THE 2024 National Conference League season kicked off on Saturday with players, coaches, club officials and referees aiming to come to terms with, and quickly adapt to, the new ruling under which tackles above the armpit are deemed illegal.
It is intended that the ruling will be extended to the professional arena next year.
There was scant evidence from match reports received – on an afternoon on which heavy rain had an impact – of the new rule having any significantly negative impact.
Paul Thorpe, the secretary of champions Hunslet ARLFC, who won 6-4 at Siddal, said: “Our game flowed quite freely with not many more penalties than normal, although a few would not have been given last season. I thought the officials, and the players from both teams, did well.”
Mick Turner of Shaw Cross Sharks – who beat Saddleworth Rangers 18-4 in Division Two – told League Express: “It didn’t make much difference in our game – the conditions were really bad.”
Although Saddleworth’s Peter Townsend said: “I am sure it had a very positive influence. The game was played in heavy rain and on a slippery, heavy surface; conditions that always challenge players’ tackling techniques and often give rise to poor discipline.
“So congratulations to both clubs’ squads and the match officials for treating us to a tense, attritional game played in the best spirit. The players were obviously very mindful of the new rules and did their very best to comply.
“The referee was excellent. He created an all-in-it together atmosphere regarding the new rules and was happy to discuss and explain his decisions to players and coaches, who responded to that very positively.
“The pace was inevitably slower and more stop-start but that’s a price our sport should be prepared to pay until we get used to the new rules.”
John Sweeney of Leigh Miners Rangers reflected of the Division One derby which Wigan St Patricks edged 22-20: “There were no cards, but plenty of penalties.”
Scribe Dave Parkinson attended the Division One fixture between Crosfields and Skirlaugh in which the Soap prevailed 26-10. He said: “The penalty count did not seem significantly higher.
“There were a few high-tackle penalties but the cards that were shown in this game weren’t for those infringements. I thought referee Ollie Maddock had a good game, although there were a couple of comments that the play-the-ball was a bit lax. I thought he found a balance.”
Wigan St Judes edged Millom 14-12 in Division Two and the Saints’ Alan Greenall said: “There were ten penalties for tackles above the armpits. It was a bit frustrating for the players, the tackles were innocuous really, but we have to adapt.
“The referee handled it well, with no sinbins or red cards. He just did what he had to do and spoke to the captains. There were no reactions from both sets of players to the penalties – I suppose conditions didn’t help, with players slipping.”
