The 2021 Allianz Hurling League created huge debate in many areas and one of those was the number of frees award by the referees in the games. Here are some of the key numbers and trends that arose in relation to fouls and frees.
The opening round of the league saw an average of 29 frees per game, rising to 37 frees per game in week two however in the final weekend of games the average number of frees awarded had dropped to 23 per game.
Referees like Sean Stack and Cathal McCallister were on the top of the table for awarding frees by averaging 40 frees per game while Waterford's Thomas Walsh was on the bottom of the table with an average 21.50 frees per game.
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The free hand tackle and the high tackle were the most common fouls awarded in the 2021 National Hurling League. These two infringements made up 44% of the overall fouls committed during the 30 games played in May and June.
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Galway were penalised on 19 occasions for the free hand tackle and were the highest county in the league. They were followed by Westmeath (17), Wexford (16), Limerick (12) and Tipperary (12) as the teams who were punished most for the free hand tackle.
Westmeath's Aonghus Clarke (6), Galway's Conor Cooney (5) and Padraic Mannion (4) were the players penalised the most for the free handed tackle in the league.
Sean Stack and Cathal McCallister were the two referees who awarded the most frees per game and they were also the top two referees who awarded the most amount of frees per game for the free hand tackle.
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The numbers for Stack and McCallister have to be taken in to some context as both these referees presided over games which involved Galway and Westmeath who were the biggest offenders for the free hand tackle.
Limerick's William O'Donoghue, Clare's Conor Cleary and Dublin's Eoghan O Donnell were the players with the highest foul count in the league giving away ten frees each.
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Limerick's Conor Boylan was the most fouled player by winning 15 frees over the course of the league. The top six players to win frees in the league all came from players who play in midfield or in the half-forward line positions.
This highlights the combative nature of playing in the middle third of the pitch and the pressure which is applied on players in possession.
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Conor Boylan was the most fouled player in this year's Allianz Hurling League
One statistic that will encourage law makers in the GAA is around the new rule brought in at the start of the League, which discouraged the dragging down of players to the ground at vital stages of a game.
On five occasions over the 30 league games a player was dragged to the ground during the final ten minutes of proceedings.
Hurling has taken action to reduce cynical fouls
This will give the GAA some hope over the coming weeks that the new rule is acting as a deterrent for teams engaging in cynical fouling during the final minutes of games.
The overall analysis of the tackling and fouls awarded during the 2021 Allianz Hurling League suggests that more clarity and detail may need to be inserted in to the rule book in relation to the free hand tackle. The free hand tackle has some crossover with the number of frees for high tackles as these frees are awarded due to players trying to perform the free hand tackle.
Players are trying to grab players to halt their momentum but they are either mistiming their challenge or the opponent is ducking down when anticipating the challenge and this results in a tackle higher up on the opposition player's body or around the players neck.
Rule 5.10 in the GAA rule book states that it is illegal to grab and hold an opponent with the hand or hands during play. But there is not the same clarity in the rules when it comes to tackling a player with the free hand using a closed fist or an open handed slapping motion to the opposition player's ball holding hand.
Joe O'Connor was one player to spend time in the sin bin during the league
The frees awarded for using a closed fist or an opened handed slap could be interpreted as a form of rough play under Rule 5.4 which states that a free may be awarded if a player is engaging in any form of rough play.
With the tackle being so complex now in the modern game and all the stakeholders in the game looking for more consistency from game to game from the refereeing of the tackle, it may be time for the GAA to review the Aggressive Rule fouls in hurling.
