Week 4 GASA Games

Another set of hard fought games. Well done to all the teams who played. Well done to all the coaches out there this weekend the sideline behaviour was much better than previous weeks and I hope we can continue this on and sustain that level of behaviour to the end of the season. Players were excellent in their conduct and captains maintained a high level of control. There was only a very minor mishap late in the second game that required no further action than was needed at the time by the officials by rule. But remember that players choose the conduct on the field that officials need to manage or enforce by rule. We do not 'kill' the game by being over zealous in the rules but rather participants choose to follow the rules or to act outside the interpretations of the rules. It was made clear in both games by the Referee to the coaches and captains that continued questioning of an official's call would draw a flag. We allow niggling comments between players to a point but continued questioning of an official's call will draw a flag, especially if an official has answered your query first and you continue to comment on it after the explanation.
On issues and rules from the weekend nothing really stands out except the very low number of procedural penalties for false starts and illegal procedures. Well done guys you are making that part of the game work really well.
A reminder that many of the penalty calls will occur around the point of attack. Those penalties away from the point of attack will not draw a flag unless they are a safety issue or a player has been warned to stop something and he hasn't. If you were away from the point of attack you may mention a hold or block happened to you and the official will keep an eye out for it when the play occurs in your direction. Make sure the request is made in a respectful and orderly manner.
A reminder to check out the presentations on why to keep your head up in tackles and the increased vigilance that officials are making on this issue. If an official believes that the illegal use of helmet/spearing is flagrant, especially helmet to helmet, then they also risk being ejected from the game and a report made to GASA.
After I have gone through the game situations I will add to the blog again later this week. Until then please feel free to send through any comments.

Grant Martin