FOOTBALL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4696, 16 April 1894, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

[Bi Damocles] On Saturday. afternoon the Park Oval was again nliva with the football fraternitwiud an oxcollont scratch wj?./played, being eagerly HBBHicfthroughout by a great numof spectators. The skipper of the Bed Stars picked bis teain,aud a nondescript lot of players, composed of tho Masterton first, Star second, and Maoris were picked against them, to the number of about twenty. Father MoKenna was chosen referoe, and Wilsono and D'Arcy captained tho teams. ' A real good gamo >vas the result, and scratch matches of this nature are better tor both clubs than mixing the teams. Tiio lino clean passings of the Starawaahighlycornrm'ntedupon,' and their backs hovr 1 ut none of the old dash which made them so conlast season. Tho men baon Saturday all played HHHHBM'orm, and gavo the specinto what will certainly of tho future. worthy of a place in any team in the provinco, and in every game ho is conspicuously seen to advantage, Skinner, Oargill, and Rcmini, were threo-quarter backs, and the trio played well togethor, and tho Stars should never want for backs while such men are in the Club. Skinmr i'b a new into, and plays pluckily and with excellent jndgmoni from start to finish, Cargill is a ,moßt unselfish player, knows the gains throughout and before the season is out will [ill Hanson's place to a nicety. Ho excels t in the passing department. Kemini, although an excellent man in any placj, would bo of more use in bis old place among the forwards. Do Joux and Hansen were the mainstays of thß team, and already show grand form. The fine puaaing and rushes witnessed on Saturday nearly always emanated from their hands.

The forwards were slightly mixed, everal aecond-ratera being included, Hftfcjmyjloy all played with conpiclorablo Kmmctt.T. Welch, Mbliillop are the fast mon of tbw department, and carritd the game Blong at a great ratp. In McKouzio, White, Wilaone, ami T. Wrigley they havo the " graHara," who play like Trojans, and always seem in close proximity to the leather. With such material the Stara should certainly bo able to keep up their reputation thin year.

Of ilia nofl-doscripts, the principal players in the back division were Jackson, Norton and Fowler as threequarters, the two former playing a real dashing game throughout, and both being now men were watched pretty closely. Lucena and Galloway were conspicuous as halves, but nt-j terly lacked tbo passing powers of' their opponents. D'Arcy played forward, and while working hard for hie team, would have been seen to for greater advantage anywhere in the * back division. Astnll and two others in the forwards were of the few showing anything like good form, and there were too many to permit any was won by the Stara by one goal (from a mark) kicked by Emmott, and three tries obtained by Remeni, McKillop aad Welch to a goal placed from a mark by Norton. According to the new method of scoring, which allows three points for a try and two for a goal from a free kiok, the game was won by eleven point* to two.

A recent issue of the "Lancet" dontains an admirable article on football, from which I clip tho following; —"The value of a form of exercise, whicb appeal**, by its splendid athletic possibilities, as much as by the moderation of its demands upon their time and purses, to the whole oi the people, simply cannot be over-esti-mated from a health-giving point of view, while the roll, of disasters becomes comparatively insignificant as the number of players become larger."

George Lusk, who for the past three seasons has been distinguishing himself in the football field in Sydney, lias ones more returned to Auckland, the land of his adoption.

l'ho Isidone Glub are sending two teams to Iffy the Masterton Club on Queen's Birthday, and as tlio former are reported to be the strongest Club in the Wellington Union tbis season, 5 ,t behoves our men to lose no lime to get in.readiness. The Manterton first team will have a grand choice of backs, but if forwards do not roll up any better than they did on'Saturday.tbe colors will doubtless fall very heavily. By next month football will bo in full swing, and I hopo our men will give tLte visitors a very merry time.

" Baby " Wilson, who played full back for the Wellington representative) last season,and visited Australia with the New Zealand team, has returned to Canterbury.

"forward," the football writer to ■ the Otago Witness, who has all along been a most formidable opponent to the New Zealand Union, writes ns follows on the latest phase of affilia tion question;—" It-is inevitable, I suppose/that Otago cannot help, for the A peace, falling into line wjtk Cajfcbury, but it is as well that it should be clearly understood that the bulk of the right-thinking footballers of the province still should hold singly to the opinion that the N,Z. Umoiris an absolutely misobievous body." " Jaok " Lucena, formerly of Groytown, and last year captain of the Pahiatua Club, is now residing in this district, and will throw in bis lot with the Masterton Club this season. Jack-. Bon, the pet full-baok of the Petono Club, who played a fine gamo on Saturday for rfasterton; will play also, The Star Club have obtained the services of Skinner, of the Selwyns, Wellington, Duprey, ft prominent player from the West Coast, and White, of Nelson,

(there is a footballor named Prontis in New York, Wben running he usually "runs and jumps on tho player's feet first," In a recent matoh he succeeded in breaking one man's nose, fracturing another's leg,, and woundup by caußing the death of .BoberffMstyi "horn he ki « in tbestomacn,

An effort is to bo mado to play two rounds of the junior cup instead of one this season. Tho annual report of th'eN.Z.Bngby Union contains the following:—Many of the loading olnbs in Now Zealatnl might toll profit by more generally practising tho fast passing gamo in voguo in Australia, whiob not only gives equal chances of scoring to every member of a team, but renders tho play move interesting to tho spectators, and generally more soientifio in its principles. The Bed Stars, at a meeting held on Saturday evening, decided to commence training at once, and will me'.t at the gymnasium in .the Drillshed ovary Tuesday and Thursday evening during tho winter months.