‘Pain in the ass’: What are inter-county bosses making of the Gaelic football mark?
The new Gaelic football mark was used in all of this week’s pre-season competitions. writers asked the managers what they thought...
CIAN O’NEILL (Kildare): “It’s not a priority at the moment because we have too many other things that are priorities. But we do reference it and we do discuss it in training. I think we’re fortunate insofar as we have some good fielders in our team so against a team we can dominate in the air, it will play into our strengths if we need it.
“If we’re sharper up front and in the middle eight, I don’t think it will ever count against us so these are the two most important things: that we can get the benefit out of it and we can shut out teams who want to use it against us.
“I don’t think it’s that significant in terms of changing a game (influencing team selection). But it goes hand-in-hand. If you have fielders that are playing well and catching ball, whether there’s a mark or not, they deserve to be on the pitch.
“I think there will be times, when you’re shutting out a game, when you’re two points up, there’s only one score in it, I think that’s when you really need it from a strategic perspective. A big mark, when you can take your four or five steps and get ready. But at the moment, in these early stages of the year, it’s too soon, because we’re more concerned with getting our defensive structure, and working well up front.”
LIAM KEARNS (Tipperary): “We certainly didn’t use it and I didn’t think they used it much either. It didn’t interfere much with the game and unless you were told it was in, you wouldn’t have known it was in. It didn’t have any bearing on the game.”
JACK O’CONNOR (Kerry): ”I think the referee may have forgotten it once or twice. I don’t think it is going to make a huge difference. Long gone are the days when the goalkeeper puts boot to ball and sends it 60 yards into the middle of the field. Most kick-outs are placed so it is not a huge factor. Anything that protects a bit of good fielding is to be welcomed. The kick-outs have been defined by Stephen Cluxton over the last 10 years. He’s had more effect on kick-outs than any mark ever will.”
KEVIN MCSTAY (Roscommon): "It’s a nothing event. I really can’t see what it’s about. Anyone who got a mark today played on. Maybe if you were seven points up with five minutes to go, you could slow things down but it will be very hard to get marks at this level. Maybe I’m wrong but we’re not coaching it at the moment."
DECLAN BONNER (Donegal): "I think there was one whistle blown for a mark and I was looking at the referee, ‘what is that for?’. But I don’t think the mark is going to make any huge difference.”
PAUL CLARKE (Dublin temporary manager): “Look, the mark was voted in. The Dublin County Board, I think, voted it in and you sort of go with what they feel is best. Will it work for the game? I'm sure teams will look to the mark and see can it help them improve and develop and if people use it and if teams use it so be it. We asked Cormac (Reilly), the ref, to come up and have a chat with us, he spoke very clearly and very simply. There were one or two questions from the lads, just to clarify things. It was important to know, if you take your mark, that you know what to do with it but also if your opponent gets a mark that you don't infringe on the space and then give away another 13 yards of a free. Even a simple thing that you must get rid of it within five seconds. That was insightful and Cormac was very good to come up and tell us that.”
NIALL MOYNA (DCU): “We saw one, there was one. We don't even discuss it. It's going to make absolutely no difference. Funnily, I thought about it walking out after and I said to myself, maybe when the pitches get dry and the games get tighter and the margins become much smaller, maybe the mark will become an issue, but I don't think so at the moment. It's a bit of a pain in the ass for teams.”
MATTIE MCGLEENAN (Cavan): “I’ve no issue with it. It’s a good enough idea, we had a couple of catches, got one in the first half and played on. It’s in, it’s a rule and we have to get on with it. I think it’s class.
There’ll be a little bit of bedding in time for it but we got a couple of good catches which allowed us to control the play at that time and that was good from our point of view.
James (Farrelly) fired out a couple of kick-outs which helped us put in a couple of good catches at a time when Tyrone were coming at us in the second half and those marks helped settle us back into the game.
MICKEY HARTE (Tyrone): “There are lot of variables in the whole thing and the referees, in fairness, are trying it for the first time but I wish we didn’t have to adjust to it at all. There’s a lot of confusion about when does the player have to signal that he’s taking a mark and when he doesn’t have to take it. There was one of those occasions today where the player made a gesture which was illegal and that’s why the ref threw the ball up but then again that’s all part of the whole confusion.
It’s something I feel we don’t need and I feel that the refs don’t need it either but we will just have to live with it for now.”
JOHN MCGRATH (Wicklow): “It’s a reward for a skill that has probably gone out of the game. It is nice to see that there is some reward for high fielding from a kick-out. It won’t happen too often in games or change the mentality of the way teams set up but there is an opportunity for that little bit of class from someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck.”
TOM CRIBBIN (Westmeath): “Both teams took an awful lot of short kick-outs, given the underfoot conditions. There were very few balls kicked straight out the middle. If it was a good dry day, things might be different. All teams are very conscious of trying to stay in control of their own kick-outs, and it will take time for the ‘mark’ to kick in.”
COLM COLLINS (Clare). “I’ve watched it at Colleges level and I’ve found that it has a minimal influence on the game. Players rarely look for it and I think they missed out something. I think that the mark should only be for the high catch. I don’t see any merit on somebody catching the ball into their chest just because it’s 45 metres. It’s not going to change the game in any dramatic way. I think it’s one of their typical things when there’s about 20 other things that need to be looked at and they go for this.”
KEVIN WALSH (Galway): “I don't think it had a huge affect on the game, to be honest. There was some good, high fielding and it [the rule] is not bad if the guy who catches the ball can be released from having people around him but that wasn't the case today. We are only back [playing competitively] but it is something we'll have to prepare for – even the mentality of when you fetch a ball and the whistle blows, maybe some players are thinking 'what was that about?
The biggest thing for me is when the whistle blows [for a mark] that fellas don't get sidetracked. I don't think it is going to have a huge bearing on the game but, having said that, we just don't know yet.
It is only new to us all so we have to wait to see what the advantages and disadvantages are.”
STEPHEN ROCHFORD (Mayo): “It was the first game so it’s a trial period, like with any of these things. So you wouldn’t be casting a full judgement on today.
I did think, at times, and it wasn’t a refereeing issue, but the blowing of the whistle sometimes stopped lads in mid-play and they were wondering was it a free? But that’s probably just a matter of getting used to it.
The rules are there, and we just play by them. It’s probably just a case of getting used to it and seeing where it goes over the next number of weeks.”
MAURICE SHERIDAN (NUI, Galway): “I didn’t think it had any huge impact on the game, to be honest. It wasn’t something that we worked on too much.
The lads obviously knew about it, they’re smart lads, but I don’t think it was a factor at all today anyway. The fundamental thing with the mark is that you’re able to win the ball over your head. That’s always a part of any team’s game-plan anyway.
For the Sigerson Cup for us, no, it’s not something that’s going to be a huge part of our preparations.”
