Eoin Harrington reporting from the Gaelic football interprovincial series in Croke Park
Friday night saw history made in Croke Park, as the Gaelic football rule changes proposed by the Football Review Committee were put to the test publicly for the first time.
Seven core "enhancements" were put to the test in a once-off rekindling of the 'Railway Cup' interprovincial series. GAA HQ looked significantly different to what we are accustomed to, with a dashed halfway line and a 40m scoring arc added to the traditional pitch markings.
In the first of Friday's double-header, the Leinster selection took a hammering from Padraic Joyce's Connacht side. Aidan O'Shea was in particularly electric form as Connacht romped to a 4-21 (33) to 1-11 (15) victory.
The second game was far more competitive, with Ulster and Munster playing out an intriguing and tense contest. Ultimately, the Ulstermen won out by 0-23 to 2-11 (19) after withstanding a strong Munster spell shortly after half-time.
I took in Friday's action in Croke Park alongside Kerryman Mike Quirke.
A member of the panels that won the 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2009 All-Ireland titles, Quirke claimed a fifth winner's medal as a coach in 2022. In the interim, he served as Laois manager for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His accolades speak for themselves and taking in the game with Quirke was a fascinating experience.
Though the environment in which the new Gaelic football rules were trialled came with its flaws, there were top-quality players involved on all four sides, and we were intrigued by the different approaches displayed by the four provincial sides.
There was a lot to like, but also plenty that needs work. After the two games, Quirke shared his thoughts on how to push the rules in the right direction.
READ HERE: Niall Morgan Had Great Line About Physical Demands Of New Gaelic Football Rules
READ HERE: Aidan O'Shea Issues Warning To GAA Bosses After New Gaelic Football Rules
Mike Quirke on the new Gaelic football rule changes
What worked
The 3/3 structure
18 October 2024; A general view of the action as 11 Connacht players plus goalkeeper defend against 11 Leinster players during the Allianz GAA Football Interprovincial Championship semi-final match between Leinster and Connacht at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
"That gives the game a structure that when they do turnover the ball or do win a kick-out, now suddenly you have options ahead to kick the ball," Quirke said.
"It created big options in terms of the space, in terms of running lanes, guys being able to move the ball much quicker from back to front.
"That's because everyone is not back inside their own 45 defending, and they're forced to have a bit of structure. You could see that really played out and that was a big aspect."
Kick-out changes
18 October 2024; Leinster goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton during the Allianz GAA Football Interprovincial Championship semi-final match between Leinster and Connacht at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
"I think the kick-out part of it was really significant. That 40m arc...goalkeepers now have to get to the 21, place the ball and now the teams are defending around the arc.
"It's a little bit more difficult. We certainly saw a lot more kick-out contests than we have seen in other games, which is great.
"When goalkeepers can run to the middle of the arc and knock the ball short to the corner of it, it becomes like an uncontested scrum in rugby and teams back off.
"There's big value now in pressing that kick-out and forcing that contest and trying to win the ball.
"It's clearly made a change. Again, teams have very little work done, it's the middle of October, we understand people aren't as sharp as they're going to be in a competitive season.
"But it's a challenge for goalkeepers and it's a challenge for the guys who are going to be receiving the kick-outs. The space is a little bit different now, what you have to play with.
"The pressure on goalkeepers at the kick-out means you're going to need a guy that's skilled in that area.
"For teams that want to be a little bit offensively minded and a little bit more progressive, try and attack the opposition kick-out, it's giving you a better opportunity to do it.
"It's going to become a contest a lot of times which we want to see...those 50/50 collisions and hop balls around those situations that lead to a bit of noise in the stands as well."
Solo-and-go
"The tap and go certainly speeded up the game, I think that'll be something that will enhance the speed of the game which, again, is what we want to see."
What needs work
The role of the goalkeeper
18 October 2024; Ulster goalkeeper Niall Morgan in action against Emmet McMahon of Munster during the Allianz GAA Football Interprovincial Championship semi-final match between Munster and Ulster at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
"Niall Morgan is one of the best we've seen in the country, both in terms of his goalkeeping, his kicking, and now his attacking play as well.
"He's going to be a guy who can start to exploit these rules - we even saw him do it tonight - in terms of getting forward into the attacking half, creating an extra man, kicking scores.
"I think that is going to be something that is going to be a real big issue for the rules committee. How they can...I'm not sure counteract is the right word but that is something that coaches and managers and teams are going to exploit.
"If you have someone of the calibre of Niall Morgan who has the aerobic capacity to get up into the attacking half as often as he did tonight and create a spare man in effect every time, that is going to be a big, big problem.
"I'm sure they're going to face a little bit of criticism over [that].
"There aren't too many Niall Morgans, to be fair. We'll see innovation there as well if the rules do stick, the benefits of a goalkeeper who can get forward inside the attacking half and give you that extra man, that scoring threat. That may be something that people look at and look to see what kind of goalkeepers we have.
"It's just an issue that was highlighted in the second game. I'm not sure there's an obvious solution to it. Fair enough, a [defending] goalkeeper who's in there may push out to the corner forward and the corner back might push out one...that's real high-risk stuff and you're leaving the goals free."
The 40m scoring arc
18 October 2024; Jack Carney of Connacht kicks a two point score from outside the 40m arc, in the 13th minute of the first half, despite the efforts of Dean Healy of Leinster, during the Allianz GAA Football Interprovincial Championship Semi-Final match between Leinster and Connacht at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Mike Quirke echoed the concerns of Connacht's man-of-the-match Aidan O'Shea surrounding the necessity of changing the Gaelic football scoring system so drastically.
"The scoring is different...the two-point arc didn't really work effectively, the four points for a goal, I'm not sure. I'm not sure what the net benefit of it is...I'm not sure it added a huge amount tonight.
"I like the arc in terms of the kick-out, don't get me wrong, but in terms of shooting and getting an extra point from there...
"I really don't like the 45 or a free-kick from outside that arc being worth two points. There's obviously a skill kicking the ball off the ground or taking a free-kick, don't get me wrong, but doing that from play under a bit of pressure in a situation where you're a little bit rushed, there's a skill in that that's fair enough to reward.
"Taking a free-kick unopposed...I'm not sure we should be rewarding that with two points. I'm not sure on rewarding a goal with four points.
"The scoring didn't really grab me in a positive way tonight, to be honest. I'm sure there will be some modifications and tweaks before it gets to congress.
"Even the way it affects the scoring charts and the history of the great players who went before, I'm not sure that that needs to happen right now."
Overall feelings
"Of course, it's very early days. Some positives, some less positive aspects. Hopefully, things will become a little bit clearer as the weeks go on.
"I think we need a bit of radical, the game is in a place where we need a bit of radical. The 3-up structure, the tap-and-go, the kick-out arc...those are hugely significant changes to the game.
"I don't think it's going to be as dramatic to the face of the game as we know it as maybe some people fear.
"I think what we saw tonight is about the potential of the rules. They were certainly far away from anywhere near perfect...I liked a lot it, there were a lot of positive aspects to it. But I do think that they need to look at certain ones of those.
"Largely, I thought they showed positive potential. I think I'd be happy...are these completely crazy? I see the logic in all of them and I think they promote positive movement of the ball and the stuff we wanna see. Largely, happy enough. Certainly some tweaks needed but that was to be expected.
"It'll be interesting!"
