Peter Canavan Outlines The Challenges Facing Jim Gavin In His New Role

Peter Canavan has challenged Jim Gavin to help improve Gaelic Football as a spectacle as the ex-Dublin manager takes on a new role in the GAA.

Gavin will lead the GAA's new Football Review Committee after being appointed by incoming GAA president Jarlath Burns.

Former Armagh captain Burns has been ratified as the 41st president of the association and he has wasted no time in handing a role to six-time All-Ireland-winning manager Gavin.

The former Dubs boss will be responsible for heading up a group that is tasked with making the sport more attractive as a spectacle and Canavan feels it's a good fit.

Peter Canavan and Cora Staunton have warmly welcomed the decision of new GAA President Jarlath Burns to appoint former Dublin boss Jim Gavin to head the Football Review group. pic.twitter.com/OymOaQJj9o

— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) February 24, 2024

Peter Canavan backs Jim Gavin in new role

"That's something that Jarlath said he was going to look into, the make the game a better spectacle," said Canavan during RTE's coverage of Tyrone's Allianz League victory over Mayo on Saturday.

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"You can see tonight at times, it hasn't been a great spectacle. When it's so easy for teams to drop 15 men behind the ball, you're taking away the one on one contest that you want to see and you see a lot of sideways passes around the fringes.

"The role of the goalkeeper becomes ever more important so I think we are at the stage where the game could do with being tweaked somewhat to make it more free-flowing and a better spectacle.

"Once you cross the 45, you can't go back," offered Canavan, as an example of rules that could come in. "There are options, if we need to do it on a trial basis or in college competitions but I have no doubt that there is going to be changes. They might even get rid of the forward mark."

18 January 2020; Former Dublin GAA football team manager Jim Gavin at the Conferring of the Honorary Freedom of Dublin City on Jim Gavin ceremony in the Round Room at the Mansion House, in Dawson St, Dublin. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Jim Gavin's thoughts on Gaelic Football rule changes

Gavin has previously warned against certain rule changes in Gaelic Football, telling the Am Seo Podcast with Jonathan Courtenay & Diarmuid Connoll‪y‬ that "We’re only one rule away from the game becoming Australian Rules on a rectangular pitch."

"If we introduce tackling, as in a rugby tackle, what difference is there from Aussie Rules?" he added, during that conversation.

"You can call a mark from a kick-out, call a mark both offensively and defensively once it’s kicked into the scoring zone. You introduce an Aussie rules tackle, what's the difference?

"There is a fine line and of course we want to promote skills and the kick-out mark has been good but the reason they introduced that was because they weren’t enforcing the tackle. The tackle isn’t that well defined in football. That’s the root cause of it.

"So why are guys when they win a kick-out being mauled? It’s because they can get away with it, it’s because the tackle is so ill-defined. There is a little bit of work to be done on that."