PLAY AND PLAYERS - LEADING POINTS NOTED - The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) - 17 Jun 1921 (original) (raw)

Fri 17 Jun 1921 - The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954)
Page 3 - PLAY AND PLAYERS

When tile League was notified that

"the Springboks"—the Rugby Union

players from South Africa — were com-

ing to Melbourne, they agreed to ex-

tend a welcome to the visitors as foot-

ballers. It was arranged that as they

would be in Melbourne for a day or

two before they went on to Sydney, a

match should be played on the Mel-

bourne cricket ground, if the base-

ballers would forego their game that

was to have been played before the

Melboune-Fitzroy match. The base-

ballers have agreed, and the Spring-

boks will provide the curtain-raiser to

the League game. The League's action

has been appreciated by the Rugby

Union of Sydney and the followers of

the old English game in Melbourne.

Twomey was unable to make spec-

tacular flights and runs agninst South

Melbourne by the heavy nature of the

ground, and by the close, consistent

watch kept on him by Wood, the

actlve and alert little wing man In the

southern jersey. Wood's performance

marked him out as one of the few

South Melbourne men who played well.

Hisklns, the South Melbourne back,

was in great form at Victoria Park.

His marking and dash were respon-

sible in a large measure for the father

disappointing work of Lee, .the famous

goal-getter for Collingwood. Makin

was good on the half-back line.

Tandy's absence was a big handicap

on South Melbourne in their match

against Collingwood. He had been

kicked on the ankle at Seymour on the

previous Monday, when he played

there, with the Leopold team, of which

he is the coach. The kick left its mark

and pain, and made it impossible for

him to strip at Collingwood.

The Collingwood rucks overshadowed

those of South Melbourne. Great foot-

ball was played by M'Carthy, Rowe,

Seddon. Hughes, and their rovers—

Webb and Hammond. In the absence

of Laxton, who was a spectator owing

to an injured leg, Hammond had to

be played roving. Thus the fine dash-

ing rovers on either side had to take

a rest owing to injuries—Tandy and

Rogers, of South Melbourne, and

Pannam were opposed in the centre.

The Collingwood man know more than

the young southerner, who shaped well.

With experience he should Improve

into a really good mid-flelder. Gibb, the

young wing man for South, had a

heavy job in minding Drummond. He

strove well, but the Collingwood re-

presentative knew too much for him.

Murphy and Keogh made their ap-

pearance in the Collingwood colors

against South Melbourne, and each

acquitted himself well. Murphy's work

half-back was highly satisfactory.

Keogh worked round about the half-

The success achieved by the Gee-

long League club is having its effect

on the Geelong district games. The

gates at the district matches last

Saturday represented less than £10.

One club could not complete its team,

and had to forfeit its match.

Throughout the Geelong-St. Kilda

match the St. Kilda men showed some

fine marking, Lever, Williams, Kerley,

and Lowrie being particularly con-

spicuous. In the air Geelong were

well served by Gray, A. Rankin,

Haggar (who effectively worked in

opposition to Eicke), and Sharland.

Tho proposed testimonial to Alex.

Eason was placed on a sound footing

at a public meeting at Geolong. A

committee of leading residents has

been appointed. Eason played an-

other fine game last Saturday. His

rovlng was most effective.

Toward the close of last Saturday's

match M. Kroger injured his ankle,

and it is uncertain if he will be able

to play tomorrow. This is the second

of Geelong's best half-back men to be

injured. Gross, however, is improv-

ing, and hopes to be in the fray again

M'Carter played a very telling game

for Geelohg against St. Kilda. He

had a roving commission, but did his

best when on the half-back line. A

Rankin gave Carr no quarter, while

Curtayne and De Garis were out-

played by Peck and Feder, and Gee-

long's centre line was in fine form.

Feder's play was most encouraging.

It was his first match in League foot-

ball. He marked well and showed

dash. It is likely that he will be given

a trial on the half-back line.

Nicholson (a Geelong College

master) and Sullivan, who have been

showing great form with the Newtown

and Geelong West junior teams

respectively, have started training

with Geelong. Both are "six-footers,"

and should be an acquisition to the

A fine friendly spirit was manifested

in the Geelong-St. Kilda match. After

the contest Mr. E. L. Jones and offi-

cers of the St. Kilda club, called into

the Geelong dressing-room, and con-

gratulated the winning team. They

were satisfied that the best club

Open play and quick ground work,

low passing, and complete under-

standing among the players, have

served the Geelong team so well this

year that supporters are satisfied that

the team is capable of defeating Carl-

ton. Certain it is that the club will

have a big following to the metro-

polis. Two special trains have been

chartered and 2000 tickets secured.

Brown was more than a match for

Nadort, who took a place half for-

ward. Brown marked the wet ball

When Lawrence kicked four goals

in his first game against Carlton he

set a standard which he will find hard

to live up to. He played well about

the goal zone at Victoria Park, but

although he had a number of shots,

he failed to add to his list of sixers.

Allison, in addition to showing excel-

lent work, added a pair to his credit.

Essendon. have been urging their

big men to use their weight more

than they have been doing, fairly, of

course. Woodfleld followed the ad-

vice on Saturday, and it is claimed

that he made a better showing than

against Collingwood. He played fine

football in the centre against Black-

man. Sullivan against Canet and Gar-

den against Stevenson more than held

Beckton, Essendon's recruit of this

season, has developed into an excel-

lent footballer. It was noticeable af-

ter the match against Carlton that the

followers of the Blues spoke in the

highest terms of his play. His mark-

ing against Clover was excellent, and

his work on the ball was equally at-

tractive, His kicking was good, and

he figured among the goal-klckers

with three opposite his name.

Clover has struck top form. He

scored five goals against Essendon.

His flights in the air were extraordin-

ary, and he was cheered from all

parts of the ground. His kicking was

also worthy of special reference. He

punted and got his goals with kicks

like those which made Frank Caine

famous when he played for Carlton.

Two of Clover's successes were the

result of shots which covered a dis-

tance of fully 50 yards. Morgan was

a brisk, and busy forward, and he re-

gistered five goals. Daykln was also

sound, and Duncan's high marking

was as good as anything of the kind

in the match. These men make a

powerful forward division.

P. O'Brien's presence on the half-

back line was of high value to the

team. The former captain's first

game ot the season showed him at

his best. Little Fred M'Donald, of

Essendon, did a daring act when on

one occasion O'Brien was kicking the

ball. He rushed in to beat the ball

off the big Carlton man's boot. Such

daring is decidedly risky.

Laing, the Essendon vice-captain,

played himself to a standstill. He

found Duncan too tall for him to hope

to cope successfully in the air with

the Carltonian, but when it came to

the ground play Laing did well, dash-

ing the ball away to safety time and

Although Percy Ogden, the Essen-

don captain, played a serviceable

game against Carlton, he was handi-

capped by a strained sinew in the-

back of his leg. This injury was caus-

ed while playing at Maryborough a

fortnight ago, when the team visited

that town. He has been ordered by

his doctor to rest the leg.

Maher, who was unable to play for

Carlton, as he has not qualified resi-

dentlalty, made his appearance with

Essendon against the Dark Blues. He

was forward and roving, and proved a

nippy, smart performer, with a quick

dashaway for about ten yards, at the

end of which he gets rid of the ball.

A good point this, for it is better to

be satisfied with the kick than to try

and run a great distance and then lose

the opportunity of doing so. Maher

has the faculty for turning quickly.

Very cosy shots were missed in the

first quarter by Essendon, whose for-

wards were in too great a hurry to

score. They should have gained more

The trouble with regard to the Ben-

alla-Yarrawonga Association has been

settled. The League has granted their

registration, and henchforth umpires

will be appointed to officiate in that

Carew has been more unfortunate

than most of the Richmond players.

He received a kick on the knee dur-

ing the match against Collingwood

and was unable to take part in the

game against Melbourne. Hede filled

the vacancy, but he could not go

through the whole of the play, because

of injury in a collision with Farrow.

A deep cut was caused above the

Richmond's straight kicking in the

first half saved them from defeat by

Melbourne, for in the last quarter Mel-

bourne had by far the best of the

bout, but they failed to score off the

easiest of chances. There was a fine

opportunity for Percy Wilson to have

won the game for his side, but he

kicked wretchedly, and there was no

more severe critic of his shot than

Melbourne are to be congratulated

on their fine play against Richmond,

with seven players new to the team

this year it was not to be expected

that they would fall into one another's

ways quickly, but last week's work

showed that they are well on toward

it. They will "team" better in a

At Richmond the midfield was so

muddy that the field umpire had to

bounce tho ball away from the circle.

Melbourne played Ogilvy, one of their

juniors, on the wind, and were satisfied

with the manner in which he shaped.

Bourke, the man from Ballarat, gave an

improved game compared with his first

effort, and did well in the last quarter

Flanagan, half-back; Boyd, back;

Haines, forward and roving, were

among the best men for Melbourne at

Richmond. Jack House, whether in the

centre or roving, played a great game.

Richmond's best back in the first half

was Harley. Taylor was also in fine

trim, and Thorp played as usual in bril-

M'Intosh in the midfield position

again made a fine display for Rich-

mond, in opposition to Wilson, who in

the last quarter went forward and

headed attack after attack on the Rich-

Schmidt signalised his re-appearance

with Richmond by roving well, and by

getting a goal. Bayliss came into his

own again by kicking five goals for the

M'Latchie's roving for Carlton was

one of the bright features of the game

at East Melbourne. Another player

whoso work was high-class was Baring.

The old Essendon follower showed

much of his former brilliance.

There was not a long discussion at

the special meeting of the League re-

garding the proposal to give players

the right of appeal against the de-

cision of the permit and umpire com-

mittee. No new arguments were

brought forward, and the proposal was

defeated. Collingwood, St. Kilda,

South Melbourne, and Richmond were

the only clubs who voted in favor of

the alteration of the regulations. About

this time last season a similar attempt

was made to have the regulation al-

tered. On that occasion Carlton, Col-

lingwood, Richmond, South Melbourne,

and St. Kilda were in favor, but they

did not comprise the necessary three-

fourths majority, and the matter

Mr. E. L. Jones, president of the St.

Kilda club, has returned from a trip

to Sydney, where he attended differ-

ent mutches played under the Austra-

lian rules. He tells me that encourag-

ing form was shown, and that there is

a marked Increase in our class of foot-

ball where Rugby League and Union

are the popular games. Mr. Jones is

of the opinion that a decided stimulus

would be given to the game if two of

the Victorian teams were sent to Syd-

ney to play during the season.

For the matches between Northern

and Southern Tasmania umpires in

Melbourne are engaged. G. Green has

been appointed to go to Hobart for the

match, tomorrow. His fees and ex-

penses which are paid by the Tasma-

The South Melbourne team will

play at Ballarat for the assistance of

a fund being raised for W. M'Donald,

one of the Imperial players, who was

recently injured at Ballarat. Advan-

tage will be taken of the opportunity

to try three aspirants for inclusion

among the South regulars.

Fitzroy defeated Korumburra last

week. Wigraf took part in tlie game

and did well. Richardson, a South

Australian follower, also played for

"Magpie" (Clifton Hill) writes sug-

gesting that as an improvement to the

game boundary umpires should be sup-

plied with whistles to signal when the

H. Manson, who played for St. Kilda

in 1915, before he went to the war, has

been granted a permit, to play for Gee-

long. P. Malony, another St. Kilda

player, has transferred to Port Mel-

J. Barnett, who came from Tas-

mania, has received a permit to play

Netherton, the field umpire, has been

ill since he officiated in the Colling-

wood and South Melbourne match.

Jack Elder reported on Wednesday

night that Nethorton was suffering

from pleurisy and pneumonia.

About 60 umpires attended the meet-

ing of the Umpire and Permit Com-

mittee on Wednesday night. As they

were not prepared to go on its was

decided that they should meet again

Writing to the St. Kilda executive

of the doings of his club at Geelong

last Saturday a disgusted barracker

voiced his opinion that the side

"shaped like a lot of old women in

hobble skirts." He would be a severe

barracker of the women players in

The social aspect is being attended

to at Geelong, where after each home

game the local team are invited to

dinner. Last Saturday Messrs F.

Garson. H. A. Bennett, and W. Han-

bury attended on behalf of St. Kilda

Club, and they speak highly of the

hospitality of the Geelong people.

O'Rourke, Shelton, and the Morden

brothers, all of Koo-wee-rup. have been

training at St. Kilda this week. The

first two played in the concluding

match for St. Kilda last season, and

both will be again given a chance to

prove themsolves at the earliest op-

The veteran St. Kilda player, Wood-

cock, strained the muscles of his leg

at Geelong, and has been unable to

train during the week. His inclusion

among the 18 tomorrow is doubtful.

Mr E. L. Jones, president of St.

Kilda, is tendering a dinner to the

players and officials on the evening

of June 25. An invitation has also

been sent to the Richmond players

and committee, and it is expected that

a large number will attend.

St. Kida's executive has been much

concerned over the loss of the services

ot their three big men—Cameron, Cub-

bins, and M'Namara. The two last-

named are recovering from their in-

juries, and it is also hoped, that the

popular Tatura man will be soon afield

The South Melbourne Club will send

a team to Ballarat tomorrow to play

against the Ballarat League second

eighteen in a benefit match for the

fund established on behalf of W.

M'Donald, of the Imperial team, who

sustained a broken kneecap when cyc-

ling to the training ground recently.

A team representative of the Bal-

larat Football League will play a Ben-

digo League team tomorrow at Ben-

digo, and opportunity will be taken by

representatives of the Leagues to dis-

cuss various matters relative to the

control ot football in the country, in-

cluding the question of forming a pro-

vincial association, the appointment of

umpires, and the dealing with clear-

ances between Victorian League and

the country governing bodies. It is

intended by the Ballarat League dele-

gates to introduce the subject of the

Melbourne club's refusal of a clearance

to R. J. Corbett to play with the Gold-

en Point club, in the hope of an

agreement being arrived at by which

the country leagues will provide the

right of appeal for players placed in

a like position. What further action

the Golden Point club will take will

depend on what action, if any, is taken

at the Bendlgo conference. Corbett is

now playing with the Golden Point

second eighteen in the local associa-

tion competition, where his presence is

much more appreciated by the team

It surprised the committee of the

Carlton Club last night when Charlie

Canet submitted his resignation of the

captaincy. He said that the reponsi-

bility of the position was hampering

his play, and he thought that in his

and the team's interest it would be

better if he vacated the position. A.

Daykin and G. Green were nominated

as his successor, and Daykln retired

in favor of Green, who will lead the

Colechin and Webb received slight

injuries in last week's match, and will

make room for Curtis and Laxton in

the Collingwood team against St.

T. Smith received a severe knock in

last week's match, and will rest to

morrow. V. Schmidt has to play in

a match at Warracknabeal, and will

not be available for the game against

Essendon. He expects that he will be

in town to take his part in the struggle

against his old team, St. Kilda. Hede

and Nott are also out of tomorrow's

team. The places will be filled by

Carew. Moffatt, Hughes, and G. Wea-

therill. Ogden has been advised to

rest owing to an injury sustained at

Maryborough. Consequently he will

be out tomorrow. Fehring and Gar-

diner have not been chosen. Stock-

dale, Day, and Hunter will be with

M'Kenzle will displace Clowe in

Carlton's team tomorrow. Otherwise

the side will be the same as that

which scored so heavily at the expense

Lethhridge, of Fitzroy, having re-

covered from his injuries, will re-

Griiffiths, Aldridge, O'Rourke (from

Kooweerup), and Howell (from Moor-

abbin) will take the places with St.

Kilda tomorrow of Woodcock, Car-

barns, Ricketts, and Lloyd. Ricketts

may not play again. Williams will lead

Gray has not been, selected for

tomorrow's match by Melbourne.

Thomas will be one of the team.

Umpires of the League are engaged

from the Mallee to Orbost and Tas-

mania. This week the League has

received from different associations

who have called for umpires the large

amount of £233 to cover the fees.