abandoned if Wellington is to play Auckland (September 4), Wanganui, and Hawko's Bay before they can receive an Otago team. There is every reason to suppose that. Canterbury will keep their fixture in Dunedin before the end of September. The present arrangement to give up next- Saturday to schools and to play five-a-side matches the following Saturday is not leaving much opportunity for trial matches. The members of the present Northern have expressed their willingness to

[ try conclusions with the Northern of an j older day, and the match will now be arranged for the first convenient Saturday. Meanwhile the back numbers are urged to indulge in as much training as they can i stand, with a view to routing the winners of the Charity Banner [ OTAGO FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION. I The weekly meeting of the Otago Football Association was held on Monday evening. Mr J Braithwaite .ras elected chairman. I The sub-committee appointed to prepare a report to forward to the N.Z.F.A., with ! fcbe City Club's protest against the O.F.A.'s disqualification of R. Lawson, handed in the draft of a letter which, however, had been agreed to by only two of the three members of the committee. After a lengthy discussion, traversing the wihole inquiry, a motion to the effect that the letter be forwarded to the N.Z.F.A. was moved and seconded. Mr Braithwaite, however, rose and stated that on behalf of the City Club he intended to withdraw the appeal, i regarding that as the most dignified atti- ] tude for his club to adopt in view of their ! • belief that members of the committee did i- not seem disposed to discriminate between i intentional and* unintentional "offences. Per- j mission to withdraw the appeal wasgranted, and the matter was allowed \o ' drop. A member of the committee reported that daring bh« progress of a. recent match | between firms' teams, which had been i granted the vse of Corinthian Park by the ' 0.F.A., bad language upon the part of at least one player had been distinctly heard at a residence about 100 yards away. — It ; was resolved that the captain of the beam conoarned be written to about fcbe matter. Mr Haig called attention to the fact that contrary to the understanding that all I other games be put off when the Oharity , banner match was being played, schools i matches had been played. It was also mentaoned that matches had been arranged by Northern players.— Resolved that attention be called to tba breach of the rule in order to prevent repetition. It was decided to hold the five-a-side matches for all grades on September 11, entries, accompanied with fees, closing on September 6. CHARITY BANNER FINAL. The Otago Football Association's annual match for charity was played at the Carisbrook Ground on Saturday. The contestants were City (the Cup winners) a.r,d the Northern (runners-up). Unfortunately, the meteorological conditions conspired to spoil clever footwork, and to prevent any serious gain to the charities. The ground was sodden and the ball greasy. The even game between Northern and City in the Cup final favoured the anticipation of a e-eoond closely-contested game. City included two juniors— Campbell and Patterson— playing inside right and centre" resneetivelv. The Cup winners kicked off and troubled the Northern defence, Russell being prominent in attack and Irvine in defence. It was at once apparent that long-kicking and shooting with the slippery ball was to be the game with both teams. Thr> Timline broke away on the right and middled. Porter steadied, and banged in a nic-9 long shot, which Jack handled accurately. The play wa& skilful, despite the difficult state of the ball. A good run by Charlesworth was cleverly crushed by Porter. A pretty pass by Russoll was taker up by Raeburn, but Irvine nipped ft in the bud" and Black and Whites got. movinsr Chadwick steadied carefully, and drove in a beautiful shot, whioh Jack a^ain fielded safely and cleared, but the Timlins bore down and had Jack on the ground, his backs saving by conceding a corner. Blacks returned, Charlesworth breaking away, but kicking hard out to Raeburn instead of shooting. Good work by R. Shepherd again despatched Northern forwards upon a combined run, I as the outcome of which ->-fch« ball was driven across from the right, and Evans missed a snjendid opportunity by neslecting to steady. Shortly afterward-s John Timlin, in front of <*oal. spoiled another likely chance. Wyness opened out for City, but Raeburn was pulled up for offside play. The same forwa.ro* obtained possession at half-way, passed all opposition, and centred. Northern conceded a corner, which was cleared to Ra-tlev who sent in a capital shot _ which J. Shepnerd disposed of by yielding a cornor. From resultant play Patterson put in a shot which struck .he bar J. Shepherd clearing. Porter started Northern off. passing in to Evans Elliott, in defending, drove the ball hard against Evans's back, tho rebound joiner e+ronelv into fche net. Northern 1, City nil. Blacks retaliated with a pretty forward run, in which Russell .and Raeburn wwo prominent. A free kick was awarded to City perilously near Northern's penalty area because of Cameron fouLin?. Northern backs relieved, and enabled their forwards to attack by way of the right. James Timlin dashed off at top sp-eod. Jack ran out injudiciously to meet him. and Timlin placed past him across goal, where Elliott, miming back, kicked through the goal, giving Northern a lead of 2 jjoaK Northern continued daag-orous. and Chadwick cleverly initiated an advance, from which Evans shot smartly. The Timlins and Simpson closed in on the goal, anil each touched the ball in turn, Pimpeon finally scoring from cue iiard out A further likely shof b"v Evan* wa,s sueby an excellent opportunity for City. Patterson got clean away. dribbled up to J. Shepherd, and then sofrlv kicked outside the upright. The second -pell opened with a re*ultle?s corner kick to Northern, follows! by another Ru«~eil-Raeburn rush, from which J Fhepherd fielded Raehurn's A mo'.ster kick by R. Shepherd let Northern mi again, and, despite fine defence by Alayliew, R Simp*on managed to shoot Hard against. Jack. wlw=e save \va- smothered by Elliott, the City captain scoring his third g-oal for Northern. Elliot*- then v.^nt forward, and Wyness replaced him es full back. Uninteresting- play endued. mad<» worse by instances of illegal tackling by Cifiv players. Blacks at l«neth broke away with a strong- run, and Elliott drove th<» hardest shot of the day for his side. J Shepherd gathered in cleanly. p.n-d Northern attacked j.»ain. N«at work by Chadwlok and Evans drew Jar-k, who "was hardly back in time to deal with .Tam^ Tim lin'3 shot, which he tluew into the net. Northern 5 goals. City nil. C : ty werp playing without spirit. Shepherd onsn-?d out for Northern. A hard driie to Evans, was accurately taken, ar-d Elliott Jetting Simpson in with Northern's «i\-th poal. This was follovsod a!mo-t imrn»dia.tel<o by a fine run by the Timlins, capital work by James Timlin enabling Simpson to score the seventh and final

goal. Northern were attacking hotly when Mr Crawley brought the game to a conclusion. Northern #•.-..-.. 7 goals. , City ~ 7 ." ... Nil. I Previous Winners. [ The Charity Banner record to date is as follows : — 1895 — Rcslyn 190.5 — Northern 18?6— Roslyn 1904— Northern 1897— Roslyn 3905— Wakari 1898— Wakari 1906— Northern 1899— Roslyn 1907— Northern 1900— Roslyn 1908— Northern 1901— Southern 1909— Northern j 902— Roslyn THIRD GRADRI. Priov to the Charity Banner match Christian Brothers' and Northern played a Third Grade Cup fixture. The match was keenly contested, and nGt devoid of play of a oromising standard. In the first spell Nortnern ga : ned a lead of one goal, Galland being the scorer Early in the second half this lead was increased, Miller's shot glancing off Byrne through the goaL Midway through the spell, when Christian Brothers' were pressing, a Northern player tripped an opponent, when within 'the penalty aren. O'eonneJl took the penalty kick, and scored easily. Northern then attacked briskly, failing with several harmless efforts. Christian Brothers' pressed them bank, and shortly before time reached the line via the right wing. The ball slithered acrosr the goal-mouth, and the outside left (Connor) placed a goal. The game, which was controlled by Mr J Baillie, thus ended in a draw, with the scores: Christian Brothers' . 2 goals. Northern . .... 2 goals. SCHOOLS' MATCHES. The High School A met the Mornington in the semi-hnal for the Junior Banner. The High School bojs, after a most exciting game, won by * 3 goals to 2. The match Maori Hill v. George Street, also for the semi-final of the Junior, was postponed until Wednesday.