Contact after the try

[Scratch85]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

Did the contact put the shooter at a disadvantage?

IMO, this is not a simple as you put it. You and Juggs appear very experienced and I am sure your judgement is very good on these plays. I also recognize that you say contact can be incidental which means that it may also be a foul. But I don't believe you can only consider the contact.

I think it is necessary to consider the action of the defender, prior to the contact, to determine if it is a foul. If the defender comes from a long way away, aggressively, with little concern about injuring the shooter (should contact be considerable) and flailing arms everywhere, I will call a foul when contact is made after the shot has been released. Even if the actual contact did not create a disadvantage on the shot (the actions of the defender could not be completed without contact.)

As in the OP, if the two defenders chasing the shooter were bearing down with reckless abandon, causing the shooter to fear injury, I think any contact would likely be a foul.

I am not sure if I am making my point, but I think there is more to this judgement than whether or not the actual contact created a disadvantage.