FOOTBALL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2498, 11 May 1909, Page 2

FOOTBALL.

. (By Full-back.) Last week saw the opening of both the Saturday and Thursday championship matches, and, judging by the appearance of the material available, football gives every promise of flourishing during the ensuing season. There were not a few players and followers of the game who looked with disfavor on the proposed abolition of the district scheme, and the reversion to the old regime of clubs. However, be that as it may, as matters have turned out, the latter system promises to provide, not only more, but more interesting football than has been, witnessed in Gisborne during the past couple of seasons. -While the change has had the unfortunate result of wiping 'out the old-established West End Club, yet the advantages arc apparent in that- under the new scheme }Yo shall have three senior clubs in town of practically even strength; instead of two strong teams and one weak team, as last year. A pleasing feature of the club scheme" is the establishment of three new clubs • iri the country districts, viz., Makauri, Muriwai,.; and-Te Ivura. From what I can gather, each of these teams has a strong following, and "Rugby, in the country, shall certainly be in a much healthier condition this‘season. The “Taranaki” scheme, which has been adopted by the local union, of having a. separate competition for town and country clubs, commends itself to me as being eminently suitable for the requirements of our district. The arrangement is- that- the winning team in the town competition plays the winners in the country for the championship of the district. All footballers know the difficulty of getting country teams to travel into town Saturday after Saturday, and for this reason alone the decision to play matches away from the town ground is, I think, a wise one. the same time, it will be wise for the governing body to enquire into the possibility of obtaining a suitable playing ground in the Te Arai - district. As far as I can ascertain, the only ground available at present is at Makauri, and if this is so it will, of course, mean that Te Kura and Muriwai teams will-have to travel to meet their fixtures. There ought to be little difficulty in getting a paddock somewhere in the vicinity i have suggested, and if it is done ! have no doubt that it will tend to materially benefit the competition. ' Just a few words about the opening games. Star met Alhambra,, and it was purely a question of untrained men being pitted against seasoned veterans. The Red and Black men ran up an overwhelming score against their opponents, and in this connection I must say that I do not regard such a course as in the best interests of the game, as it will certainly tend to dishearten the losing team. Star held them safe after the first ten minutes of' play, and to my mind, should have been satisfied when they saw how matters were with a. much more moderate total that 42 points. To give Kaipara his due, I. must say that he repeatedly told his men; not to score, but they were not to be restrained, and in the first flush of the season’s enthusiasm, ran over: their opponents’ line every few minutes.

The Alhambra men are deserving of the .highest * commendation for the plucky" manner in . which they stuck to their guns right until the call of time. I sincerely trust that their first- defeat, although by such a large margin; will not be the means of discouraging them in any wav,, but rather be an incentive to them to train" hard, and if so, with the excellent material which the club,possesses in its ranks, they will put up many a stubborn fight before the season closes. The City-Gisborne game was on excellent one, and was keenly and cleanly contested right through. The Royalblue Torwards are an'excellent lot, and the hacks also showed smart passing work, hut City, who® speciality appears to lie a wild .ivresistable rush of both forwards and backs, just scraped home by a narrow margin. For the benefit of players generally and Thursday players in particular, I quotes rule 49' in the newly-comprled rules and bylaws issued bv the Union: —“All teams shall plav in their club’s- -registered colors, and it shall be tho duty of the referee to order off the field of playany pi aver not conforming AVitli this rule.” Breaches of this rule were particularly noticeable in the GisborneCitv match, where several of the City players-were arrayed in the first jersey that came handy, and two of them took the field in hockey costume. j trust that this- fault will be remedied in future, and that the game will be played throughout the season' m tlie same friendly spirit as that which characterised the opening matches. Saturdav’s game between the Y M C A. team and Kaiti-City proved brimful of interest, and, for an opening match, was remarkably fast throughout. The “Tigers” ip their initial venture, I must confess, surprised me cn-eatlv by their splendid performance, and I have a shrewd idea that the wearers of the blue and black and then supporters also received ■rather a. painful shock. The “Tigers' ” back division completely outplayed the opposing rearguard, while their forwards, although comprising some “young” players, held their' own remarkably well witn powerful opposition pack. Y.M.k.A. deserve every credit for a meritorious win, and wliilc taking this view,l am rather inclined to think that the KaitiCity m*m will improve a great deal, and ii« ‘a smirt time they will be a very , hard team to' beat. • L was extremely sorry to see a considerable tendency to roughness .on the part of one or two of the Ivaiti-Gity players, and. a couple ok them an particular have, I think, to thank Mally Howard for his- leniency, m so far as they were not relegated . to tn< role of spectators for portion oi the o-arae One incident, in particular was noticed by the .occupants of the grand stand and the offending, player U Kaiti-City back) was deservedly hooted for" kicking at a fallen opponent,'who brought him down on the touch-hne, and also for making use of the grace!vd and gentlemanly epithet, M'Ton d.rty cow ,r at the same time. Unfortunately the referee was not in-a .position fo witness this' occurrence, fthoiw.se doubtless ;» sharp lesson .wouk h-.'s been' fiiuglit the player in question, would surest to the fe;v players wo XST Sir a tomh-noy to tint a c-roat dr a I moro is to bo f-aiiHd the ball than by Ulorpt' oft their attention to the man and that A hm so they are. tend..,g to am #1 1 standard of the ' game, not di r^ Commit foe has been son I and now consists of kvo ckji at £■ Thev are a live body.- fully: au-uc o the" amoimt of work be I ore-them, < _ can' X think, be safoly.. dejiended .uffi to' conserve the best intcrcvt* ot tin. ir : < in ;yVOiT hriiH'h. , the"- annual meeting. aim nave a.^ou : ox members, many of wnom promme ■

to make excellent referees in time. X am glad to note that “Wallv” Howard lias reconsidered his determination to relinquish his connection With the game, as, unfortunately we have not got anything like an adequate supply of experienced men in taking charge of a garfie. I do not, for one moment, intend to disparage the services of any of the other members of the Association, which includes such capable referees as J. J. Martin, W- Hay, anti others, but the fact remains that taking perhaps three or four away, the majority of tlie remaining members are, while very promising, practically inexperienced. I shall dfeal more fully next week with criticisms of the players, and, m the meantime, would like to invito the cooperation, of .club'secretaries, and any others interested, in the matter of suggestions, etc., in the interests of the game. I shall be my earnest endeavor throughout the season to write fairly and impartially, but not hesitating before ' criticising, adversely if necessary, any matter, or in any direction, which may lead to the advancement of the national game in our district.