I've read through the comments on this photo made during the challenge, and I must say that they do sum up what I feel too. Also, I'm not a sports photography specialist, so I can't give you great advice in that area. You've certainly met the challenge - the topic is clear. Yet there is something missing, something which takes the sensation of awe out of this photo.
If you don't mind, I'd like to be a bit critical here. I've looked through your challenge entries to get a better perspective on your photography and to help me with my critique. On the whole, you've got a very good eye for subject, far better than me, I would add. The present selection on your profile page reads like a photography textbook: as thumbnails, wonderfully selected and photogenic subjects. Yet, each on inspection raises questions about detail. Also, your subjects are almost all static. I'd like to discuss these two points.
It is in detail that problems can be observed. Tonally, the skins are too dark (in the sport shot), the skys are too grey, the backings lack detail and texture. Your software processing raises questions, too. In some shots, the quality is quite low, and in others the contrast is too high, eliminating necessary detail. It's just these small things which make up a quality photo, but, unfortunately, seem missing in a number of your photos. Sorry. In 'Cordate Shaped Leaf', for example, the colours are fine, the composition is good (although a bit centred), but there's an overall need for sharpening, a need for a sparkle. In 'Windsurfing', the sky is decent, but the sea is far too contrasty and the surfer has no texture at all. In 'Coach Seating', the two very strong lines made by the top lights really need to be parallel to the frame to be effective. Just these small points, but the add up. To grow to the next level, you need to iron these out.
In almost all of your photos, challenge and portfolio alike, you use static subjects. In fact, this team sport entry is the first where you've used a recognisable human face. Furthermore, virtually all subjects are still. Even when action could be shown, as in 'Windsurfing', you shoot to freeze action. Now, this is surely a personality thing, which I'm not able to make any comment on at all. My own shots tend to be the opposite; action is observable, even in traditionally static subjects, or is implied. So, maybe I'm not the best person to comment on your shots. I do, however, feel that you need *movement*. This can be achieved in a still shot by composition or aperture or multiple subject placing. For example, by using a very wide aperture, you can eliminate background and make prominent foregrounds. This creates the sensation of a subject jumping out at you. Or you can use a very wide lens (probably 28mm-ish on your camera) and get the surroundings to encroach into the frame. Or you can wait more. By this, I mean not simply shoot whereever you are, but to wait until the combination of lighting, atmospheric conditions, clouds and so on help to illuminate your otherwise static subject better. In these times, filters might help. For example, 'Saved32' would really work better using a very narrow aperture and a polarising filter to bring out the purples (of course, photoshop would help you, too). 'Dock O' the Bay' would benefit from a red filter. And so on.
The overall point here is that the photographs need two extra ingredients: more attention to precise detail and more complex subject involvement.
As for this sports shot, a very open aperture (f2/ f2.8) would have helped eliminate the background somewhat. The exposure itself needed to be a bit brighter, and you could have added a bit more contrast in post-processing. Maybe if the face expression was the actual subject, there would have been more impact. Finally, I'd suggest rotating the photo on its left/right axis to have the top guy looking down and to the right which would follow the natural eye movement for western readers.
If you have any comments on my critique, please feel to contact me.
OK, this meets the challenge, but the players standing in the background just watching this "scrimage" seems a bit odd, especially since there obviously not on the sidelines. You did get a pretty good view of the expression on 77's face, even with the helmet being in the way. I gave this a 6.
Nice contrast and composition. The image looks a little flat though. Think I'd have tried to use auto-levels or auto-contrast I think to bump up the colours.
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