FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8181, 14 August 1906, Page 2

FOOTBALL.

A matdi is to be played on the liecreation Ground on Thursday between teams rerresenting "Butchers and Bakers" and the Drivers, gate proceeds in aid of the S,)orts Ground fuud. The following will represent the Butchers and Baiters: —T. llrnke, A. Murphy, L. McKoy, W, McKoy,' W. Boulton, C. Potier, Sute, J. Eva, Simmons, W. Davidson, M. McKoy, A, Gray, W. Harvey, 0. Cock, S. Lowe and W. Lowe,

The following team has been chosen to represent Wellington against Canterbury on Saturday.-—G. Spencer, H. D. Thomson, llamsden, Wallace, Mitchinson, Walsh, Roberts Gardner, Watkins, Cillum,. Wright, Spencer, Cross, Byrne, Manning.

Tho play-off for the Senior Championship of the northern division, between Star and Stratford, takes place at Stratford on Thursday. TARANAKI REP, TEAM. ' "Spectator' writes.—Sir, whilst admitting that it is a mu:h easier matter lo find fault than to remedy it, I, like the grent majority of lovers of the game, cannot help oppressing the opinion that there is something wrong with the work of the selector. It is not that he does not know the game, for in his day he was perhaps one of, if not the best, exponents of the game we had, but I am afraid that his ideas have not undergone tho necessary change required to keep up to the pre-sent-day standard. During Mr Bayly's heyday of football, strength and not science was required, but conditions , have changed and the order is now re- \ versed, but Mr Bayly's ideas have not ' followed suit. We have only to follow tho doings of the team during the Southern tour to feel that there is necessity for putting something more dasamg, oven at the sacrifice of weight , I JL *' ie te ani to meet Auckland and Wellington. In all the games played so far weight has been with the Tara- , naki team, whilst dash acd a good , headpiece have nullifiod all strength, as , witness the Dunedin team, who ayer- . aged a stone less than those from the . land of the kumi-kumis, yet science prevailed above strength. In all mat- , ches this has been clearly shown, yet L the selector does not seem to heed the c warning, Out still chooses the weighty men who, ou a heavy wound, are done 1 with by half-time Again, thero is 5 not a "hooker" in the whole lot, , and the necessity for such is so well known as to need no comment. Our hope lies in the splendid combination of backs, but how are they to make bricks without clay? The opposing team get the ball away from the scrum more often and much cleaner than our men do, such being the case on Thursday last against even an admittedly weak team. The question then arises "what chance have we against a good combination of forwards P" Practically none, for if wo cannot get the ball out to the backs then our chances of success are very small. I believe that wo have a set of backs that will compare more than favorably with any other province, despite all we hear of the. wonderful Wellingtonians, but unless they are well fed by the forwards getting possession in the scrum, then we might as well have school boys in the rear division. Several of the vanguard had a very tired feeling before the game was half oyer last week, and, such being the case, how will they hold their own against a good combination who are fit and full of dash such as they are likely to meet in tho two big matches ? lam afraid that condition' has a lot to do with it, and some of the men have not taken the necessary training after being picked to be able to see a fast game through. The addition of such men as Baker, Whittington, Crowley (Tukapa), Davidson, Johnston—and I

would almost feel mclinod to say "Toucher" Itivell—would bo an acquisition to tho team and " liven it up." However, we cannot all be selectors, and a good thing too, perhaps, or some queer teams would be chosen I cannot help feeling that tho present selector has not given club : football the attention that ho should have done; in fact, it is commonly reported that he did not sec the Waitara Club play once during the s ason. If such is the case, how can he do the samo justice? In the wliole of tho Northern end il is admitted that Davidson should havo been included at least in the North-South match, and was worth his placo as a hooker alone, but evidently the idea ot " weight " was the only one that the selector could see good in It is to bo hope! Mr Bayly will, in choosing his team for Au kland and Wellington, endeavor to find places for some of tbe more hca.ly players, a few of whom are mentioned above, and dispense with those beofy ones who cannot see a hard forward game through with the dash that is so necessary to culminato in success,