Among the Leaguers

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 343, 2 May 1928, Page 11

Among the Leaguers

NEW BLOOD IN SENIOR RANKS Club Room Gossip IN last Saturday’s League games the standard of play among the ex-juniors in the senior grade was of a high order and club football should this year prove as interesting as ever.

When the season ended last year quite a number of senior Leaguers gave the game up, and it was felt by many that it was going to be a. difficult task to have these gaps in the senior ranks suitably filled for this year. It was feared that the standard of play was going to suffer a sharp decline. But when the senior teams filed out at Carlaw Park last Saturday. showing many new faces, most

of them ex-juniors, they proved beyond a shadow of doubt, by their good tactics on the field, both among the backs. and the forwards, that the senior ranks had by no means declined. In fact, senior Rugby League this year shows signs of being of an exceptionally high standard. Young blood is coming on all the time and where there is a good man playing big football there is usually a better one coming on.

Among those new faces which showed up among the senior ranks there are some who will no doubt be the goods for big “rep.’ games to come. Crouch, who plays half for City, is very promising. Hadley, a new forward in the same team, went very well and shows plenty of dash.

Colebrook is an ex-junior forward who is the makings of somethinggood. He works hard and appears to keep himself very fit. Murray, Newton’s full-back, was perhaps a little uncertain in his game on Saturday and certainly could not be compared with Hanlon. He shows promise.

Davis, Avho turned out for Ellerslie is a fine type of forward and was one of the leading lights in the rushes on Saturday.

Cammick, a five-eighth for Ponsonby, did not appear to be exactly at home. However, it is not an easy place to fill, in the rear-guard rank of the Ponies, so with a little more experience he may show exceptional improvement.

Voisey, who a couple of seasons ago played for Shore, turned out for Grafton Athletic and played quite a good game. Paltridge, a junior representative last season, was noticed to be doing some good work among the Grafton backs.

Grafton Athletic made its first appearance in the senior B competition last Saturday when it defeated Otahuhu by 15 points to 13. Considering that Athletic defeated Ellerslie in the Stack benefit match, and last Saturday Ellerslie gained a sensational win over Ponsonby, Athletic was undoubtedly unlucky to lose its senior status.

It is on tap, and in fact well-brewed, that Marists, who had a bye last Saturday and so did not take the field, have a really fine team together ready to meet Richmond next Saturday. They have a fair number of new players in their ranks.

Followers of Ponsonby must have been a very disappointed lot after the game last week when the Ponies suffered defeat by Ellerslie. It will teach them a lesson, however, and in- the future they may not be so confident as to hold any of their opponents too cheaply. Of course Ponsonby did not field its best team, as several new players were being tried out. Gardiner was missed from the backs, and although this fast rearguard man is by no means a — 1 star, it generally takes a couple to watch him.

Perhaps one of the happiest men at the Park on Saturday was Ben Davis, the newly-appointed coach and man-

ager of the Richmond Club. He has spent a lot of time preparing his men for that clash and he is to be congratulated. for Richmond played great football for the first competition game of the year.

Q, ’J* City’s young team showed good form in the first half against Shore, but general fitness and experience told their tale in the latter stages of the game, and of course Shore had things all its own way.

The new ground which has been opened at Northcote was played on last Saturday, when Point Chevalier met Northcote. The area is in exceptionally good order.