The vitality that was missing in Gaelic football has returned

Most of the new rules seem to be well received by players, managers and footballers on the sidelines.

Since the new rules came into effect in Gaelic Football at the end of last month I have seen about half a dozen games – a few with my own two eyes and the rest thanks to TG4.

I understand that this is not enough to give a balanced opinion, but at first glance I would welcome their presence. I think this is the case for players, managers and people like me – the drivers on the sidelines, if I may use that phrase.

Half of the games in the League will have been played this weekend and it is already clear that some of the vitality that was missing in Gaelic football is making its way back.

This is mainly due to a few specific new rules. The rule that three defenders must be in their own half of the field during play is the most influential, as well as the two goals now available for kicking the ball over the crossbar from outside the 40m arc.

Teams scored 81 times in the 48 games played in the first three rounds of the League.

The impact of the changes is clear when you look at the results of those games – almost twice as many goals scored in Division 1 compared to the first three games of last year’s League (394/202). Things have gone completely out of hand in Division 2, where 33 goals and 469 assists have been registered this year compared to 15-294 last year. That’s an increase of over 120% in the number of goals and 60% in the number of assists.

The two-goal score has been seen at least once in every live match, seven in the Division 1 match between Mayo and Galway at MacEaly Park. Shane Walsh scored four, Cillín Ó Curraoin had two and Rob Finnerty one. Mayo were on the sidelines with one try scored by Paul Towey.

You would think from the final score in that game (0-26, 0-16) that Galway would have won with little difficulty, but look, Mayo were ahead at half time (0-9, 0-8). In the second half the scores left two goals to Walsh and his comrades adding 0-18 to that while Mayo were on the sidelines with 0-7.

So far this year, there has been no better proof that this particular rule change is worthwhile.

There’s not a single person I meet who doesn’t like the fact that the short kick-out has been eliminated. That’s where a lot of the back and forth, the lack of sharpness and the negativity that has entered the game came from.

The opportunity now available to restart play immediately after a player has been fouled has also been welcomed. He does not have to wait for the referee to blow the whistle.

This week I realised that it’s not necessarily the player who has been fouled who will initiate the sudden restart of play – a teammate can do so just as quickly. The ‘tap and go’ can be used to move forward or to one side and the opposition cannot tackle the player who is fouled until they have gained four metres.

It will probably be at least the start of the tournament before we fully understand the impact of the new rules on discipline, particularly the cheating and sloppy play by players with referees. The ball is now taken 50m forward when there is a clear disagreement with the referee, or when a player guilty of cheating does not pass the ball to his opponent.

Most of the changes are therefore to be judged positively.

The only addition I would make to that is that I believe that when the whistle blows, play should continue until the ball goes out of play.

I would also argue that a four-goal deficit should be a goal. There have been concerns that a two-goal deficit would reduce the willingness of teams to try to shake the net. While it is too early to say for sure that this will not happen, the figures cited at the beginning of the column suggest that this is unlikely to be the case.

Another opinion circulating is that the new rules will work well in big games when you have competent referees, linesmen and goalkeepers along with the most modern means of communication.

But what about a Junior C game where the referee is probably the only official who doesn’t have some kind of connection with the competing teams?

According to Cork newspaper The Echo, things may not be that bad.

Last Monday there was an article there which featured a declaration from six referees who were officiating matches when the Ó Mhic Coille Under-21 District Football Championship began last weekend.

In the reports they sent back to the district’s referee administrator Ger Sweeney, all the referees said that it was not just the spectators and players who were enjoying the new rules, but themselves as well.