League Rugby

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 971, 14 May 1930, Page 7

League Rugby

Notes and. Comment.

Enter Representative Football Much earlier than is usual, representative? football will commence in ! Auckland next Saturday, when the Northland side, in quest of the Noith,rn Union Challenge Cup, will meet the holders. Auckland, at Carlaw Park. Ben Davidson, former Auckland and New Zealand representative, has not been included in the players for representative practice. He showed better form on j Saturday, but still carries a little too much avoirdupois. * * =» Series of Trial Matches The match, however, win hold considerably more significance than the mere winning and losing of the emblem of Dominion inter-provincial supremacy at the League game, for it will l>e the first of a series of trial matches for the selection of the New Zealand team to visit Australia. Club football will be resumed the following Saturday, May 24, and the second of the challenge matches for the cup Mill take place the following Saturday, May 31. This match will be between the winner of the NorthlandAuckland match, and the South Auckland representatives, and will be played at Carlaw Park. North v. South Island Match Following the South Auckland match there will be a spell of one week from representative football, when the Auckland club competitions will be resumed, on June 7. The week after comes the big match of the whole scries, the North Island v. the South Island, at Carlaw Park, after which game the final selection of the New Zealand team to tour Australia will i be made. Meanwhile, on May 24, a trial game will be played at Wellington between two teams of Wellington players, at which the New Zealand council's North Island selector, Mr. E. K. Asher, will be present. Richmond has a newcomer in view in McCarthy, a brother of the McCarthy at present playing for the maroons. He comes from the country, is said to be a good threequarter, and may be seen in action at the next match. South Island Trials At its last meeting the council of the New Zealand League appointed Messrs. J. K. Worrall (Canterbury), F. Watson (Otago) and L. Hunter (West Coast) its South Island Selection Committee. The selectors will meet in Christchurch on May 24 and .-elect the Possibles v. Probables teams to play there on May 31. on which evening the South Island team to travel North will be announced. The bnal selection of the New Zealand side will be made by a committee of five, consisting of the official selector to The council. Mr. W. Murray, two other members of the council, and a selector appointed from each Island. The Auckland Team The Auckland team to meet Northland on Saturday will be finalised after the last practice on Thursday evening. From the list of players chosen for practice, it is evident that the holder of the cup will be represented by a strong team, and it would be a big surprise to see the men from the North triumph over such a formidable combination. The veterans of the game are well represented in the preliminary selection, six of them having played representative football for more than, or the best part of,* the past decade.^ Six Long Careers “Pope*’ Gregory played for the Auckland Union Rugby representatives in 1923, and since then has represented Auckland and New Zealand many times at the League game. Wally Somers hooked for the New Zealand team in Australia in 1919. and in the same year Wether ill and Delgrosso first won Auckland representative honours. Brisbane has been playing big League for many years, and Jim O’Brien was a Rugby All Black early in the last decade. Where is Younger Material? Tt will be seen, therefore, that the old-timers are still well to the fore, and even considering the several promising young players who have won places in the preliminary selection, it cannot b© said that the game has an over-abundance, of really first-class young material on hand at the present time. It is likely, therefore, that the New Zealand team will have to depend on the experienced hands in the main. and. to do them justice, they are all playing well up to form at the moment. City Breaks Pony Hoodoo For the first time for a number of > ears—in the memory of some, said to l*e since 1924 —City succeeded on Saturday in defeating its old rival, Ponsonby. This, of course, was helped along in the end by the remarkable sequence of events which saw eight Ponsonby men at one stage of the gome endeavouring to play 13 City players. Whether or not City would have won had not so many injuries overtaken its opponents is a question tvhich cannot be answered with an >' certainty, but one thing is sure, of course, and that is that the margin between the two teams would have been much less. # “Curly Lock's'* Bi Six Ponsonby r jured, and three of lo the hospital.

3 Task len in all ■were inthem were admitted All, however, hive since been discharged, and Ponsonby hopes, with the assistance of “Curly Look.” an ex-army M. 0., to have its full side in action again before long. Fat Skelton strained a ligament, which means that he will not now be avauaDie ror selection for the representative game on Saturday. Kiley is at present getting round on two brooms, and thus he also may not be available. Lelgrosso should be lit again by Saturday. Bill Skelton Also Fortunately for Ponsonby there will bo no club matches for a fortnight and V that time it is expected that all the injured men will have recovered. Goodwin, who was admitted to the hospital with slight concussion. has •ten discharged. Bill Skelton was e-.'oggy for tho greater part of the fame on Saturday—the result of a .amp in the stomach. Sydney Gates The gates at the opening day _ J" ague 1 .1 Sydney totalled £ 1.1-9 1 > n,ade up as follows: —Wentworth Pa'k, f. STI. who paid £ 320: Marrickville Oval. 5.791 paid £317: Sports Ground, ■■-495. paid Its: Fratten Park. 6,000, paid J2 245.

The New Selector By th© decision of the management committee of the Auckland Rugby League last week, Mr. Jim Clarke takes tlie place of the late Mr. E. ("Chute”) I'ox on its representative selection committee. In his playing days Jim " one of Xetv Zealand's leading forwards, representing Auckland and New Zealand on many occasions. He is an old Ponsonby player, and brings to the deliberations of the committee a keen insight into the requirements of the code at the present time. Old Players Rally Round ■\\ hen disaster overtook Porisonbv r. Ui^ e " tly T tlr ? d payers of the team " ’" 11 ‘ ‘ ering their services, but as most of the casualties occurred in th© second spell no replacement was possible. George Gardiner, it is said, was searching for a pair of number 10 boots, but the suggeston that two pairs of number fives might do instead did not meet with his approval, liardiner Mclntyre, last years half-back, went to the extent of taking his tic off and Syd. Ussher was also on hand. The Moore Incident Members of the Ponsonby team took th© control of the club into their hands for a few minutes on Saturday afternoon, and action has already been taken by the club officials to meet the position. The Dooley Moore incident Roes back to last season when that player and a member of the Marist ski© were requested to appear before the A.R.L. Judicial Committee. Moore contends that on the evening he appeared there was no meeting of that committee, and that therefore he has fulfilled his part of the obligation. The Marist player was , allowed to play again at the end of last season and Moore exj/ected to be on a similar footing. Moore’s case will, it is understood, be considered by the Management Committee of the A.R.L. this evening. '‘Snowy" Dixon, the fine Devonport forward, has decided not to play any more this season, owing to recurring knee trouble. “Snowy," who was vice-captain of the Shore team, married the well-known Auckland woman swimmer, Miss Piri Page, recently. The Championship Table Now that the A.R.L. has decided to award the Marist-Ivingsland game on the opening day to Ivingsland on a protest by that club the positions on th© senior championship table of the Auckland Rugby League are:

Appeal to the N.Z. Council The Martst Club has appealed to the Council of the New Zealand League against this decision. In the match concerned, Marist played Munro, a iunior grade player of another club, in its senior team, without having handed a clearance from that club to the Auckland Rugby League. If this is in fact the case it is not evident that the KeAr Zealand League can do anything other than uphold the action of the Auckland League. Meanwhile, the council has asked for further evidence of the case, and a final decision will be made on Thursday evening.

Richmond's Sorry Showing Richmond made a sorry showing against Devonport on Saturday with a. considerably weakened team. Tim Peckham had strained himself at work the previous afternoon, and therefore could not play, and Taylor and McKinnon were also, absent through injury. McKinnon is expected to be fit for the next match, and the same applies to Peckham and Taylor.

A Forward Who Can Dribble! The big City forward, Clark, surprised everybody on Saturday by the dash and vigour he nut into bis game against Ponsonby. It was one of the finest exhibitions of sustained forward play witnessed this season. In the absence of forwards who can use their feet, Clark’s clever exhibition o.f dribbling and forward

play as a whole makes him a possibility for representative honours, if he retains his present form. Clark has everything 1 in his favour —weight, dash and youth. Nelson Bass, although included in the preliminary teams list, did not turn out for City on Saturday. It is predicted that when he gets into fit form he will be olaved—within the next week or

Dovonport P. W. L. Pts. Ch. D. For. Act. Pts. — 49 36 6 City .... 1 63 40 5 Ponaonby .321 42 4 Marist .. '. 3 2 1 — 49 30 4 Newton . . .312 — 42 51 2 K ingrsland .312 — 26 41 2 Kllerslie . 3—3 41 0 Richmond * * 3 3 — 29 57 0