FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 283, 22 April 1911, Page 7

FOOTBALL.

,;... urn oiagcr.) Football matters are moving along very slowly at present, and it. is rather .difficult to guage the merits of the various clubs, but from present indications football will not be quite as interesting as in previous years, in the Northern Division at all events. Most of the clubs have suffered serious defections , with the exception of Clifton, who, with the addition of Colnian in their backs, may have the honor of playing off with the Southern champions. The retirement from active service of Mynott is a severe loss to Tukapa. Still that club will have the benefit of his valuable advice. Should Star play in the Saturday ranks, some of that club's best men, notably Brown and Whitaker, who arc Thursday players, will be available for Tukapa. The latter club may not be far from top when all is over. The Stratford Club, which has been very strong during the past few years, will lose Cameron, Smith and Murphy. Eltham loses D. Moir, Levick and Charters, among others. There seems to be very little new blood available to fill the vacancies in any of the teams. Ingiewood is again entering a.senior team in the Thursday competition. This club cannot he much worse off than in the past, and should be able to give a better account of itself as its young players! should be more seasoned now. It is rumored that .the club will have H. L. | Abbott' and D. Moir playing" among its' backs this season. .. \ A striking feature is the number of representative players who are for-vari-ous reasons retiring. This should give an incentive to all young players to train solidly and practise assiduously, with a view to catching the selectors' eye, when the team for the southern! tour is being selected. Prospects for Saturday football in New Plymouth are much brighter. Star, after counting heads, seems to have found it impossible to enter a senior team on Thursday, and a general meet-1 ing is being held on Monday night to' reconsider the question, when the committee's recommendations that a team be entered in the Saturday competition will be discussed. If this is carried, as it probably will be, it will mean that Warehouse must be greatly weakened, as most of its players belong to the Star Club. It should be possible to raise at least two other teams in New Plymouth from Rovers, Civil Service and Pirates, and with the addition of twftwiountry teams, from Tariki and Okato respectively, Saturday football ought this year to make a bold bid for public support. Mr. F. Spurdle, who represented the Taranaki Referees' Association of New Zealand Referees held in Wellington at Easter time, had charge of the annual ■match played last Saturday afternoon between Ponekc (Wellington) and Albion (Christchurch). The New South Wales Church Rugby Union, which had decided to make an innovation in the game by playing only j 14 men, i.e., seven backs and seven for-. wards, has reconsidered the matter, and reverted to the fifteen men game. I At the annual meeting of the Metro-; politan Rugby Union Dr. Otto Bohrsmann, the hon. treasurer, said that the , present slate of the coffers might prove a blessing in disguise. There had been a lot of talk about the Union not having done anything for the players. Of the .£23,000 received by the Union in eight years, grants to clubs, trips in the country, uniforms, etc., absorbed £lO,000; ground fees. £5000; donations to i public schools, hospitals, Civil Ambulance, and the drought fund, £ISOO, match expenses and advertising, £2000; and internal management of the Union £2500. Ten twenty-thirds of the money was expended on players, and with ths.. saving it was hoped' that in 1911 they would be able to carry on with 50 per cent, less takings than they received last year. The season could be faced without the least anxiety. The M.R.U. •was going to manage the game novr %t it ought to have been managed all through, if the principle of amateuriim was worth adhering to.