theres no place in the game for little fingers being stuck out... this is basically a shortcut by players who dont have the inclination to develop their skill level to control the puck properly. i dont see this used so much just while swerving but all around the pool to control the puck... its lazy and if you legalise it, what incentive is there to develop your skill level when you can just stick a finger out? i certainly dont think an extended finger should be legal.

i like the rules as they are now, definitely the interpretation on the wall is good... not that many refs call it correctly, still. of all the refs at the recent nationals maybe simon and possibly ray called gloving on the wall correctly in my games when players were advancing with their glove and controlling with the stick... most of it was just let go and only when the glove touched by itself was a call made. refs need to look closely at the differences in playing the puck on the wall and get up to speed as its very frustrating for players trying to play legally.

the interpretation for swerving with the finger i think is bogus. as soon as you allow the puck to rest on the glove while touching the playing area, there is immediate force applied on the puck from the glove. the question is, a little or a lot? its rubbish that a ref can sit there and expect players to believe him/her when he/she says "i deem that swerve to have used a bit too much force from the finger"... when the swerve happens so fast the player themselves couldn't have told you if it did or not. essentially that turns into "that swerve was so good and fast, it must have been illegal"... which is absolutely rubbish, and i've been called for that a couple of times... but only ever by one ref.

the simple fact is, in that situation you have control of the puck, you are moving the puck while still playing it with your playing area, as has been mentioned it's an open, clean move which is regarded by most as one of the more skilled and certainly least fouling aspects of the game.... why should a good sidestep be penalised? remember that if a player were to try to sidestep using only the glove, they would fail.... the playing area must be utilised for it to be effective. i think personally the issue is a storm in a teacup.

don't penalise swerves in that instance as the playing area is integral to the skill.... don't stick your fingers out and cheat. easy. rules stay the same, interpretations just need clearing up, perhaps a couple of example scenarios could be added to the reffing manual, one on the wall and one during a swerve, and refs can form interpretations in between for themselves?

__________________
it's more polite on the grating than on the subs bench