HUNTLY TROUNCED

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 796, 17 October 1929, Page 13

HUNTLY TROUNCED

SOUTH SYDNEY MEN SUPREME THIRTY POINTS TO THREE (Special to TIIE SUX) IIUNTLY. Today. A rude shock was- administered to the prestige of the Huntly Rugby League Club yesterday afternoon, when the touring South Sydney men triumphed over the . mining town’s representatives by 30 points to 3. ’Tis many a long day since such j a score was recorded against Huntly—a club which has eight of its mem- j bers in the South Auckland representatives. The match, to even the most enthusiastic spectator present, could not I help being disappointing, especially on i top of the sterling battle predicted.. The one redeeming feature of the ! afternoon was the fine exhibition of j the code given by South Sydney against j an outclassed opposition. The ball was thrown about prac- j tically at will, and the display of the back line as a whole lent a touch of ! that exhilirating football not seen in j New Zealand every day. The big crowd of well on the way to 2,000 was thrilled again and again by the dashing, slashing solo efforts of tho giant Sydney men, Manning and Quinlivan, and the pace and class of “Benny” Wearing. FORWARD BATTLE From the very beginning, Iluntly, realising that its strength lay forward, endeavoured to confine play there. This, in view of the reputation of the South Sydney backs, may have been a wise move, but never at any stage of the game did the Huntly van find itself in the ascendant. Fifteen minutes after the commencement of the game the issue was evident. Huntly, while not completely cracking up, shivered again and again under the penetrating Australian onslaughts. This could not be avoided, but what could have been avoided was the fistic element introduced by Iluntly. Captain Alf Blair had one eye closed as the result of an apparently deliberate. blow by a Huntly forward. This element continued throughout the game, and Watson had to leave the field with a badly-bruised arm—the result of a kick which did not appear to be completely above board. Had Huntly paid a little more attention to the ball and concerted action, and less to its opponents, the spectators would have been treated to a better game. The Huntly forwards began at a great bat, Timms and Trautvetter shining, but they could not hold ground for long. Paki put in a good run down the line, but this was the last for a time. Spillane and Manning flashed through into range, where, after some minutes’ ragged play, Eggan secured and forced his way over for a try. BLAIR AN ARTIST Huntly retaliated momentarily, but South Sydney, with Wearing shining, came again. Stan Rayner put in a few hectic moments trying to stem a rush by Quinlivan, who sent on to Wearing, to F. O’Connor, thence to A. O’Connor, who scored. Alf Blair, a real artist in the Sydney rearguard, made the opening for South Sydney’s third try, Eggan finishing off a movement begun by him. The first 15 minutes provided some bright flank movements, but for a long time after that play was exceedingly ragged. The Iluntly pack, including on paper several likely New Zealand representative forwards, could do little in the face of the opposition. J. Jones worked desperately, and Stephenson, Trautvetter, Timms, Mason and Grubey, all did their best, but there was only one way about it —they were outclassed. A unique position for a Huntly pack to be in surely. Beaten for the ball in the scrum m the first half, and outpaced all round in the defence division, the Huntly men threw tlie ball about wildly, and except in certain special cases did not tackle too deadly. South Sydney’s fine forward quartet, Bavo Watson, Eggan and the O’Connor brothers, harried the Huntly insides all day long. Farther out Wearing, Manning and company showed a pace which was unapijroachable. The presiding genius behind the Svdney pack was Alf Blair, lone liveeighth. What he lacks in size is made up in football brains. Quick to sight an opening, unerring in his passing and most difficult to upset when in his stride, Blair was the king pm in a line which threw the ball about delightfully. J. Stewart, behind the scrum, was a real halfback, study even considering that he was playing behind winning forwards. Lanky Manning was the most impressive of an impressive threequarter line. When he tucked the ball under his arm and set sail for the line, it was look out Huntly. Quinlivan and Why were always in the fray, while Wearing, apart from his fine threequarter game, converted all six of South Sydney's tries—a record which for sheer consistency is seldom met. . . Spillane, at fullback for the visitors, was seldom severely taxed, and found quite a bit of time to spend jazzing his way through the fray to Uuntly’s goal-line. HUNTLY BACKS WEAK S. Rayner, at fullback for Huntly, came through a hard afternoon creditably, although his one or two lapses were expensive. Both he and his brother are good tacklers. Miki looked on most of the afternoon, and little was seen of Scott. Paki shone at times, but never reached the form expected from such a class of player. Whorskey, G. Rayner and Smith made an unhappy set of inside backs, and even when Jones went back to half after the spell there was little improvement. Eyres scored two more tries for South Sydney and Blair one, all three of which were converted by Wearing, before the game ended. Huntly’s three points were gained by B. Paki late in the second half. Mr. A. Uarlock, Huntly, controlled the game impartially, although he was perhaps too fetrict in some of his rulings.