Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan has revealed the drastic impact the FRC's new Gaelic Football rules have had on him.
After three rounds of Allianz Football League action, there's most certainly more to like than dislike with the changes, however, plenty of questions still loom large, especially over the role of the goalkeeper going forward.
While the slew of new rules has introduced a number of changes to our game, few, if any roles have been as drastically impacted as that of the goalkeeper.
Firstly, the role of a roaming goalkeeper has become much more lucrative under the new rules, with the number one now able to provide an extra-attacker thanks to the 3 v 3 rule which prevents the opposition's full forward line from following them into attack.
Secondly, the fact that bar when the ball is in the rectangle, the goalkeeper can only receive a pass outside his own box means that to get on the ball and create a mismatch they must make at least the 50-odd metre journey to the halfway line to get involved in outfield play.
16 February 2025; Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan runs back to his goal during the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Mayo and Tyrone at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar, Mayo. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
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Niall Morgan GPS stats reveal just how much new rules have changed for goalkeepers
Despite these rules undoubtedly creating more dramatic contests for the ball, Niall Morgan's most recent GPS stats have shown that they've also exponentially increased the running a goalkeeper must complete.
Speaking to Colm Keys and Frank Roche of the Irish Independent, Morgan revealed that he was now running 3km more per game and doing four times the amount of high-speed running.
Against Cork last year in the championship, I would have thought that I came out a lot but against Derry, I did 3km more in the game and my high-speed running was about four times what it was last year.
So last year, as much as I was coming out, it was a lot slower and it was nearly like, as Jim Gavin [the FRC chairman highlighted Morgan doing this in a video used at Special Congress last November to propose the changes] made sure, everybody saw me walking out with the ball.
Whereas now to get the ball I have to go up as far as halfway and every return is 140 metres basically, never mind what I do when I’m up there. Every kick-out is 20 metres out and 20 metres back. So it does start adding up
As a player who even under the old rules spent his fair share of time outfield, it comes as little surprise that Morgan is taking full advantage of the new rules.
While 33-year-old Morgan is eating up the running at the moment, he was uncertain how much he could prolong his career under the new rules, revealing that an outfield move may be the only option if he wants to keep representing his county.
Maybe go in at full-forward and stay in there, again, that’s another evolvement of the game and some teams won’t have a ’keeper who is able to keep up with that fitness side of things. We’re trying to push the limits and push the boundaries and do the best we can for it. I just really hope they don’t say, ‘c’mon, we’ll pull this back.
Whether we do see ageing goalkeepers forced to move outfield is likely to hinge on how the FRC proceed with the current rules when they review them after round five.
There is the possibility that as part of Jim Gavin's review goalkeepers will be restricted from receiving moving as high up the pitch, which would effectively nullify both their new attacking threat and the running they would have to complete.
On that issue, Morgan was unwavering, revealing that retirement could be an option if such a change transpired.
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