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FOOTBALL.
FOOTBALL NOTES.
IBv Goalpost.]
28. Fort Adelaide v. South Adelaide (Adelaido
Oval).
28. Norwood v. Adelaide v. (Kensington Oval).
28. Victorian Matches:—Qeelong v. Essendon;
North Melbourne v. Fitzroy; St. Hilda v. Foots
cray; Melbourne v. Bichmond; Port Melbourne
v. Ballarat.
The magenta banner has been in the ascendant
ever since Friday, June 20, when they inflicted an
unmistakeable defeat npon the hitherto almost un
conquerable Norwoods by fi goals lObeliinds to 3 goals
3 bebinds. The long run of success which the latter
team has enjoyed has beenbrokenbythePorts, audi
congratulate tliem. not only on their splendid per
formance, but on their [general excellent play, and
on the determined manner in which they have
played second to the red-and-bluos year after year,
and now as a reward have a splendid chance of
getting borne ahead of them. Few of the 10,000 :
people who visited the Oval on Friday could resist
giving an appreciative cheer to the magentas when
they returned from the fray after their battle which
they bad so well won. It was evident that the vast
majority of the spectators heartily hoped for the
salt water men to win, and I must confess that I
think that the victory of the Ports will give football
a great impetus, especially in the matter of attend
ances, and we may expect another big crowd at
Kensington en July 26, when the teams meet again.
Writing of crowds reminds me that the attendance
on the' Oval was certainly the largest
we have ever had at a football match.
There was but a slight inconvenience in getting
into the Oval, hut the road round the north end of
the playing reserve more resembled a bullock track
in a wet country than a carriage drive, for it was
inches deep in mud and slush. Surely ,a few loads
of sand would remedy it.
Turning to the game itself, the general impression,
especiallywhen J. Woods came into the arena in
place of Harvey, was that Ken McKenzie and his
devoted band would once more find the Norwoods a
trifle too good; but amongst a few of the favoured
ones a feeling prevailed that something good was
coming, and that the. Ports would show the red-and
blues the way. There were rumours of earnest
training and determination to win. so that although
the general public considered that it was the un
expected that was happening, some had hoped for
it, and were not disappointed. There was no wind
to help either team, but from the Jump the
Ports, by excellent' concerted ana spirited
plav, had the advantage, and when in the
end of the first quarter they had a goal and several
behindsin whilst the Norwoods hadnot scored, the '
public woke up to the fact that the old premiers
were in a had way. With the change of ends the j
coasters continued to have advantage, although the :
Norwoods aroused themselves to the utmost. In
this period the magentas had decidedly the best of
affairs, for the Norwoods were playing badly, and in
their eagerness were fumbling to an unusual extent.
The dash and brilliancy of their opponents
bad completely overmatched them, and their
characteristic coolness disappeared. Waldron
called on his men repeatedly, hut -without avail,
and as his team got deeper into disaster so they
became more disorganized, and the captain himself
being infused with the prevailing spirit completely
" lost his head." Whilst one team deteriorated the
other improved, and the Forts, playing a winning
game, treated the spectators to an excellent display
their marking and kicking quite over-reaching their
opponents, whilst in the rack as usual they had
an advantage. The interval altered the state
of affairs, for the . Norwoods got back into
something like their old style, but they could
not cope with the victorious Forts, and although
th?y made the game more even, they never could
beat back the magenta men! Some excuses have
been made for the Eastern men, but there was no
doubt that from start to finish they wore over
matched and beaten at every point by a team of
artists, worked by a skipper who fully recognised
thearounus nature of his task, and worked his men
with excellent results.' One thing that was pleasing
to notice was the "freedom- of the game
from any roughness. At times there -
was more force used than was necessary,
and Lowe and Daly lost their tempers, but on the
whole the teams were to be praised for the fair
game they played. This may be gathered from the
fact that only twenty-eight free marks were given,
the Norwoods receiving eigbteep of them. Mr.
Mclntyre, the umpire, has never beiore appeared to
such advantage, Ahd his exhibition clearly shows
that he has the ability of a first-class officer. He
gave satisfaction all round in his task, which was no
sinecure. From start to finish the most prominent
man was C. Fry, who got through a tremendous lot
of excellent work in the ruck. Next to him came
Hamilton, who with his dashing runs and well-timed
kicks, did a lion's share of the work. Stevens—that
sterling nick player—worked vigorously all after
noon and apparently without an effort put in some
brilliant pieces of play. Webb went about his work
resolutely, and in the truly heavy worn in the
Bcrimmages he was ever to be seen. Gardner on
the one wing and Hills on the other were really
brilliant, both marking and running with exception
able ability. The latter in particular deserves
especial note for his long runs right np to goal, and
the shot from which he sent theball through was a.
well-timed piece of play. K. McKenzie, in the
centre, was capable and consistent in his play,
and his brother Jack contributed a couple of goals.
Kempster and lomlin proved perfect treasures in
defending the back lines, ana then the Brothers
Bushby were busy and effective. In fact, there was
not a man in the Ports who did not warrant men
tion. On the Norwood side Daly was the best man,
and at times he gave a sample of his old genuine
dash, but he was not supported as of old.
McCarthy, McGaifin, and Roberts following, lent
him some assistance, they doing most of the work
in the ruck. J. Woods's inclusion proved most
serviceable, for he put in a lot of excellent play;
whilst McKee andSnaw on the different wings were
prominent with some clever and dashing perfor
mances. Grayson arid Richards were the best of
the others; whilst CorreU proved his usefulness by 1
cleverly snatching the first goal
The Gawler team wont into the ground determined
to beat the Adelaides or, figuratively speaking, die.
Tbey did neither, but they made a great attempt.
The Adelaides had one or two men away, but their
team was a fairly strong one. To be able to draw
with these men with the scores Adelaide 2 goals 6
behinds, Gawler 2 goals 4 behinds should give the
country men fresh heart. The game itself was re
markably even; for after the first quarter both teams
made the same scores in each of the suc
ceeding periods. Many . shots were missed
by both: clubs in the first quarter. Gawler
then secured the first goal, to which Adelaide
replied with a couple, and-then the local men
equalized the score. .- The game itself was a finely
contested one, and many interesting passages took
place. Holbrook, Dixon, Ewers, Everett; ana Childs
were most prominent for the Adelaides; whilst
Thomson (2), Kiel, Coles, Brown, Boss, Sanderson,
and Panter did good work for the home team.
If the Adelaides had the worst of the luck in the
first match with the South Adelaides, the latter can
certainly claim to have had- ill-fortune last Satur
day. Although they had much the best of the
draw as the result—Souths, 3goals 10 behinds;'Ade
laide, 2 goals 2 behinds—shows, yet they threw
away the game by their selfish play and their bad
kicking. Times without number the Souths for
wards have been at fault in this matter, and it
seems as if they would never improve;
Their lack of unity on Saturday was most conspi
cuous, and for downright selfish play the laurel
wreath must be given to Monck, who, although
he did real good work, conld have been more useful
bad he recognized his comrades more. Then,
again, the Souths .suffered more than the red-and
blacks for the many bad decisions of Mr. Jones,
umpire. The metropolitan team got away well
together, and by quarter - time had secured
all their total. They played together well,
but their two goals came from rushes, in which
Ewers and Everett did the chief work. After the
first change the blue-and-white men took up a
strong place; but, although the Adelaides several
times beat them back, 'they always returned, but
could not send the ball through enough times to
score a win. Grogan, who was roving for the
Sonths, was the best man on the ground. Be went
about his work in excellent style, and his general
ability was a great help. That rattling follower,
Walkley, whs all there in the heavy work, and he,
with Fisher and Wildy, who did fine work, proved
a little too good for their opponents. Of the place
men, Beedman, Cooke. Monck, and Hlllier
were the best, and when they had
the opportunity they generally took advan
tage of it. Amongst the red-and-blacks Ewers
was really brilliant. Time after time he dashed
from one end to the other with the ball, his pace
and cleverness being surprising. On the same wing
Everett ably seconded nis efforts. Dixon and C.
Bennett worked with good results in the rack,
whilst the rover, Holbrook, did an exceedingly^lot
of useful work. Griffiths was as clever as he
always is, and there were few on the ground that
beat him for style and effectiveness. To say that
Mackie was on the ground was enough to show that
the goal was defended as woli as it was possible to
be so, and in thiH direction he received some good
assistance from Acraman.
Only about 400 persons journeyed to Alberton on
Saturday to witness the second contest of the
season between the Ports and Medindies. A late
start was made, and if the game had been started at
the proper time it would doubtless not have been
terminated so abruptly by the rain. At times only
was the play of an interesting nature. The
Medindies' kicking and marking at timeB
were quite equal to their opponents. Dp to
quarter - time both sides had secured a goal.
After that, however, the magentas drew away, and
at the finish had 8 goals 12 behinds to 2 goals 1
behind. The last quarter was ushered in by rain,
which soon increased to hail, and the game had to
be abandoned. This should emphasize the neces
sity for increased pavilion accommodation at
Alberton, also the noed existing for a Press box,
Seven to four, the defeat which Norwoodadminis
tered Gawler last Saturday, was no criterion
of the difference between the teams. There
seemed hut little spirit in the game, and with
few exceptions on both sides, brilliant play was
conspicuous by its absence. Though impartial, Mr.
Siebert's umpiring was by no means good. He was
inconsistent as to kicking out of bounds. From the
first match on May 10 to the present the country
team has had a match every Saturday, and during
the holiday weeks, two each. And on two consecu
tive Saturdays were to have played Norwood. Very
properly the Northern players consider themselves
shabbily treated at this poorly arranged . pro
gramme.
Essendon v. Fitzroy, the second and third teams
in Melbourne, met on Saturday for the first time,
and although the ground was wet and heavy the
mime proved to he fast and exciting. Essendon
lead off from the start, and the final result was 5
goals 6 behinds to 2 goals 7 behinds. Geelongv.
Melbourne furnished a good game. The Pivoto
nians were a goal to the bad at the last change,
but they came in with a great rush and finished
with 3 goals 8 behinds to 2 goals 3 behinds.
Port Melbourne secured the worst of a drawn game
with North Melbourne, the totals being 4 goals 1 be
hind, to 4 goals 7 behinds. Bichmond beat Foots
Cray by 2 goals 7 behinds to 3 behinds: whilst Wll
liamstown after a close game defeated South Bal
larat by 3 goals 6behinds to 2 goals two.behinds.
St. Hilda had a hard time at Ballarat, being van
quished by 7 goals 3 behinds to 1 goal 2 behinds.
New South Wales should have a good idea of the
Australasian game before the season closes, for the
Carltons and a picked team from Tasmania are now
in Sydney, and South Melbourne will also play
there on the way back from Brisbane. East Satur
day, to give the Welshmen some idea of the game
as "she iB played"by crack teams, the Carltons
met the Tasmanian, bnt the Victorian men had
much the best of the game, and won by 9 goals 14
behinds to 2 goals 8 behinds. On Tuesday Carlton
boat Combined Sydney by 14 goals to 2; whilst
Tasmania got home ahead of Maitland District by 7
goals to 5. {
South Melbourne up in Brisbane had an easy task
defeating the local townsmen by 13 goals to 2. In
the banana land in Bereral matches some of the
players were hurt, and in one a young man named
Rutland was kicked on the head and .was removed
to the Hospital where he died in a few hours. On
Monday the Ipswich team were put down by South.
Melbourne by 10 goals 10 behinds to S goals S lie
binds, whilst the following day a combined Brisbane
team were beaten by 6 goals 7 behinds to 1 goaL
. The most important fixture in the Adelaide and
Suburban Football .Association last Saturday was
. Prospect v.'a.A. Juniors on the Prospects' "ground.
Both teams were in the running for top place. The
play .lor the first half Was very even, and when half
time was called no goals had been scored, the
Prospects having 2 behinds to their opponents' 1.
On resuming the blue-and-wliites set to work, and
. at the finish the scores were—S.A. Juniors, 2 goals
7 behinds; Prospects, 3 behinds. For the Juniors
the whole team worked hard. Bilston, Collins,
Nolan, and Perkins were to the fore for the Pros
pects. The Adelaides furnished a surprise by
scoring a win againBt the Maylands, but tney have
to thank their goalkickers for the result, their two
first goals being the outcome of shots between fifty
and sixty yards, and the Maylands had all the best
of the behinds. The final result was—Adelaides,
3 goals 4 beldnds; Maylands, 1 goal 12 behinds.
For the winners Kirby, Mole, Manifold, and Shard
were to the fore, and Kennealey, Sullivan, and
Steinwedel worked hard for the Maylands. The
Ports II. met the Creswicks on the East Park
Lands. The Ports went away with a rush, and
placed a goal to their credit in two minutes, but
after this the game was fairly even, the final result
being Ports, 3 goals 7 behinds; Creswicks, 2 goals 3
behinds. For the winners the whole team played
well, while Hayter (2), Fraedenburg, and Chapman
showed up well for the Creswicks.
On Monday next the first intercolonial team leave
Adelaide to play a combined team from the Vic
torian Association. Since thelist was published the
necessary leave has been obtained for all the
players with the exception of Shaw and Holbrooik,
3ho, owing to business engagements, will not be
>le to accompany the team. Their places have
been allotted to C. Fry and Webb, of the Ports, and
after the performance of these two men this year it
must be readily admitted that their claim to repre
sent the cblony is fyr superior to any of the remain
ing men. I still think, however, mat Brown and
Thomson should have been in the team. The
twenty has been greatly strengthened by the in
clusion of Fry ana Webb, but our representatives
win have no easy task, for according to Mr.
Marshall, the Secretary of the V.F. A., the Victorian
players will be chosen from the four leading dabs
in the sister colony. Although Markwell. ia the
Auetralatian, waxes satirical over my remarks about
our men being fit to beat anything Victoria can
put in the field given a fine "day I am more than
ever convinced that our men will lead the way.
The team take np their quarters at the New Trea
sury Hotel near the Melbourne Football Ground,
and it is probable that two ont of the three matches
played in Melbourne will be contested there, and of
course that ground will be the scene of the great
gamo which comes off next- Saturday. The other
matches are expbcted to be against Essendon and
Filzroy. On Saturday nigb^ the team will meet to
choose their captain ana vice, and I understand
that Waldron and Ken McKeirae will be selected
for those c'hnes. . .
All the four oldercluhsareengaged in matches to
morrow, and the two youngerteams have mi off-day.
On the Adelaide Oval Port Adelaide Is matched
against South Adelaide. The first match between
these teams'-furnished a splendid came, but the
Souths have been performing badly lately, and the
Porta should win with something in hand. At
Kensington the Norwoods meet the Adelaides, and
although there is not much doubt but that the red
and-blues will be the vibtors, the game should pet
be devoid of some excitement.
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