MANGAWEKA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 133, 7 June 1934, Page 10

MANGAWEKA

PERSONAL Mrs. Failover is on a visit to Eketahuna. Miss Denshire, who has been on a visit to Mrs. H. Waymouth, left lor Christchurch to-day. The many friends of Mrs. D. G. Mackay Turnbull will be pleased to hear that she has recovered sufficiently to return home. Mr. H. Cato is on a visit to his mother, Mrs. Cato. Mr. D. Wright has returned from a visit to Wanganui. FOOTBALL NOTES In a poor exhibition of football at Marton on Saturday last Marton Athletic seniors beat Mangawcka senior fifteen by 19 points to 6. To say the match was poor would be praising it. It was the most disappointing match witnessed this year, and if football is to get the support it deserves, then better exhibitions are called for. Saturday’s play showed Mangaweka’s weakness and why they do not remedy it before it is too late, makes one wonder, for they have a good team, at least they have proved themselves so. On Saturday the rear portion of the scrum was breaking up whether they hooked the ball or not, with the result that when Mangaweka hooked the ball, Athletic were through on the half-back before he could do anything, so the game developed into neither a back game or a forward one. In fact, it was not even a decent scramble, and spectators w r ere bored the whole afternoon, and the only reason why they saw it out was because they expected that at some time in the . afternoon they might see some glimpses of football. The fact that Mangaweka had four juniors playing was not the cause of the poor exhibition, fo r Crowther in the forwards was again the pick, with only one running him close and that was Sutherland. Noble, who is slow at the best of times, gave by far his worst exhibition this season. This youth is a forward with plenty of vim and sting, but at half-back he is wasted. In fact, as pointed out previously, the Mangaweka side backs do not realise how terribly slow they are, and if they do not make a change in that direction, they are doomed to failure. On Saturday’s play, in the back division, the only two to show any promise were Cox and A. Smith, who, by the way, were the emergencies. Athletic had their first win, and good luck to them. Next Saturday Ducker and Dickson will bo available, but if played behind the present inside backs, then there will be little or no improvement. The chief position in football is the connecting point between the forwards and backs, and if this is a weak combination, then it is a poor lookout for the forwards, especially with a rearguard of forwards who think they are only in the scrum for the purpose of getting round on the other side. The scrum should be held together until the ball is out, and then a decent breakaway should get busy, but not before. The five-eighths are slow in getting the ball, and being slow themselves does not improve the situation. Now for a change. I would suggest something like this: —Half-back: Either Say well or Peacock. Five-eighths: Take Barrell from full-back and play him in the five-eighths position with either Tolley or Cox. (Tolley hails from Ohingaiti and was the Rangitikei junior representative five-eighths last year). Barrell would also make a good wing threequarter and so would Cox. Then we have left Dickson, Ducker and Payton, and this would figure a good three-

quarter line. Now we have only the full back position to fill, and as Holtz is reputed to be a senior full-back, why not try him. He says he is either a full-back or a forward and is willing to play in either position. Now we know that Peacock, Saywell, Cox and Dickson are not all available on a Saturday, but if only two are, it would not matter which two. Payton is either a wing three-quarter or a fullbark. His passing is too erratic for an inside back. If Mangaweka place their team correctly, they will be due for a win, and if they don’t they will be up against it.

As the Wednesday football is about to start and as some of the juniors have played more senior games than is allowed, it would be wise to have them re-graded before it is too late. Mangaweka has two good teams, so it appears that the responsibility lies with the selector.