Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

FOOTBALL.
MELBOURNE DEFEATED,.
, A SPLENDID GAME.
Exactly a fortnight ago Southern
footballers. consequent on the thorough
Ji'iat.ing they received at 'the lannds of
the Northern team, were being roundly
berated l»y followers of the game, and
the plaint was that football In Hobart
was on the down grade., However, the
league players , have ' rehabilitated
themselves in public favor by their
hliillant victory over til* 1 Melbourne
football Club's representatives on
Saturday, and if'this match can be accepted
.as a criterion the sport is on
as high a piano as ever it has been.
The visit of the Melburnlnns was
3ookfd forward to with considerable
interest, and %vel! over 5000 people
throi.^ed the stands and lined th«*
chains around the Upper Cricket
Ground \vhen tho teams took the Held.
3t cannot be, itsiid that the probability
«of a win for Southern Tasmania had
anything to do; with the large attend-
Anee. for the opinion was freely expressed
prior t\j the match that nuthing
more thitn a lop-sided gam«,
with a tine dlsplav of football on the
part of,the,Visitors, would be witnessed.
However, all those who went with
the idui ol'-scoffing remained to'praise,
for without cxe fptiion the contest \Vatf
one of the finest, if not the finest,
that has ever,b«*en seen in these parts.
The fact that, the Melburnians wove
Jioiiten Is not aJunc res}>on»ible lor the
full measures of praise that have since
Iieeti bestowed on. tli« local men. Even
had they gone under the Southerners
would have had' to be given credit for
e. splendid display of football in every
department. as it was. they mel
the Melbourne Football Club at every
move and every tciek of the game, Mid
on the day's play no victory could
have boon' better 'deserved. It Is pos-
Hible, of course, to mal<e excuses for
the visitors, wholkslnce their arrival in
3loba»t on Tuesday last have been
liolidii> making, ,-^nd jnay not havo
•l)een quite up to concert pitch. 13p thin
ns it may, the Caci remains that they
made the pace from the jump, and
kept it hot from bdll to hell. And the
league side, the mem who were, metaphorically
speaktn-T, to be butchered
Jo make a Roman holiday not only kept
with their opponent^ hut cracked on
the speed when the -whips were crack-
Hng, and Jn a strenuously fought game
showed that they were as good as,
and better than, the • eighteen from
{across the Straits. v
To those wiio ]7»ave followed
Southern football' closefy>' this season
it has been apparent that local players
have. In a manner of speaking, placed
(themselves in a false position with
the public. 3-.ast season they proved
their ability to play a fast, open game,
but this year they have, in the club
fixtures, given way to closeness and
overcrowding, and the standard of
football has suffered In consequence
It has not been that they could not
3>?ay the open game, but simply that
they fell into the other style, and did
not trouble to .get out of it. There
was nothing of this latter on Saturday,
but it was not all the fault of the homo
side. Used to clean, free football, th«
visitors opened the game out right
away by keeping the ball off the wings
and playing to the centre. Tho
Southerners had to follow them, and
found at once that it was to their
advantage to do so. Being, on tho
•whole, • fleeter of foot than the Melbourne
Football" Cluh. they were generally
first in the race to the ball, and
dt was pleasing to see that instead of
futile foot passing and harmless handball
the long, running drop kick or
punt was used. Again, the Southern-
<?rs' shooting for goal was splendidly |
accurate, they had none of the worst of
matters in the air, while their back-
Tine was as absolutely Impregnable
as Gibraltar. The league
has reason to be proud of Its
(representatives who play in the half
and full back positions, for on Saturday
they were giants of the game,
and had by far and away the better
of the deal .with tho opposing for-
-wards. In the ruck and the centre the
Melburnians had a slight advantage,
. ifor their followers, rover, and centre*
on en were players who rank amongst
ithe foremost of the Victorian League
Big, strong, and fast, and possessing
thorough knowledge of the fine
3>olnts of the game, they were formidable
enough to have scared their opponents.
Let it be to the credit of
,lhe Joeafs that they n flinched h„f
took the hard knocks which h dent il el i
,*way Ithe grim and still tenacity stuck of to. bulldogs, their task with i
grand to see the splendid judgment
msed fused by l,v the HfeThnnrne Melbourne ^h.ll FootbalTcfub PI„K
3n playing for position, but to the on- UỊ
Sookers It iraa better still to see tlie
manner in which the home team dived
*or the ball, got it, and dashed away !
•^O arn fh up with telling kicks ^oa?-
Xs'on'^fTe S r S ttt en.T C ° n /
\vere ^jut thc° 's^^cn's" i
• rjii^ , ' r.
Sumph and delIght which w™t u°p
•wlien tlie final bell sounded, with
Southern Tasmania 36 points in the
.lead, must have been heard right away
down In the city. The crowd swarmru
d st 0 v n a^s tl, fo<S , , 0U „?a d vr d ^
wh
lifted
0 .
, . to "
r . i
i? St a
w i ? P f » US 1- u U
Srt iS r S i ' l L w tmenl
th
«1»1 ^
l ; 0 ,, u B hout ' f , or
S m th ! ",™ d " ,um ?'
' > " ™ r ™ e " 1 " lty , towarda ,
" le firs ( l cllan '^ of
S?" 5 "t ,Y' e n e ° n0
lla l n"V « ,V , Ur ,T
' " t '
South s bril-
^ i l"/" 1 ,1"
^ I ' , , " c ma , d0 ''"
, ^ i heir «n<iezvous. for the
locals could do nothing: wrong. They
'
and It can be said without
X rC tT
fear of!
^ ^ f ^ e b e l l i ^ 6 ' ?
"A"" 6 e
^
i
Visitors'
tuJ L
«
,r os P° nBl , W8 I
2
w
t
y \ Melbourne Injured
their chances not a little hy the
they commitfed
breaches or the rules.
Dwyer
i
not at his best, but kept a fairly tight i
3iold on the game, and showed that
5ie was.determined to keep rough plav |
to a minimum.
The visitors suffered i
Sn consequence, and doubtless felt the
•difference betw the latitude given
on the mainland and the strictness observed
here. On the other hand thi
Southerners kept closer lo tlie tuIck'
than they liave done for many a long
Jay. and showed o coolness and clever-
~ ness I11 getting out of trouble that surprised
many people. Very suspicious
handball was indulged In on either,
side, and the greater portion of It was.
allowed to go unpunished.
Notable absentees from the Sodtherji,
-side were Gardiner. Feather-stone, and',
Dunn, the two last-named belns laid,
up. E. Jlussell, Smith, and K.,-Bailey,
took .their; places, the team being as
follows:—Carroll, (captain). Smith,
Geard, Wise, Brain, Miller, Tudor. F?
3?ilrton. Bailey (2). • Sharp, Russell,
Pennlcott, Jones. Goddard, Cossrove.
J3ryan. and Bucirdc.
i Melbourne ^ tvere represented, by
<Jt«rge (captain).- Fitzpatrlclc, Hendry
W. MTCcnzic Hiclccj', Harris,
li>a>k. Eohertsoc, Tomkins, JBristow,
Adams, Purse, Naismith, Joolen,
Evans. Magtllre, M'Kenzie. Flintoft.
George beat Carroll In the toss, and
decided to Idck towards the pavilion
goal.
THE PLAY.
Tho conditions were perfect when
the teams took tlie field, and the spectators
were not sparine in their cheers
of encouragement. Prior to getting
to business the Melburnians 'delivered
their war cry, very wild and fearsome
arfatr. The Southerners ' were
'soon .placed on the defensive, and after
a free to Bryan hod stayed the rush
somewhat a chain of passes between
M'Kenzie. Joolen, arid Magulre resulted
in a behind. M'Kenzie marked the
kick in, and Robertson accepted the
pass, the first goal being signalled
from bis kick. Play had been in progress
1 v* minutes. The bounce gave
tile local followers a chance; to work
play forward, and a free to Sl>urp
pl-aced the goal in Jeopardy. Tompkins
relieved cleverly, but Goddard
beat a heavier opponent handily, but
a rush of the visiting .forward? carried
all before llicm. and until a fretto
Tudor-e-aned the pressure. South's
goal was In danger. Tlieu play swung
backwards and forwards, until Carroll
and K. Bnll-v placed tho s-ide In an
advantageous'pusition. A timely kick
off the ground by burton asRirted, and
Rus>sell picked up t-martlv and goaled.
The North Hobart captain took a pass
from K. Uailev immediately after, and
goaled number two was signalled from
a line angle, shot. A Naismith,Tomnkins.
Robert: oombi nation "set" the
single flap waving- for Melbourne oncel
again, ami a further move by Nai-j
smith. Tomkins. and M'Kenzie placed
the bull right in goal, Miller, Carroll
and Tudor saving splendidly. South'*
next .goal w.\s an easy one, Jones picking
up from a crush in from of kohI,
and putting it through at a few yards
distance. Robertson followed with a
behind for Melbourne, but South
equalled this per medium of Sharp.
Hendrie and Fitzpatrick were responsible
for an attack, which ended in
a single to Flintoft, and Tompkins,
tifter a splendid run. passed on to
Maguire, who booted another minor.
Melbourne had had many chances, but
their goal shooting was decidedly poor."
They were peven points to the tfad.
but just before quarter-time Flintoft
piloted a goal.
Bryan's long punt early Jn the
second quarter -gave an jmj>etus to a
Southern attack, but after a struggle
on the tennis court wing Harris mark
cd and relieved the situation. Miller
relieved, and with an open field in
front of hiin should have made good
use of the leather, but appeared quite
-plussed, and before he could clear
the "red legs" were on- to him. Play
transferred, and a goal from
Maguire's boot followed. In a spirited
•ally on the Southern Half-forward j
lines the locals did themselves creult. •
and although Purse, Harris* and Nai-i
smith worked like tigers to stem the |
tide the opposition was too strong. |
Jones. Sharp, and E. nusseJ kept up;
constant lire V'®^'™. 01 '""
i
and at length tlie little North Hobartonian
received from Pennlcott, and |
the_[ocals lirst goal of the quarter was .
Ilagged. Prominent in an attack :
hich instituted immediately after !
the bounce were Harri Robertson, |
and Maguire. but Brain, Carroll,
Tudor proved as safe as houses. However,
clever handball on the part of
Tompkins and Magulre gave the vislthe
advantage of a struggle in
front of goal, and Maguire's punt
sailed through the big upening. Mel- :
bourne
playing a splendid I
abled them to drive home .rish after !
rush. It was all from the centre, too.
naraer in tneir ines. Alter a longj
spell on the defensive Tudor and
Rryan changed the venue, but Tompkins,
HIckey, and Joolen forccd tho
sphere hack past the centre again.
However, Carroll -
:ltoned
fm
with, TUf] — -
to be reckoned and
°/ 'S^'V"
aided hy
Cossrove piny was transferred; Smith
given a free, and liis shot hit -the
post. Another behind was ruslied
through, but Tompkins, with a brilliant
dash down field, stopped another
scoring effort, and passed on to Fitzpatrick.
The lofty centreman $uve
Robertson a chance. and the latter
notched a fine goal from a running
kick just at the call of time.
Melbourne were slow in taking tho
Held after half-time,
and
tlli3 fact
responsible for the game having
to be finished in a bad light,
"red letfs" were quick to
lcav
thi. i
mark, however, and scored with
behind
from
Fllntoft's hoot.
South
evened up with a behind, kicked
by
Jones, and the scoring was continued
this time to Melbourne's credit, by a
' w'endid chain of passes between
G<?ors < '' M'Kenzie. Joolen, and Hendg^'^^c'^r'Cf
«
kins near the press box. and
passed
foru a , rd
Russell. whose kick Set
he single flag waving.
Goddard, who
was having none the worst of the tusfile
on the win*?, forwarded after thti
kick in, 01111
"!' Smith " "' from ? «a. irt free u Ft**™ passed ™ to
j^.^"^i^-^IJ-^^ift
^ccTand Jone.
S ' t l
8 ' " ^
deserved cheers were accorded Car-
•»« ^ Bailey for sterling work
in defence, and tbelr efforts allowed
Wise to dash away down -the wing to
Geard, who punted across to goal,
•where Sharp secured, and raised the
twin flags. It was a splendid
mVnt. a^Tth^^^d Va^cd" Hs aTp^i
elation of it. The scores were now
""I this out the locals
forged ahead. Another run by Wise
tl,le «t Wll Sharp l in possession asain, and
»' forward booted another
ixer. Momentarily Tompkins turned
the attack, but Geard and Carroll interposed.
and a free to Cosgrove was
ollowed hy a fine exhibition of mark-
Sharp and E. Russell, the latter
further adding to his laurels by
tt, n Southcrn Tasman1a tlvo goals
ahead. Then Melbourne took a hand.
and a goa' to Magulre from a running
shot reduced tile lead somewhat, bul
tlle loc.ls ,,.„rp nlavino- in f ™
„.
and a'tehrnd ^ Soo^d 8 hy' Jone™'
hile Smith received from K Unilev
and E ^ e l t
and kfcTed^is
flrl
soal
ln
Southern
representative
matehes.
The home sldehad
found
Ulc r,gllt opcning five times during the
auartcr
but bud still » . m
i„?t
?,r!«ker"'aid
Gt^rd
recLivhg'tl"
^ tjirouch the agency of Adams,
Then a 7behlnd wasruehed through for
South, and again Purse ran' over the
mark, and the ball -was called up. Ulc.
key relieved, but a free to Geard resuited
In another single. After the
ldck IntL spell of tremendously exciting
play ensued, and the ball travelled
the length pf the ground time and
time again without either side scoring.
Both teams were playing excellent
football, and the passing and high
oiarklng was superb. South were the
Bret to make ,an Impression, Sharp
ttddlr.3 a useful single, but Keith
Bailey marked the kick in, and. running
forward goaled finely. The crowd
was In testacies. A free to Cosprove' :
set the forwards In rootInu p.pain, una
a behind • was • rushed throughthen
Tompkins, Fitzpatrick, end Jooljen
.drove play to the other end, --where
Magulre raised the single flag. Tompkins,
who waB here,: there, and everywhere,
carried the leather down field
again, hut Roy Bailey forced It back
ni a ». v
M'Kenzie had returned Hit
sphere, Bnil..\, Ptimicolt. and R Uus
heat down .nil opposition, and the
visiting bucks w ere on the defensive
again. No more exciting finish to a
match .could have been seen, tor witlf
t e « minutes or so left to play IIel•
| bourne |munie_ wore were straining every effort erfort_ to •
'touIc dmvu the .Southern defence. Too
tree* ver^ giv
and
tin's fact, together
with
the
gve
solidarity ot tlie locals, kvpt tli
in the rear.
At
length Tomp-,
kins goaled fmm n murl; in front, and
the "red legs" were stil situckln^ whj-n
the bell closed a splendidly fought and
wHdly r;\vitfug quarlt?
Scores u
each term
as follow:—•
First.
Southern
Tasmania,
hinds (20 points).
Melbourne,
2 goals
bell bids
points.
Second.
Melbourne,
& goals
behinds (37
points).
Southern
Tasmania,
goals
hinds (28 points).
,.
Third. ,
,
„ ,
Southern Tasmania, 10 goals 9 l)e-!
lllllds (CO points)..
Melbourne, 7 goals 9 beliinds
points).
Southern Tas
hinds (SO points).
Final.
11 goals 14 be-
Melbourne, 9 goals 10 behinds (64
points.
Enougli has been said about
TUDOR
to indicate that he was, without
doubt, the finest player or, the wlnnJn?
side. He was at the vpp t| t of
Jlis form, an(3 haf5 novor vet hhown
us a gamo in which his footbal,
has
bcen more
brniiant.
Absolutely safe,
hc was a tower
of strength on tho
hiilf-'mck line.'and with his clever
,n tlle a1r the cIoanlleB11 with which •
he i,anaied tile bull, and 1,1s remark-^
j
l
|
abl0 dasi, and s,)ccd m:lda him ,Pc.„nd
t0 none on the Held. To Ilov Uailev.
]iryan, and Carroll must also lie accorded
the very highest praise for
their efforts In defence; undoubtedly
the trio could not have done better
work than they did on Saturday. To
those critics who have credited Keith
Bailey and J. Smith with loss of form
the players mentioned gave a complete
tl an immense!
amount of
the ruck and on ;
^ e l i ^ ^ l V l n d i ^ t l ^ ^ i
c-onis Smith vovinir m,i
c ^ M t L T ^ i S
dard had u to-ugli tough opponent in In M'Ken-
zie, Melbotlrn regular wingster, and j
came out of the tussle "'cry credit,
to himself; in fact he had much the better
of the Melburnlan as far as pare I
a,,d
eround'work
,,.„„
went. Pennlcott
,,„„..„i,„„»
and '
Geard were prominent throughout, :.
and maintained their reputations '
lietlier on the ball placed. Sharp, '
Jones, and Russell had the call
their watchers on the forward 1
and their kicking and marking i
all that could he desired. Russell ;
would seem to have "found himself ,
amongst the forwards. The mnm.er In
-lilch he grafted for his leather and
got it was excellent. Brain, though .
useful at times, was not quite at his '
best, but F. Burton could not havn
been done without. Cosgrove did well
against a po rful opponent. Bucirde.
Miller, and Wis each earned their
place In the team.
Amongst the visitors the palm must
be given to their rover,
TOMPKINS. |
whose football was a tiling of j'
all who love to see a clever p
He Is acclaimed one of the best r vers |
in the Victorian League, and
=
game on Saturda this euloglsm does ;
not appear to be undeserved. Robertson
played a great wing game, and In •
the first half especially helped the
side very materially with long shots,
which landed near goal, and on a
couple of occasions found their way
through. Fitzpatrick was very -effec- |
tlve In the centre, while Naismith I
stood out as the best of tlie back men.
In this department Harris and Brlstow
were of very great use to the side,
while Hugh Purse, the veteran of the
team, was very safe in goal, but apparently
forgot where the kick-off
limit was. The followers, Hendrie and
George, did an Immense amount of
•ork, 'and did It well. Their hl.gh ,
marking was splendid, and the
they tapped the ball out to the rover
a revelation. George, however, found
the restrictions ns regards overstrenuous
play hardly to his liking. He
Is a remarkably well-built man, but inclined
to use his weight a bit too much.
M'Kenzie had -the better of Goddard
ln the air, but had to doff his cap to
the young Cananore player as far as
speed and ground play went. Joolen,
Evans, Magulre, and Flintoft were
tlie best of the forwards, but one has
nothing but condemnation for the
cowardly manner in which Magulre.
said to have a reputation as a boxer,
used Ills hands on unsuspecting opponents.
Monk and Adams were tlie
best of the others.
As mentioned above Dwyer was not
at hlB best, but he probably made the
mistake In endeavoring to suit his ad-
Judication to the requirements of both
sides. Tils decisions were at times
very good, and Just as often were the
reverse. Against Melbourne 39 frees
uorc awarded, ana against Southern
Tasmania 15. Tt might be mentioned
that in the second quarter South did
not infringe the rules once.
Messrs. T. Marsden TS.T) and J.
Leltll (M.) \vere pnnl umpires; Messrs.
llodge and Parkinson, boundary umpires;
and Sir. J. Sharp, timekeeper.
$