At my game on Saturday, I had a high penalty count at the tackle. The count was roughly evenly split between the two teams, but one team (Green) was penalised more when they were the ball carrier (e.g. not releasing the ball) and the other (Black) when they were not (e.g. not releasing the tackled player).
My penalty count otherwise was quite low. The captains were positive and cooperative.
I had highlighted wanting a clean tackle area in my pre-match brief. I reminded both captains after two or three penalties, and once more later in the game. I considered using cards for repeat infringement but somehow it did not seem to fit the mood of the game: the game was flowing fast, both teams were trying to make positive plays, and both captains and coaches could be heard to remind their players to behave better at the tackles (e.g., "boys, you have to stop getting penalised! It's killing us!"). This last bit told me that the players were trying to behave better but lacked the skill or awareness of the situation to move quickly enough at the tackle.
My options, as I see them, were:
1. Do as I did (i.e., have a high penalty count and be happy with the fact that the game overall was good, fast, and positive)
2. Issue cards to make my statement more loudly
3. Be less strict in the tackle (i.e., match my requirement for speed to the ability of the players)
4. Talk to captains more
I didn't like #2 for the reasons stated above.
I didn't like #3 because my strictness seemed to positively impact the game overall.
I did a bit of #4, but perhaps I could have done more.
What would you have done?
My penalty count otherwise was quite low. The captains were positive and cooperative.
I had highlighted wanting a clean tackle area in my pre-match brief. I reminded both captains after two or three penalties, and once more later in the game. I considered using cards for repeat infringement but somehow it did not seem to fit the mood of the game: the game was flowing fast, both teams were trying to make positive plays, and both captains and coaches could be heard to remind their players to behave better at the tackles (e.g., "boys, you have to stop getting penalised! It's killing us!"). This last bit told me that the players were trying to behave better but lacked the skill or awareness of the situation to move quickly enough at the tackle.
My options, as I see them, were:
1. Do as I did (i.e., have a high penalty count and be happy with the fact that the game overall was good, fast, and positive)
2. Issue cards to make my statement more loudly
3. Be less strict in the tackle (i.e., match my requirement for speed to the ability of the players)
4. Talk to captains more
I didn't like #2 for the reasons stated above.
I didn't like #3 because my strictness seemed to positively impact the game overall.
I did a bit of #4, but perhaps I could have done more.
What would you have done?