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Taranaki Daily News, 20 September 1919, Page 8

NEWS AND NOTES. Tho football season for 1919 Is rapidly drawing to close, and in Taranaki, ad well ■as in other parts of th° Dominion, has been, %«y successful and augurs well for the future' of Rugby. The game has not lost its popularity with the public, and will never do so *a lons as football or the bright order as played In tfte Recreation Grounds last, Saturday, is served up by the players Taraualvl's forwards did the province proud. They never let up and In the concluding stages had the.Aucklandfcrs well beaten, and had the rearguard played Mmltarly the. local team must have won. It must, however, be remembered that the Taranaki reargard this year is composed mainly of young players who lack experience, and they will make a much better showing next ye«r, especially when leavened t by the Taranaki men now tourtog South Africa. The absence of Cameron was a seme Jots to Taranaki, and it Is hard luck for this ; player himself that he was Incapacitated as be must have got a place in the North Island team. The Auckland team play a breezy, open same. >Tbey take risks in throwing the Dall about, but the Taranakf backs, save on one or two occasions, were not nippy enough to gain any advantage thereby. Of the Taranaki forwards none played better than SotTe, though all played well. Atkln, at half ,dld a lot of work for the Taranaki team, both in attack and defence. Ail score was very real. Hickey, at flvc-eighths, did not appear at home, toeing new to the position. S. George, at full-back, filled the bill well Be gamely checked rushes, and his line kicking was a treat. (If the Auckland backs, Laxon and Woolley were the pick, playing with great dash and being hard to collar. Laxon had hard luck Injuring his collar-bone. Wilson also played a great game. Thomas, wing-forward, was very'conspicuous fintayacn and Bausch were the pick of a good act of forwards. The surprise In football circles tills season was the easy defeat of Auckland by the Wellington team. There were very few who did loot give the Northerners a good change of littteg the Shield, and their hollow defeat cculd hardly be credited. Teddy Roberts is-given' * great deal of the credit " As one North-, atner put it to a Taranaki man this wr-i:: 1 . ft tcofe their two five-eighths and the centre! thTee-quarter all their tinjo watching Roberts, < and then they could not check hifn. I It-has been decided to have the final In ■the third-grade championship between Clifton 1 and Kaponga played at Stratford on Saturday i prior to the match between Stratford and j . Hawera for th« senior championship. |