League Rughy.

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 723, 24 July 1929, Page 13

League Rughy.

Notes and Comment.

Enter the representative season. Next Saturday Auckland League fans will be treated to the first representative game staged this year, when South Auckland will meet Auckland at Carlaw Park in an endeavour to once again clinch the Northern Union Cup. # The South Auckland Side The following is the South Auckland side which will be seen in action on Saturday:—Fullback, Geo. Rayner (Huntly): threequarters, Tittleton (Ngaruawahia), Jackaways (Taupiri), Paki (Huntly): five-eighths. Williams (Ngaruawahia). E>. W h o rske y (Huntly): halfback, Abbott (Ngaruawahia); forwards. Jones, (Huntly). Timms (Huntly), Hogan (Hamilton). Trevetta (Huntly), Menzies (Ngaruawahia), Stephenson (Huntly). A Strong Side According to a report received from Huntly, the South Auckland side as given above is a very classy one, and is well expected to give a good account of itself on Saturday. The majority of those selected are not strangers to the Auckland fans, and if there is a weak spot at all in the team it is certainly not in the vanguard. Jones (breakaway), who captained the South Auckland thirteen against the Englishmen last year, will probably skipper the side on Saturday. A notable absentee from the field is Stan Rayner, who has not been playing for some time owing to injuries received while at work. Ho is now. however, classed as lit, and expects to take the field again later in the season. Huntly appears to be the stronghold of the League game in the South of Auckland, and there are seven of its members in the representative side. Timms, the New Zealand represen- ■ tative, is Huntly’s pride and he i<? said to be playins as well as ever The connoisseurs of the game in the South arc impressive abou* the fact that should the game develop into a struggle between the forward packs, South Auckland will hold its own as its pack is a good one. The Auckland Team At Carlaw Park last Saturday the Auckland selectors. Messrs. E. Asher, E. Fox and B. Avery, announced a quota of players, whose names have appeared in previous issues of The Sun, from which the Auckland side will be selected. The chosen 13 players will not be announced until Thursday evening.

Games Off

Owing - to Saturday’s representative fixture, all senior games will be off, and as the Auckland junior representatives will meet the South Auckland junior representatives in a curtainraiser to the big game, quite a number of the lower games have also been cancelled. In Quagmires A wetting rain, and grounds which were almost quagmires, marred the majority of the games that were played last Saturday. Perhaps the worst off of the senior sides were Richmond and Kingsland at the Domain, where the ground was in a bad state. Carlaw Park was far from its best, while the teams which perhaps fared the best of all were Ponsonbv and Ellerslie, on the Ellerslie ground. On this field the grass was a little long, but that fault was a blessing in disguise, for there was no mud and it was possible for the rearguarders to get under way and make a showing.

Promoting a Junior

Of late the Ponsonby side has not been favoured with the services of a permanent fullback, and quite a number of players have had a turn as custodian for the “Blue and Black” thirteen. Harvey White, one of the club’s promising juniors, has now filled the position on two occasions and by his display last Saturday looks as though he is going to be promoted from the junior ranks to senior, definitely. List’s Work Claude List, the erstwhile centre, has been responsible for a big share in the improvement of Kingsland since the first round. Undeterred by losses and the earnest opposition of strong teams, Kingsland has really tried to advance, with the result that it holds a gratifying position in the competition for such a young team. Kingslanu’s win over Richmond was expected in some cricles. When the two teams meet in a delayed competition match, there should be a clinking game. Associated in the backs with List now is Revell, who should establish a reputation. Wooden- Spooners? Ellerslie, in spite of its liard play, seems fated to be the “wooden-spoon” team for the season, and it lias not yet a point to its credit. In several games, Ellerslie nearly reached victory, but lack of finish —which certainly isthe important factor against the team —stopped the tricolours. The team may have to play the winners of the senior B competition, and, with training, there is no reason for non-retention to its claim to play in the top grade. Ellerslie is a team which can improve, and this season has seen development in individuals, if not in the complete team. Chief stars in the Ellerslie side are Olliff, half, Grogan, wing-threequarter, and Dufty, fullback; Hobbs, F. Chapman and possibly the newcomer, McLaughlin, in the forwards. Olliff Unlucky Olliff may have been unlucky not to have been given a try-out for halfback position in the representative team to play South Auckland. Many followers claim that he should have been seen in open company. But Olliff has claims from Mclntyre and Si'.ortland —and they are onl ytwo of an impressive lot of halves in the League—against his. The little Ellerslie player is solid and has the attributes of a sound, reliable player. 1-Ie may be given a chance shortly.