FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 83, 16 July 1910, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

(By "Spectator."), The Taranaki-Manawatu representa- 1 the match at Hawera on Thursday was too one-sided to give us any real idea of the capabilities of our men in their ■forthcoming matches against their, doughty opponents} of Aueklandj | lington aatl Canterbury. The backs are good;, There is no question about that (even with tlie omission ot All-Black Jack Stohr), and the way they ban-, died the greasy ball was very encourag-| ing. Had it been a dry day the score' would have been much, larger. ihe forwards also had the better of the game, excepting in hooking the ball from' the scrum, Manawatu obtaining possession oftener than the local team. How-| ever, the Taranaki hookers had never been together before, and will probably improve with practice. The forwards can be greatly strengthened by the inclusion of Tamu, and possibly one or two others, so that altogether matters] look very rosy for Taranaki having ai representative team quite up to our traditions. Manawatu forwards got on some nice J rushes, but they were not so well sup- ; ported, and were more or less individual efforts. Their backs did not appear to be at home with the greasy ball. On a few occasions they passed, but the < tactics of Coldstream, in hanging on too ■ long, spoilt good chances. On one oc- i , casion they put in the prettiest passing | I rush of the day, but it was not effect-] I Dixon, at full-back for Taranaki, ■played a fine game, being quite safe, whilst his kicking was good. In fact, I lie was quite up to rep. form. The three-quarter line was a good one ' [ and worked well together. Koberts, at ; centre, played a fine game. He uas plenty of pace, and with a little more ; t experience will be a top notcher. He ' both takes and gives a pass nicely. | : | The wing three-quarters, Dive and l ' I Cameron, were up to their best form, ' which is Sufficient recommendation. I ! The five-eighths, Mynott and McLeodJ I were all there. The former was the "Simon" of old. He made some fine openings, and cut in nicely. ] "Brown, at half, .performed well. He ■ was very smart at getung the ball away ; when it came to him. He was also sound on defence. Moir, at wing forward, did a lot of spoiling. There is no question that that • is his position. I unoerstand he is to play wing-forward for Eltliam in the re- < miaining club matches, Brown, late of Opunake, filling the five-eighths. Pini was the best of the forwards, ; playing with great dash. Milne was also very prominent. Smith did not '. show up as well as usual. i Hughes, at full-back for Manawatu, had a lot of work to do, and most of it he performed creditably. He, however, 1 .made several bad mistakes, and was evidently not at home with the greasy ball. 1 Bhisco was the best of the threequarters. Coldstream has a tendency to hang on to the ball. Coutts, at five-eighths, did a lot of work, and was very solid on defence. Ramsden was also very serviceable. Ongley, at half, did a lot of stopping. He did not make as much use of his backs as his vas a vis did. SI. Carroll, on the wing, McNae, Trevena and Munro, were the best of a ! hard-working set of forwards. The Taranaki Rugby Union should see • that the players in representative, •| matches are numbered. The matches ■ would be much more interesting to the majority of spectators. ■j SOUTHERN DIVISION. i 'I Consequent on the withdrawal of the ' i Opunake senior and junior teams, there) ' has been some re-shuttling of p.aces in the league tables. In t!:o senior division \ Okaiawa now have priue of place, having played one match n-.ore than Waimate to gain the extra posits. As Okai--s.awa have a bye to-day (which was the • case in the first round prior to their > meeting Waimate) the Waimate. team - are almost certain to be on equal terms - as the result of their engagement tol day. The championship of the southern 1 end will then depend on the Waimatei Okaiawa fixture, and another close game -: between these teams should be the onti' come. Neither team has been beaten j this season, their match in the first . round at Okaiawa ending in a draw. J By their .win at Okaiawa last Satur- '.) dayPatea thirds again secured thechamjj pionship of the southern division. ,j In the junior competition the Okai- ' awa, Alton and Hawera teams are all in I the running for championship honors, s ' and it is is still an open question as to 'I which of the teams mentioned will win. 'j The position of clu'is in the southern '■division contests are .h under:—

A FEW SAYINGS FROM "PLAYERS AND SLAYERS."

A new book, "Players and Slayers," by Leo Fanning, serves up football'from the viewpoints of both the players and the public. The work is designed to interest even those who do not closely follow the game, for it gives an insight into all the ramifications of the national pastime on and oft" the Held—"Rugby Unions and the date," "Selling, Betting and Buying," 'Tit-hits of 'History." and so on, Here is some of the philosophy:—

Football is a sort of human auction business. Men are "put up," and knocked down, and the Rugby unions get the proceeds. Be stars, and try not to see stars.

Don't tinker with the ball. Be a plumber, and charge as nobly as a plumber. Some men, following up a high kick, are like children chasing- a butterfly; thev run much, but catch little.

Don't get yourself beaten for the ball. The ball is a most ungrateful thing. When eloping with the ball, do not be bashful. Grip it well around the tight-laced waist. It will not squeal. The man who obsequiously waits on a bouncing ball will not get any tins.

Footballers, whether bucks or forwards, i-aii lie roughly divided into two groups—those who look sensible in short pants, and those who do not. Rugby unions look after the football giinit, and it is more profitable than any other line of bird-fancying. There are no incubator expenses.' The men themselves set one another, and lay one another out for nothing, perhaps. A man may make his mark in football and get only a kick for his pains. Then, again, lie in ay make his mark, and a little sticking-plaster will hide it, AH is vanity. If you find an opening in a game, don't look around for the owner, arid dont' advertise it. , Opportunity should always make a , lllivi when chances are lying around on the field, of play—but very many footballers are notoriously honest in this iespect. Some are almost too honest to , take a breath. | "Play with your eyes, not with your tears. Don't bother about the referee. Forget that he exists. Some men wait for the referee to make the game for i them. There men are just jerseys and pairs of pants—no good to their side."— Bernard Fanning. i Some forwards have plenty of steam, but it is like the steam of the kitchen kettle. It make a song, but turns no wheels.

Civil Service will be represented against Pirates on the racecourse to-day by the following: Karururangi, Chamberlain, Honeyfield, Copestake, Pfankuch, Loveridge, Maxwell, Simpson, Kent, Kilgour, Cox, Marcussen, Boyd, Allan, Kennedy and Gillett.

The following will represent Warehouses in their match versus Rovers in the Rec. to-day:—Doughty, M'Allum, Crockett, Starniering, Jensen, Jury, Gilbert, Roberts, Richards, Simmers, Boucher, Arthur Jeffries, Johnson; emergency, Ward.

THE ASSOCIATION GAME. (By "Half-Back.") On Thursday last at Eltliam the Representative team challenged the Rest. The weather conditions were against a good game of Soccer, the ball being very wet and heavy and the ground very slippery. Save for an occasional glimpse of combination by the Rest, and two good runs by their outside left the full length of the field (only spoiling himself by over-eagerness), and some good headwork by Sparrow for the Representatives, the game was devoid of interest, neither side scoring. The Rests came very near scoring on two or three occasions. The Representatives never put a single shot into Southall. It is to be hoped that when they get to Wellington they will try and get going together and do a little shooting. Making all allowance for the weather and the state of the ground, etc., last Thursday, they must bear in mind that when they get below they will have, to play, wet or dry. There is no chance of a postponement if the weather is bad. Last Thursday, given a fine day, I think the Rests would have walked clean through them, as they were pressing the whole of the time, the Representatives never getting together at all. I have read with interest a letter by an old Soccer player signing himself "An Ex-English Cup Finalist,and I should judge by his letter that he is a strong Eltliam supporter. I snould very much ,ioiib. whether he has seen ii'.ch men as Egglestone or Billy Duncan in the forward line, or T. Southall, an ex-Auokland and ex-Wellington representative goalkeeper. Anyway, as far as New Plymouth's outside left and Elliott and Eg'gleston (last season's representatives) are concerned, the reason why they are looked over is because they have refused to travel under the conditions obtaining. The officials understand.

j r • d •p * .' -p j -p .in fl ,| 0 S 3 P 5 0 '3 " 3 Ph '[ ; SENIORS ■lOkaiawa . 7 6 0 1 70 27 13 ''Waiinate . 0 5 0 1 !)4 18 11 t Kaponga . (J '2 4 I) 32 43 4 5 Pa tea G 1 j 0 12 51 2 ) Hawera 7 1 i; 0 3!) 117 2 j JUNIORS. 1 Otaiawa . 5 4 l 0 43 12 h . Patea 5 4 l 0 23 12 8 ; Hawera 0 4 2 0 32 21 & ' Waimate . 6 3 3 0 29 25 ( ' Xormanby 6 1 4 1 37 34 3 ; Kaponga . 6 0 5 1 ' 8 08 1