SENIOR LEAGUERS RALLY

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 341, 30 April 1928, Page 6

SENIOR LEAGUERS RALLY

Richmond’s Defeat of Newton Was Reward of Hard Training

ellerslie stages surprise victory

FOR the first gumes of the season, the six senior Rugby League teams which took the field at League h®adquarters on Saturday afternoon, produced surprising dash and finish in their play, and the 5,500 fans present were treated to bright displays of the code, seldom seen m the hrst contests of the year. In the 3 o’clock clash on No. 1 area, Richmond fielding a lighter but better trained team and showing superior tactics in every department of the game, gained an eight-point win over Newton. The sensation of the day’s sport, however, was the defeat of Ponsonby by Ellerslie, the newly promoted 13.

In Ihe star same of tlie day, ltichraond. v. Newton, tli©- former team d.efeated last year's champions by 18 to 10. But although Richmond fielded a team of very fit men who showed much better combination among both its backs and forwards, it was by no means a one-sided contest, nor did it lack interest, for it was fast and spectacular. in the first half, Richmond had the better of the attack, but after the spell, Dufty’s men came to light to take a fair share and at one stage oven clinched the lead in the score. It was in the last f!0 minutes, however, that ifcre staying power and stamina of the Richmondites showed up strong and they added two converted scores, which gave them the game. AMONG THE FORWARDS

The hefty Newton pack found the lighter and younger Richmond forwards no easy proposition. Clark, of Newton, did quite a deal of hard work, but most of the time was found scouting round the scrum off-side. -Strange to say, he got away with it in most cases. Herring, who played for Grafton Athletic last year, and Somers, proved an invincible combination at getting the ball away from the scrum, and so gave the backs some golden op-

portunities which at times they did not seem prepared to take the advantage of. Henry in the pack was always at it. and played a good solid game throughout. Among the Richmond forwards there are some tigers for work and their smart following up and rushing tactics in the loose deserved them a victory. Lennie, who ranked as one of the best on the day’s play, was always up with the game and besides giving yeoman service in the tight, put in some spectacular runs. He was unlucky not to score. McCarthy is another who put in some brilliant work. He played a very open game and with his keenness and good following up managed two spectacular tries. Colebrook. a junior player, made a great showing and well earned his position in the senior ranks. With more experience in big football, more can be expected in the future from this young, hard working Richmond forward. TRAINING TELLS

The brilliant combination and handling on the part of the Richmond rearguard was undoubtedly the feature of the day’s p ay. Taylor who had considerable success with his goal kicking seemed to manage to be in the thick of the majority of the back movements, while Prentice. Jenkinson, i>wift. and Davis, besides making good individual runs, were seen in some fine neat passing bouts. Davis, lurking behind the scrum, knows his drill in this position and can take some of the credit for the fine showing made by the Richmond backs.

Only at intervals did the Newton backs manage to stage a well-finished passing bout. McLeod was perhaps the better of the two five-eighths, and Shaver'’ Hardgreaves, playing half for the first time, got the ball away well and played a good safe game. Dufty at centre is perhaps losing a little of his old dash, but his thorough knowledge of the game, and his fine line and place kicking, proved to be Richmond's hardest problem. Herewini, last season's fullback, turned out as one of the wings. His dashing style of play together with plenty of speed, suits him for this position, but on Saturday he fumbled on one or two occasions, and this got him into trouble. More experience as a wing three-quarter should mark him as one of the best. Of the two fullbacks Hanlon, of Richmond, played the better game and gave a fine exhibition. Murray, a newcomer to the senior ranks, is quite a raw recruit just yet, but shows considerable promise.

The scorers were: Richmond: McCarthy (2), Turton, Jenkinson. Taylor converted four. Newton: Herewini, Clark: Dufty converted one and kicked a penalty.