Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954), Saturday 18 September 1920, page 8


THE PREMIERSHIP MATCH.

At the Cnley Oval this afternoon the minor premiers -Sturt), who bad successfully contested their senri-flnal, met Bast Torrens, who had been awarded the other semi-final. Both the Un'.er juid Nonrood represeotatiies have been prominent for a number of v«ars, and their meetings have generally produced splendid games, with little to choose between either side. It can also be said that these two teams have proved themselves this year decidedly superior to the remaining ciubs. University towards the close improved remarkably, but failed to maintain their improvement. It was -herefore fitting that Sturt and East Torrens should meet to decide the supremacy of the association. The weather and ground conditions were excellent. The teams took up their stations on the ground as follows: — STURT. EAST TORREXS. Goaltender, T. Horton Goaltender, E. EberPoint, E- L. Ravraond dach Cover-point,' R- Wood- 1st home, E. Noblet bead 2nd borne, P. Auld 3rd man, J. Treloar 3rd borne, G. Bruer Right defence, L. Me- Left attack, E. HoltLeay bouseLeft Left defence, - K. Me- Right attack, H. Kranz Leay Centre, B. Leschen Centre. H. A. Wicks Bight defence, C. L. Left attack, F. L. Par- Abbott sons Left defence, C. A, Gepp Right attack. V. Keith 3rd man, C. Skinner 3rd home, S. Gubbins Cover-point, H. Holt2nd home, J. Gordon house j 1st borne, B. E. Mitchell Point, H. Socking Mr. Frank Davidson officiated as central referee, I and Messrs. E. D. Nicholas and C. A. M. West '. were the goal umpires. I The game started with Shirt -on the offensive | Good lacrosse was shown bv both sides, and the pace .was exceedingly fast. The first goal of the I day resulted after Mitchell had sent a good pass to Gordon, and the laiter in a. characteristic da£h across the net sent the rubber home. It was not long before Sturt again pressed their rivals. Mitchell placed Gubbins in possession, and the latter scored a splendid angle goal. The ball travelled up and down the ground with celerity nntil a quick onslaught phuxd Gordon in possession. A skilful pass to Mitchell was promptly returned to Gordon, who scored with a high bouncing shot. Abbott, Hocking, aiid Holthouse were defending well for Torrens, but thev foujd the Sturt homes very energetic. The first tefln ended:— STURT ? 3 goals EAST TOBREXS ? JTu The next quarter was more evenlv contested, and was conspicuous for the fine defensive work of both sides. Raymond and Woodhead tvere showing up prominently in their fine defence, while Wicks, at centre, was most effective, both in relief and attack. The endeavours of both sides proved fruitless nntil the term was well expended. Mitchell then scored & beautiful goal out of a crowd, and the long interval arrived with the I wore:— [ srrjRT .. ..- ? 4 goals I EAST TOBBEKS..'.. .. Nil I The third quarte* was also characterised bv fine defensive ? work. Hocking was conspicuous for Torrens, and Eberbach, in goal, proved a vigilant keeper. The Sturt back: line— Raymond, Woodhead, and Treloar— displayed fine form, and the efforts of the Torrens battery proved unavailing. In a. sharp attack by Sturt Hocking intercepted and carried the ball well forward, where possession was ultimately lost. Wicks, with a fine long pass, sent down to Mitchell, who squeezed through tvro opponents and scored another magnificent goal. Desultory play followed for the balance of the term, and at 'lemons' the scores were: — STURT .. .. '. ? 5 coals EAST TOHHEXS ? Nil The final term was, perhaps, the fastest section of the game. Each side tacked with vim, Torrent putting up a commendable fighting effort The double blues, however, continued to augment their tally, the next point coming from Selth, who ran in from the deep field and scored. After Torrens bad tried to force an opening, in which Noblet and Auld figured, the ball came back to Start's end, where Wicks sent it over to Mitchell. The latter, taking the pass high, twisted past his opponent with the same action, and after dodging another he scored a fine goal. Gepp tried unsuccessfully tor Torrens, who were battling hard. Selth 'scored a comparatively easy goal for Start, and the easterners' task looked tuneless. Holthoose, Eranz, Nohiet, Abbott, and Auld figured in a strenuous forward movement, bat the Start backs reversed the order and the ball was transferred to the other end. Gubbins from the wing placed Selth in possession, ind the latter scored with a- long high bouncing shot, -which lodged over the keeper's shoulder. This only served to renew the vigour of the Torrens team, but they could not break through. Just before the bell rang Mitchell surpassed his earlier work by a great goal, a 'backhander,'] with only a few iacbe* -rf Jie set risible. A splendid game, not at all as one-sided as the scores imply, ended in victory for:— / STURT ? 10 goals EAST TORRENS .. .. Xil At the conclusion H. Hocking (captain of East Torrens) congratulated the Sturt team on their fine win and upon securing the premiership for 1920— their seventh consecutive premiership. In acknowledging the tribute, H. A. Wicks (captain of Sturt) said tiiat he appreciated the fine sporting game played by East Torrens, who had battled splendidly. He regretted that East Torrens were obliged to play such an important fixture without the services of G. Oke and L. Oke, whose absence was a severe loss. He was proud of his team. F~--'»h member was an enthusiast, and their active interest in the welfare of the dub was a feature of its success. As indicated, the scores are not a true reflex of the play, which was never onesided. Sturt certainly did most of the attacking, and their splendidly organised relief work time after time changed the trend of the game. The winners I succeeded by fine back play and the cleverness of Mitchell. Wicks at centre was also a prominent player throughout. The side owes a great deal to his tJolfol leadership. The whole of the Sturt ride !&owed good lacrosse, those deserving 6pecial mention being Havmond, Treloar, Woodhead, Wicks, Selth, and MitchelL Horton in goal reliered well. The excellent checking- of the hack ? line left him little to do, as only three shots] required the goalie's handling. 1 The Torrens side worked really hard without gaining points. Xoblet and AnkI toiled an- I ceasingiy, but their good work was nullified by] Hie exceptional checking of Ravmood and Woodhead respectively. E. Holthouse contributed a lot of useful work on the attack, as did C. Abbott on the defence. The latter was prominent in many relief movements. Hocking, Skinner, and H. Holthouse comprised the back line, and on the whole each plaved very well indeed. Sturfs goals were tcored by:— Mitchell -4), Selth (3), Gordon (2), and Gubbias (1). ASSOCIATION PREMIERSHIP RECORD. Premiers and Runners-up. 1888 .. .. North Adelaide — Adelaide 1889 .. .. North Adelaide— Adelaide 1890 .. .. University— Adelaide 1891 . . . . University — Iroquois 1892 .. .. lroquois — Cniversitv 1893 .. .. Iroquois— University 1894 .. .. University— North Adelaide 1895 .. .. University— North Adelaide 1896 .. .. University— North Adelaide 1897 .. .. North Adelaide— University 1898 .. .. University— North Adelaide 1899 .. .. Iroquois— University 1900 .. .. Iroquois— University 1901 .. .. Iroquois— University 1902 .. .. University— Sturt 1903 .. .. .Sturt— University 1904 .. .. Port Adelaide— Sturt 1905 .. .. Sturt— East Torrens 1906 .. .. Sturt— North Adelaide 1907 .. .. Sturt— East Torrens 1908 .. .. University— North Adelaide 1909 .. .. North Adelaide— East Torrens 1910 .. .. North Adelaide— Sturt 1911 .. .. Sturt— University 1912 .. .. Sturt— Port Adelaide 1913 .. .. Sturt— University 1914 .. .. Sturt— University 1915 -. .. Sturt— East Torrens 1916-18.. .. No competition 1919 .. .. Sturt— East Torrens 1920 .. .. Sturt — East Torrens The Sturt Club's entry into competitive lacrosse occurred in 1902, and in their initial season they secured second position. Their career covers an exceptional record, probably the greatest Hub achievement in the history of the game in Australia. They have figured in 16 seasons with the following result:— Played l6 competitions, won the premiership 11 times, runners-up 3 times, unplaced twice. As the table .--hows Sturt have held the prepremiership since 1911, having won seven consecutive premierships. GENERAL NOTES. One of the most brilliant lacrosseurs in this State for a number of years, and one whose achievements will rank equally with the best players produced by South Australia since the inception of the game, is R. E. Mitchell, the Sturt crack home. He commenced playing lacrosse at Port Pirie in 1907, being accompanied in this respect by the late Roy Flett, who also subsequently won fame on the lacrosse field, and renown on the battle front, where he paid the supreme sacrifice. When 15 years of age Mitchell played at first home with the senior Port Pirie team in their games with the other Northern Areas clubs. Many of his clubmates of those days are still in the Pirie team. In those earlier days a large share of his success was due to clever combination, in which he was partnered by C. Wills. Subsequently he has been conspicuous in his partnership firstly with Norman Moffatt and latterly with J. R. Gordon. Mitchell, according to popular opinion, expressed in Sydney during the recent carnival, is the finest forward at present playing in Australia, and his clever work at the carnival well merits this distinction. Mitchell first played in Adelaide as a member of the Port Pirie Club who played Surt at the conclusion of the 1911 season, and the country club won comfortably. The brilliant forward next visited Adelaide as a member of the combined country team in 1812, and following his excellect effort against the metropolitan team he

was chosen with Roy Flett as the country members of the South Australian interstate team which took part in the All-States Carnival which was played in Melbourne in 1912. In the matches Mitchell took part in. i.e.. New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, and Tasmania, he averaged 6 goals a match, a wonderful performance in such classic fixtures. From 1913 Mitchell has played for Sturt and during his connection with the double-blue club be has rendered magnificent service, perhaps few more spectacular games than his wonderful effort in todays premiership match. In 1913 he played second home in the South Australian team who scored their greatest victory against our neighbours, Victoria, during a series of interstate matches extending over 30 years. His work in this match in conjunction with Moffatt and Lee, will not be easily forgotten, for Mitchell scored 8 goals out of the total of 16 scored by South Australia to Victoria's single goal. This effort in itself represents the greatest, number of goals scored by one South Australian player in the interstate series. As Sturt have been premiers of South Australian lacrosse since 1911 Mitchell has been a member of the premier team since his arrival in the city. During 1913 and 1914, and at the close of 1919 he was partnered by N. Moffatt in his forward work. His present partner, Gordon, formed one of the home trio in 1914, 1919, and 1920. A most unassuming and extremely modest player, and one of the most popular exponents in the game, not only in this State but in the other States as well, it is hoped that South Australia will for many years to come have the services of such a brilliant performer as R. E. Mitchell. On Saturday evening next an association smoke social will be held at the Exchange Hotel, Hindley Street. The members of the victorious South Australian team who lecently won the Australian championship at Sydney, will be the special guests of the evening. It is intended to exhibit the Garland and McHarg Cup for the first time in this State on that occasion. An entertaining evening's programme has been arranged, and it is hoped lacrosseurs will attend in large numbers. '