SATURDAY’S FOOTBALL.

Shannon News, 4 May 1926, Page 3

SATURDAY’S FOOTBALL.

TABLE OiF RESULTS. Below is a table of all matcliet played last Saturday in the Horowhe nua district: —i \ SENIOR. Wanderers 14, Weraroa 3. County A 17, Otaki 5. Shannon' 17, Foxton 14. . JUNIORS. Awahou 16, Tokomaru 6. Mir aim i 0 Weraroa 0. Hiui Mai 7, Wanderers 3. Otaki forfeited bot Foxton. THIRDS. ; Foxton 33 ,v. Shannon 0. Weraroa 16, Wanderers 0. Otaki M.C. H, Otaki 6. Southern United 11, Kuku 0. FOURTHS. Shannon 12, Foxton D.H.S. 0. Levin D.H.S. 18, Weraroa 0.

SENIOR MATCHES.

COUNTY 17 v. OTAKI 5. County met Otaki an the .latter’s ground" on Saturday, and romped home easy winners by 17 points to- 5. The Blues were in much better condition than their opponents, and the score is a pretty fair indication of tin; relative merits of the two fifteens. There was a good muster of spectators, and when the teams lined ou,t it was quite obvious 1 that County were much the heavier team. The game was confined chiefly to the forwards, neither rear divisions, with -the exception of occasional flashes, showing any signs of cohesion whatever. Tire type, of football suited the heavy Blue pack, and they held a distinct edge over the Greens practically throughout. McKinnon, the hefty County lock, 'get play in motion. Bovan mulled the opening kick, and (town swept- the Blue vanguard carrying all before them until P. Tahiwi smartly picked up and {returned upheld. County came away from the line out with the ball at their toes, but. lost- control of-the leather, and Rhodes, W. 'Merino and Tahiwi gained consider- * aWe ground' with a lightning thrust. An interchange of kicks saw Otaki gain further ground, but once more the Blue scrummages broke clear, From a line-out 'on the Greens' 25 line, Parata, County’s half, obtained .possession, and sent on to his brother T. Parata. This player neatly eluded several Otaki backs, and gave Rophiu a. clear run-in wide out. It was a good movement, and caught the Otaki men nipping M. MacDonald made a poor attempt to goal. Fumbling by the Green backs let the County men through on many occasions, and Otaki were called upon to defend sternly. Eventually, after a hot five minutes, Rhodes, who was playing a great game for the Southern team, cleared brilliantly, and Enoka, carrying on well, County were called upon to defend their citadel seriously for the first time. T. iParata was conspicuous with fine defensive work, at this stage, and " twice in quick succession sent play back to midfield. ' . Taipua, the Otaki half, sent, his backs away on several excursions into their opponent’s area, hut the inside men were not running straight enough, with the result that then supports were crowded out-. From a dropped pass the County pack came away, but offside play by McKinnon -spoilt what looked like a promising movement. Up to this stage the Blues were having much , the best of the game, and play was confined -to the Greens’ 25. The Otaki forwards were finding the opposing pack a. hard proposition, nevertheless, they hung on grimly. lhe County men were not to be dented, and gradually worked closer and closer. A line out a couple of yards from the defender’s line saw the bah come clear and, quick as a flash, R. McDonald had picked up and planted it.over for a good try. The, kick was not allowed through handling on the ground. Dunn replaced Tuna, the County captain, who limped off with a sprined ankle. When plav was in motion again R. Tahiwi initiated a movement among lhe Otaki rearguard. Reid dropped his pass, but Gleason came up at a great pace and, dribbling on -past Webber, the County custodian, had a clear field ahead. A try l 0^ d ain, but Warren came across hom the other wing, and savedintnn style. From the -ensuing pldj, Enoka just went outside the posts. withe pot, and County forced as half tn Otaki improved somewhat upon resumption, and started off at a h\eiy S. Merino broke through with a solo effort, but lacked the t,rv support. The Blues applied the messurehi the following scrum, and CUr welgM pustreil U>«r pntK back. Heremaia shot out oi the ™ck and punted ? Preen backs, but -Enoka beat of the G i,„i] anf j cleared - the him to Th ‘ ; &e la in midfield danger - fool a couple of tacksaw P. 1 a l , 1 D T'iiiiwi flying down lers, and only the County fullthe wing. went all out back to pass. ;pro -ved equal for a try, bnt webbcJ b ;i . to his task and upended him good tackle. • - tm. Otaki This seemed to plenty players, and th ey playe P C aine of dash, for a while. . nrul a n up from full to five-eigh . 1 ~e e improvemeat wifi immediately 2. County were their own way, and the _ surned, the ascendancy. At las S punt by Hirvey found _ the B ue Ss too itow to movement, and Gleeson sHot J ® dribble ever, and score a s t )e f “ Uis first attempt to convert, went

second kick. This made the scores 6—5 in County’s favour aud the game became very exciting. Hakaipia, P. Tahiwi and Wilson were associated in a nice passing movement, but M. MacDonald forced the last named player into touch at the 25 line. County evidently now decided that it was time to increase their lead, and they set out to do so in a determined fashion. Heremaia, Stewart and Palmer combined in a fine loose rush, the ball ‘reaching Wilson, who fumbled badly, and Heremaia showing plenty of pace, took the oval over but, when about to score, was badly /Obstructed by P. Tahiwi. The referee rightly awarded Heremaia a try. W. Pai ata missed an easy kick.

Play had no sooner started again when. Warren, gaining possession in midfield, cleverly dummied his way right through half the Otaki team and scored under the posts. It was the prettiest try of the day, and fooled the opposition badly. Mr. McDonald made no mistake with the kick. With time now r close at hand Otaki’s position looked -hopeless and they played like a beaten team. B. Tahiwi was carried off with an injury to his leg when the game restarted. Otaki made a dying -effort, and initiated a passing movement, but T. Parata intercepted a lobbed pass, and, running well, sent on to- Palmer. The last named player -short punted, re-o-ain-ed possession, and passed out to W. Parata, who crossed in the corner. Warren missed a difficult kick, and the final whistle sounded leaving the Blues twelve points to- the good. Mr N. Eminelt ably controlled the game.

WANDERERS 14 v. WERAROA 3

Weraroa went under to Wanderers at Levin on Saturday, the Blacks winning with eleven points to spare. As in their game against County on the previous Saturday, Weraroa, up till -half tame, quite held their own, but in. the final spell again faded away badly. Wanderers were the first toi open their account. The Weraroa full-back miskicked' in his haste to frustrate an attacking movement, and Smith, taking the ball in his, stride,. scored in a handy, position. Jacob missed an easy kick. The Weraroa team were not long in equalising. D. Cole and Skelton were prominent in a loose rush ttiat penetrated into the Blacks’ area, where a defending player was penalised. Hopa’s first- attempt to goal missed, but the Blacks foolishly charged, and he was given a second attempt. This time he was successful in piloting the leather between the posts. The- Weraroa backs were handling better than tile Levin .men, and St. Clair was playing well on the wing, but the Blacks’ tackling was fairly safe. There was no further score before half time. When play re-started, the Wanderers gained the upper band, their torwards maintaining a prolonged attack, and Weraroa were rarely past the half way line. Tataria, who-was playing a fine game among the Black scrummages, started a movement, the leather being handled by several of the attacking side, which finally ended with Kuiti running round, to score under the posts. Jacob made no mistake with the kick. Poad and Phillips, both increased Levin’s score with a try apiece, neither being converted, and a mediocre game ended witti the score 14—3 in Wanderers’ favour. Mr K. Davies gave every satisfaction with the whistle.

SHANNON 17 v. FOXTON 12.

Shannon Seniors made their first appearance in the Cup fixtures on Saturday at the Shannon Domain when they met Foxton, who- on the previous Saturday defeated County by 46 to nil. Naturally, the local men knew they would have to put -forward their best effort to win. It was fortunate for them they ipu,t up a good lead in the early part of the game, as in the concluding stages Foxton was running all over them, this being brought about by the I act that they were, the fittest team. Shannon have got the players this season, but it was quite evident they are not trained and it is to be hoped they will take the 'hint- from Saturday’s game. The local team have a fine forward division and with one of two a iterations in the backs, should prove a formidable team as 'the season, advances. On the other hand Foxton showed form that proved they are a smart team with plenty of combination. The next occasion these two teams meet should provide a splendid contest. The game on -Saturday was a hard’, fought one and provided several exciting moments for the spectators. The game opened by Foxton sweeping down the field with a passing rush. This was stemmed in the 25’s. Reds retaliated, Kohika carrying play hack to the Yellow fine, where they were awarded a penally kick which Boyce converted. On the ball going into play again, it was taken to midfield where Foxton had .Shannon on the defensive for some time. Finally, Reds were penalised for offside on the 25 line, Taylor -converting, evening the score. The Reds now attacked and from a passing bout near the line during which the bail was handled' bv nearly all the back division, Bovce 'crossed the line. He took the kick but failed to add the extra noints The home team still kept up STrttaU and ftM „ midflold Hurs and Hendricksen with the -ball at their toes, broke through and assisted by -Moynihan and Johansen earned play to Foxton line, the effort ondang

in a force. Shortly after Foxton- made a series of attempts to. cross their opponents-’ line, .'two opportunities being spoilt by faulty passes to- Procter on the wing. They continued for some time to have Shannon defending their line, but relief came to the latter by their half, -Spring, who was playing a good game -for a hoy, by a good kick finding -the line well down. Shortly after Hunt tried a pot from the field, but missed .although it was a good attenipt. T li-e spe 11 end ed n i 11) the play in Foxton’s favour. Hie scores were—Shannon 6, Foxton 3. The second spell opened with f oxton making every effort to even mattens but Shannon were equal to the occasion. Ultimately from a kick by Foxton the . baJ 1 rebounded and Dalzeli following up smartly registered a try. Hunt failed with the kick. A loose melee followed and then the Yellows again attacked and were given a free kick, the hall going on the outside of the post-. From the -kickoff, T. Dalzell by a fine run up the line from half-way pas-sea to Hakaraia who scored. Hunt by ,a splendid kick converted. Shortly after Spiting made a similar run, enabling Whyte who followed up, to score. Hunt failed to- add the extra points. Shan.n,On 17, Foxton 3, -From now on Shannon faltered and there was every indication that they had run themselves out. Foxton kept up a v-igirous attack, from one of which Sliannon were penalised in front oif the goal, resulting in Moses converting. They aghin returned to the- attack, a fine passing rush by tlieir back division being intercepted by Hunt, who saved what appeared to -be a sure try, by finding the line well down. Not to be denied Foxton came again and from a passing bout from half way, Procter crossed the. line. Taylor’s kick -failed. From a scrum the Foxton half got the hall and put- his backs in motion and after some fine passing Kiriona' heat his man and -scored a good try. Taylor again missed win. the kick. The. game ended with Foxton having all the best of it, they having increased their score in tie last twenty minutes by nine points. Mr Sciasciu controlled the game.