FOOTBALL.

Waikato Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1598, 3 July 1903, Page 2

FOOTBALL.

HAMILTON V. WAIKATO. [By The Punter] To-morrow afternoon the first interUnion match this season between the above representatives will be played on Sydney Square, Hamilton, commencing at 3 o'clock sharp. Both sides are placing strong teams in the field, and a mo*t interesting struggle for supremaoy should be witnessed by lovers of the game. It will be remembered that last season the above teams met twice, when Hamilton won by the narrow margin of three points on each occasion ; but the supporters of the blue and whites are confident of giving the local men a good run for honours. However, I trust that the day will be fine and that the players will ha?e a pleasant game, no matter who wins. A charge of one shilling will be made lor admission to the ground, and I hope to see a record attendance. Mr H. Johnson will have charge of the game. The following are the teams : Waikato (blue and white) : Full—-L. Lovell; three-quarters—J. Mandeno, W. Edkins, Thompson ; five-eighths Park ; half—N. Dinale; wings—Ellgood and C. Hadden ; forwards—Kare. Moko Nepr, G. Bull. J. Mcintosh, E. Hall, A. Lockey, C. Hmton. Hamilton (blue) : Full—A. Woods.; three-quarters—Tait, Pike, J. Moore ; five eighths —Featherstonhaugh ; halfJohnson ; wings—Taylor and F. lones ; forwards—C. luues, Storey, Harwood, T. Moore, Manktelow, Holloway, J. McGarrigle. THE HAMILTON TEAM. A few remarks concerning the individual merits of the representatives may be of interest to your numerous football renders. The first is A. Woods (full-back) —A very reliable and safe player ; handles the ball cleanly, splendid kick, and finds the touch-line every time ; safe tackier. A. Tait (wing three-quarter)—A brilliant player both in attack and defence ; Strong runner, sure tackier, and a fine kick. R. Pike (centre three-quarter)- "Very fast runner, brilliant kick with either foot, and handles the ball with accuracy ; exceptionally strong iu defence and a dangerous scoring man. J. Moore (wing three-quarter)-Fast runner, follows up well, and also a good scoring mau ; plays with great heart. E. Featherstonhadqh (five-eighths)— A clever player in this position ; tine tackier ; makes splendid openings. F. Johnson (half)—The right man for this position ; f>ets the ball away very smartly and stops rushes in good style ; sure tackier, and a pretty screw-kick with either foot. W. Taylor (wing forward) —The best wing man in the Union,smart and clever ; knows exactly what to do with, the ball, and uses his head to advantage. F. Innes (wing forward)—Another smart player ; follows up fas.t and tackles well. C. Innes (forward)—A fast, dashing player ; good in the open and on the lineout ; dribbles very neatly. I. Storey (forward) —A never-tiring, hard-working forward ; goes from start to finish, and plays with plenty of dash : an ideal dribbler. C. Holloway (forward)—A rattling good man ; works very hard in the pack and is clever in the open. G. Manktelow (forward)—A steady player and one who is not afraid of hard graft; good on the line-but, and does his share of work in the scrum. T. Moore (forward) —A real warrior in the scrum and fast iu the open ; atten tive to his work and always on the ball. W. Harwood (forward)—Another hurd grafter and the makings of a good forward ; works well in the pack, and does his share of the toil. J. McGarhigle (forward)—A young player full of promise ; works very hard, liood dribbler, clever in the open, and plays the game from start to finish without talking, which is more than can be said of some of the others.

THE WAIKATO TEAM. [By Knock-On.l L. Lovell (full-back)—A fine kicker and a safe man in this position. J. Mandeno (wing three-quarter)— Strong in attack and defence ; will need some watching. W. Edkins (centre three-quarter)—A fast man in this division ; knows how to take advantage of openings when made for him. Thompson (wing three»quarter)— Plays a cpol, resourceful game, and can always be relied upon in collaring. S. Park (five-eighths)—A smart little player ; takes the ball clean, and is not slow in passing. N. Dingle (half)—Excels behini the pack. C. Haddon (wing forward)—Always on the ball, and is good on the line. Elgood (wing forward)—A very consistent player and good tackier, and, with O, Haddon, should prove a constant menace to the opponents. Kark (forward)—A dashing player and a good worker iD the scrum. G Bull (forward)—A solid man in the pack and good on the line-out. J. Molntosh (forward)—A good dribbler and fast forward.

A. Lockie (forward)—A successful Ngaruawahia forward ; good on the lineout and conspicuous in forward rushes. E. Hall (forward)—A very strong and dashing player ; takes a lot of stopping when near the line.

C. Hinton (forward)—A very unselfish player and one who works hard. Moko Nkpe (forward) —Last, but not least ; the 'dandy' forward in the team ; good at collaring and fast in following up. It will be noticed on perusing the above that the name of that stalwart grafter, B. Lovell, is mißsing. His absence will, to some extent, put the blue and whites at a disadvantage and minimise the propelling power of the forward division in the scrums ; but, nevertheless, the team is a atrong combination, and the Hamilton team will find themselves evenly matched.

CAMBRIDGE UNION. Cambridge East v. West. This matoh has been looked forward to for a considerable time, it being known it would be a tough struggle. It came off on Wednesday on Victoria Square, Cambridge, and resulted in a win for the ' Westers ' by 3 points—a goal from a penalty kick—to nil. Mr E. Williamson (Hamilton) gave every satisfaction as referee, Messrs M. W<dls and K. Anderson being line umpues. Tho game was mostly of a forward nature, the backs having but few opportunities of showing thoir prowess. The West forwards are a grand lot, but they did not carry the scrums as easily as it was thought they would, the East boys having got into better form lately. The backs had but little to do, and when they hud an opportunity to shine they weie nob particularly brilliant, but 'no ground was slippery and the ball greasy, so that may be excused. The veteran, Mart .Roberts, was playing as three quarter, |but was out of form ; McVeagh was also Included in the team, but he was watched so closely by two or three of the ' Westers ' that he could not do much. To our thinking, the two men who played the beat game on the field wtre Ernie Armer for the East and A. Madill for the West. Tho latter should undoubtedly have been a 'rep.' this season. The only score was from a penalty kick uiven in front of the East goal, from which ' Monty ' made an easy gcal. It is a great advantage to both spec, tators and players to have the ground fenced off, but it should be a hard and fast rule that all the spectators keep outside. On Wednesday there were one or two who would stand on the inside, and that, of course, induced others to follow auit, and the culprits were old footballers who should have known better.