Auckland Eight

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 287, 24 February 1928, Page 11

Auckland Eight

INTER-PROVINCIAL RACE

Promising Crew Selected

ONE cannot but he impressed with the calibre of the eight that has been selected to represent Auckland at the forthcoming inter-provincial eight-oar race at Wellington for the Hallyburton-Johnston Cup. The crew is particularly heavy and nearly all the men have already made names for themselves in big rowing.

rpHKEE of the men. Sandos. hsayiey and St. Clair, have already represented New Zealand in touring eights, while a fourth —Brooker — would have been in the same crew if he had been available. The only unknown quantity in the crew is the Whangarei man, Webber, while Soloman is comparatively new to senior rowing. In choosing the crew, the selector was probably faced with the possibility of several junior oarsmen being of better standard than the available seniors. Tauranga and Whangarei put out notably good junior fours, and it looked at one time as if several members of these crews would have to be selected. However, the first senior race of the season at Hamilton on Anniversary Day showed convincingly that the junior standard is far behind that of the seniors. Further, the hard course revealed distinct weaknesses in several of the junior men in the running. Consequently it is not surprising that the selection is limited to only one junior oarsman — Webber of the Whangarei Club. HAMILTON STRENGTH The same race showed also that the Hamilton senior four is a particularly strong one. In the writer’s opinion they will be very close up in the championship fours this season. True, the Waitemata crew came from a particularly bad position, but both it and the other crews were so convincingly beaten that the selector was justified in building his eight round the Hamilton four. The position that must have caused most thought, and the one at which most criticism will be levelled, is that of stroke. Sandos must have been considered but for the fact that he can row only on one side —the bow side of the association’s boats. The .Hamilton Club’s own boat is rigged especially on the opposite side to suit him. On top of this, Sandos is considered the best seven man in New Zealand at the present time The other men considered were probably limited to Johnson and V. Smith, both of the Waitemata Club. It seems hard to understand why Johnson was passed over. Apparently he was not available at the time of the Hamilton race, but he has been rowing consistently since. and has stroked the Waitemata crew each time in the Sommerville Shield

series. Further, he rowed himself into the last New Zealand representative eight, and has had considerable success stroking senior fours. Apparently he was definitely unavailable for this race, or one cannot understand his non-inclusion. Smith, the selected stroke, is long,

wiry and very lively- Though most successful with a youths’ crew a few seasons ago, he has not the experience of some of the other men in the crew, and sometimes his liveliness is obtained at a sacrifice of leg work. He has faults in that he tends to over-reach, causing him first to drop his shoulders at the catch, and then to lift the oar hig:h before entering the water. At the same time he has a habit of catch - the water with slightly bent arms. None of the faults, however slight, does one expect to find in men up to interprovincial standard. There is no doubt, however, that he will set a good lively pace, and that he will be wide awake throughout the race. WEBBER'S INCLUSION The other member of the crew who will invite considerable criticism will be Webber, who occupies the five seat. He is a particularly heavy man, and very powerful. He is not, however, the polished oarsman that the other members of the crew are. His slide work is unsteady, and his arms are very badly bent throughout the stroke and during the recovery. The writer is inclined to think that his rowing is too much armwork. He is the makings of a very fine oar, but certainly most of the coaching of this crew will be directed at him. Of the other members of the crew very little comment need be made. '•’’he three Hamilton men, Sandos. Bayley find St. Clair, form a very sound basis round which the crew has been built. Their chief fault, which is a club fault, is a too hard drop of the hands at the completion of the stroke. This part of the stroke can be performed neatly and smartly without going to the extent of making it a hard, tiring jerk. The one way is a smooth continuation of the previous movements of the hands, the other an almost distinct break in the continuity of those movements. The same remarks apply to a lesser extent to Waters, who will occupy the two seat and who is coached in the same club. In Solomon, who is rowing three, a good solid type of oar has been selected, although he rows a somewhat different style from that of the other members of the crew. ARRANGEMENT OF CREW One very surprising feature of the crew is the placing of Brooker, who is one of the biggest men in the boat, in the bow seat. It is generally conceded that the big, taller men of the crew will be placed near the middle. The logical placing of the men selected appears to the writer to be: Smith (str.), Sandos. Bayley, St. C 1 a i r. Brooker, Solomon. Webber and Waters. This presumes that both Brooker and Waters can row on either side, which any member of a provincial crew should be expected to do. It places the longer men higher up in the boat, and ensures that the swing will not be broken —a more important consideration really than the weight of the men within half a stone or so. These few scattered criticisms give an interested outsider’s views on the crew. Without doubt the crew is one of the finest seen together in New Zealand. Let us say that attention to the coaching of the crew is all that is necessary to make it into an almost perfect combination.