‘Everybody is trying to count the hand-passes in their head’

Gaelic Football’s new rules got their first official outing in the weekend’s O’Byrne Cup in Leinster. And reaction to the proposed changes was mixed to say the least.

‘Everybody is trying to count the hand-passes in their head’

Gaelic Football’s new rules got their first official outing in the weekend’s O’Byrne Cup in Leinster. And reaction to the proposed changes was mixed to say the least.

Andy McEntee (Meath manager)

You have a situation where someone like Rory Beggan kicks a ball out from the 20-metre line, it’s caught in the middle of the field, you have to step off the opposition, he then kicks it to someone like Michael Murphy up at the far end of the field, you have to step off him, and he kicks it over the bar. It’s a game of tennis nearly. I’m sure that’s not going to happen all the time but the emphasis then is to make sure the opposition don’t catch a ball inside the 50-metre line. So what do you do? You have more defenders there. So in a way it probably defeats the purpose of what it’s being brought in for. We didn’t really (try for Advanced Marks) is the truth of the matter. The conditions were so hard too, it wasn’t a conscious decision not to go for them but it probably just worked out that way.

I think everybody is trying to count (the hand-passes) in their head. I could certainly hear Laois counting it on the sideline. I’d much prefer if the players counted it themselves. The referee has enough to be doing. I think umpires and linesmen could be given a little bit more power and I think that might help the burden. I am concerned (about using them in the league). For 80 per cent of teams, the league is the most important competition and the best competition they have. Now you’re tricking with it, you’re making it an experiment. They’re not going to be in for the Championship, so does that mean you cancel the results of the league? Do you just say, ‘Okay, we’re having an experiment here, everybody plays everybody but nobody changes division status at the end of it’. And even then, if they don’t accept the rules for the league, when do we know, seven days before the league begins? I’m not too sure that’s fair.

John Sugrue (Laois)

I think the mark requires work and I think it’s very difficult on referees. It’s a completely new concept, trying to watch lots of different things. I think it’s very difficult for referees, even just the hand-passing rule, we had five hand-passes at one stage and there was no free blown. I’m not being critical of the referee but there’s an awful lot of information inside there that referees have to try to process. The (Advanced) Mark was something we didn’t overly emphasise. We wanted fellas looking for the ball and looking for it hard, and if the Mark happens you can try to play with it. But I’m not sure it’s the best ball to kick to a forward unless it’s really on. It allows the defender to get a hand to the ball. You’re looking at something that may not even necessarily be applicable by the end of January, so it’s an interesting time.

John Evans (Wicklow)

I was taken back completely when they introduced the rules. I was flabbergasted. We’re amateur sportsmen. We’re not out there to entertain like all the other professional rugby players, soccer players and everybody else for that matter. We’re amateur sports men and it’s wrong to try to expect us without doing a course, without doing any induction courses because people feel fit to go changing them. I thought that you’d have to have sympathy for the referee more than anybody else. There was fellas shouting three, four, two and three hand-passes. There were too many things missed by the referee because he’s trying to focus in on the rules and it’s difficult. Conditions were difficult enough besides implementing the rules. I don’t think anybody used the mark as such because of the conditions. The way I looked at it is you’re kicking for the sake of kicking just the same as you’re passing for the sake of passing. I don’t see the point of the rules. I didn’t see the point of them from the start but at the same time I still will conform. I’m not one of these guys that will go against things but I just don’t see the point of them. Who knows what will happen when the rules are reviewed in January ahead of the league. There isn’t that good a reception for them.

Padraic Davis (Longford)

I think the hand-pass rule fared out well in our game. In both sides the communication was good and they were calling out the third pass and it went both ways. I don’t know if it has a place going forward but we’ll see. I’d possibly be in favour of the sin-bin rule. I suppose you’re punishing both the individual and the team. That’s what happened with us there.

We had a player in the sin-bin in the first half. During that time we didn’t concede so, for now, we don’t have a major problem with the rule. I thought the referee did a good job dealing with the rules on the night so we didn’t really notice them in the game.

Paul McLoughlin (Wexford)

“There’s more kickpassing, but quite a lot of them are coming after two or three handpasses and lads are just buying back the handpasses and that is so obvious. Back in the day we’d have coached lads not to kickpass because it’s a handpass distance, but now we’re doing the opposite and telling them to make the kickpass when there’s an easy one on. Later on in the year I think you’ll see some really good use of the mark by the top teams. And you really need six free-takers in your forward line because they’re all going to be getting free-taking opportunities. When we coach the new rules we use two referees in our own in-house training games. We had a goal ruled out for too many handpasses and in the heat of the moment it is hard but I suppose we have to get used to it too.

Wayne Kierans (Louth)

“I don’t agree with the rules at all and we were caught a few times with the handpasses. It’s how you play around the rules, and not the rules themselves, that will be the issue and we still have a lot of work to do on it. You can’t build it short all the way up the pitch - and there were some lovely scores like that earlier on Saturday in the Dundalk Young Irelands and St Brigid’s game - so it’s how you work around that and build it into your game. We got a few points off the mark and I think there were a few defensive ones too, and again it’s about how you use it. We actually forgot about the sinbin at half-time, we thought Tommy [Durnin] was gone on a black card as opposed to being sin-binned. So it’s just about getting used to them from everybody’s point of view.”

Daniel St Ledger (Carlow)

“The sin-bin wasn’t relevant today. The line-ball was a nothing. The three hand-passes doesn’t do anything for the game as far as I can see. There wasn’t any more long-kicking than there would normally be. All there were was silly little turnovers from two or three hand-passes. It just changes the game too much in all the wrong ways. At times there were three hand-passes, a fourth then a free. I have been open enough about saying I am not fond of it. I have played four games and I cannot see any positive benefits. If there are to be changes then there has to be positive benefits. I can’t see it. I saw last night lots of people lauding lots of turnovers (on social media). Players don’t want lots of turnovers. Managers don’t want lots of turnovers. It is ridiculous. You are coached not to turn over the ball and then all of a sudden you are into this back and forth. It is like table tennis.”

Jack Cooney (Westmeath)

“I thought some of the kick-passing was very short. There were a lot of five, six, seven metre kick passes. I thought both teams dropped off a bit and there was a lot of lateral kicking passing and holding onto the ball.

I don’t know if it changed the format or the structure of the game hugely. We will have to sit back and review it and see what it is like. I think in general the quality of the game was not any better or any worse with these new rules. The sin-bin is not a bad option. Some of these fouls are not done intentionally and I was always in favour of a sin bin. Ten minutes off the pitch is a fair punishment.”

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